Worst Tsunami in a while.

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Mr_DR

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May 12, 2002
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Over 14,000 thousand dead after a Tsunami that covered much of Asia and part of Africa with 30+ ft waves...How safe is the DR from one of the phenomenum?
 

Thebes

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I've wondered this myself recently. In fact I read a lot about tsunamis just hours before this one happened, the timing is rather disturbing.

Most tsunami's occur in the Pacific and Indian oceans near the ring of fire. This is because most earthquakes occur there.

There is, however, a danger of a massive tsunami in the Atlantic, one which would dwarf this recent one. If the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the Canary Islands' La Palma island erupts, it could send half of a large mountain into the ocean. This would result in a horrific tsunami, which I think probably would effect the DR along with most of the Atlantic. I am not sure, but I think that the layout of the DR's shore and also the Grand Bahama Bank may lessen the impact of such a tsunami, but it would still be bad. There would be about a 7 hour warning, in theory.

I imagine that there could also be localized daners near Dominican shores due to the large number of faults and earthquakes, but don't see it being on the massive scale that was recently seen on the other side of the globe.

This is all based upon an hour or so of reading, I would be glad to hear any more informed opinions.
 

stallion

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May 28, 2004
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Thebes said:
I've wondered this myself recently. In fact I read a lot about tsunamis just hours before this one happened, the timing is rather disturbing.

Most tsunami's occur in the Pacific and Indian oceans near the ring of fire. This is because most earthquakes occur there.

There is, however, a danger of a massive tsunami in the Atlantic, one which would dwarf this recent one. If the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the Canary Islands' La Palma island erupts, it could send half of a large mountain into the ocean. This would result in a horrific tsunami, which I think probably would effect the DR along with most of the Atlantic. I am not sure, but I think that the layout of the DR's shore and also the Grand Bahama Bank may lessen the impact of such a tsunami, but it would still be bad. There would be about a 7 hour warning, in theory.

I imagine that there could also be localized daners near Dominican shores due to the large number of faults and earthquakes, but don't see it being on the massive scale that was recently seen on the other side of the globe.

This is all based upon an hour or so of reading, I would be glad to hear any more informed opinions.

I seen the headlines and the damages it done. Maybe this is going to dis-incourage travellers not to go countrys souronded by waters.
 

gjsuk

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Apr 7, 2003
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stallion said:
I seen the headlines and the damages it done. Maybe this is going to dis-incourage travellers not to go countrys souronded by waters.

maybe you could compile a list of those countries NOT surrounded by water
 

Pib

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Jan 1, 2002
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gjsuk said:
maybe you could compile a list of those countries NOT surrounded by water
Heh!

Next thing you know Paraguay and Switzerland are going to agressively advertise their tourist industry based on the little chance of tsunamis devastating their countries. Anyone knows if there are sankies in Paraguay?
 

Escott

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Jan 14, 2002
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Pib said:
Heh!

Next thing you know Paraguay and Switzerland are going to agressively advertise their tourist industry based on the little chance of tsunamis devastating their countries. Anyone knows if there are sankies in Paraguay?
Paraguay1... I just registered the website to beat Robert out of it.

I like it. We can import all the sankies by telling them that the end of their Dominican World is near.

Why anyone would worry about something like this is beyond me. When your time comes it is just the right time to close your eyes...

Escottisshakinghead.
 

Keith R

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Jan 1, 2002
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Have to say I agree with Scott about worrying about such possibilities for the DR. While there are no guarantees that it could not happen to the DR, the chances of it doing so are probably quite slim, no one can accurately predict such events, and in most cases (certainly in the DR's) there is little one can do to prepare against the eventuality.
 
Possibilities

All this discussion of possibilities and the making jokes about tsunamis, makes me feel frucking disgusted at some of the comments especially those who I know.

Lets get a life people, there were 24000 people killed in this catastrophe.

Nothing to make fun of or take lightly!

? Hlywud
 

Keith R

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Jan 1, 2002
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Sorry, Wud. No offense intended, and despite my jest about landlocked Bolivia, I did not mean in any way want to make light of what has happened in Asia, and doubt any of the other posters did either. My points were simply (1) it potentially could happen to any country with a coastline (thus only Bolivia and Paraguay in this hemisphere are exempt), although it clearly will be more dangerous in impact potential to a developing nation on an island; (2) most studies/sources I have read in the past suggest lower (but not nil) probabilities in the Atlantic and Caribbean; (3) it truly is difficult to prognosticate and prepare against a tsunami, so worrying about it to the point of considering not to visit the DR because of such risk (as one poster suggested) makes little sense -- to me, anyway.

Regards,
Keith
 

Escott

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Hlywud said:
All this discussion of possibilities and the making jokes about tsunamis, makes me feel frucking disgusted at some of the comments especially those who I know.

Lets get a life people, there were 24000 people killed in this catastrophe.

Nothing to make fun of or take lightly!

? Hlywud
Well I disagree and unlike others I will NOT apologize for making fun out of a post that says that the DR should worry about it or that tourism may suffer because of this. This has NOT one damn thing to do with the Catastrophe that happened in Asia. I think the idea of a tsunamis in the DR is something to take lightly and more a joke than something to take seriously. This is not meant to belittle the problem in Thailand or anywhere else that had 24k deaths.

I didn't make a joke about what happened in Thailand but to make this an issue in the DR is DOPEY to say the least. This is a DR message board and NOT a Thailand message board so if you are looking for condolences you are in the wrong place.

Next time someone talks about a killer blizzard you expect us to get our panties in a bunch over that also? Aint gonna happen my friend.

You aint in S.E. Asia anymore Toto and just because something happened on the other side of the world doesn't mean it is going to happen in the DR.
 

santobonao

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Jun 3, 2003
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Well this tsunami could happen in many places and can change our planet orbit. The event that happen in asia can change many things in our planet. Maybe the caribbean will not a hurricane next year or maybe the hurricane can hit more frequency to New york or we can see snow in dominican republic in the future. We can't tell about what going to happen in the future especially to nature. ;) ;) ;)
 

Texas Bill

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Feb 11, 2003
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The latest from Yahoo.com sets the toll at 52,000 souls lost. This is a little over double the original estimate!
Some of the comments about the geology of the Canary Islands reveals a fairly constant hand on the pulse of the region as pertains to volcanism and any tsunami resulting from such a pnenomenon. Those comments indicated such was very low on the totem pole of happening even though over the past 200,000 million years there has been considerable plate slippage in the region causing massive landslides, etc., etc.

In other words, not to worry about Mother Nature taking revenge on Hippo for his actions here....

Texas Bill
 

pinar_quemado

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Dec 28, 2004
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Tsunami Hit the DR in 1916

Tsunami have occurred in the DR. The following story is from 1916 - no reports in this story on the effect that it had in the country - but it sunk a capital US warship in the Santo Domingo Harbor.

I would be interested if anyone had news of the effect that this Tsunami had on the country proper and its people.

There was also one that hit the North coast in 1946. I'll try and locate that report and post it.

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Tsunami, August 29, 1916

War Vessels ?Memphis? and ?Castine?
According to crew member Alvion P Mosier, the loss of the Memphis was the greatest sea disaster in peacetime that the Navy had ever suffered. The Memphis was in Santo Domingo to support the Marines stationed there, and was the flagship to senior officer Admiral Pond. The ship?s commanding officer was Captain Edward J Beach. San Domingo harbor was a very exposed anchorage, open to the S and E. Memphis and the gunboat Castine were anchored in 55' of water. On this Tuesday morning, the Admiral and 2 aides went ashore and were met by the US Consul. At 1 pm the cruiser put ashore a recreation party, which went ? mile upstream in the Ozama River, where the Marines were billeted at Fort Ozama. Shortly after, one of the Memphis? dinghies capsized, and it was noticed when raising it the ship was rolling more than usual, but there was no wind. Rolling became very heavy, and the Captain looked seaward and saw to his horror an immense wave about 70' high approaching the harbor fast and obscuring the horizon. It was now 345 pm.

The swell became enormous, washing over her, and with her keel occasionally touching the seabed, waves now estimated at 40'. The large wave had slowed. It was carrying before it a huge area of sand and mud, and the nearer it approached, the more the swell increased. The launch sent to pick up the recreation party emerged from the Ozama, pitching then capsizing. The Castine could not lower boats to the sailors in the water, but threw life belts and other objects in the water to help the men. She had built up enough steam to reach deeper water and lower swells, but the Memphis had not. The Memphis continued to roll, as much as 70 degrees, with the crew to their astonishment witnessing green seas descending into the funnels. When the enormous wave reached her, she was beam on to the wave.

A trough appeared about 100 yards ahead of the wave, slowing as the crest of the wave built up, curving over the horrified onlookers, the peak about 50' above the bridge, itself 40' above the water line. It was in the form of 3 gigantic steps, each with a large plateau atop it, the whole now rushing shoreward at colossal speed. With a roar like an express train, the wave broke over the Memphis. She ended up onshore, after having been grounded several times on the razor-sharp coral bottom, once with the ship?s port side aground, the 18,000 ton ship thrown onto her beam ends. The ship was a total wreck, and 40 lives were lost. She was to wait on the rocks for 21 years for the arrival of the ship breakers.
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/phi/reports/tsunami.htm#aug2003G
 

pinar_quemado

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Dec 28, 2004
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1946 Tsunamis in the DR

The following is from the US Geological Service. Note particularly the last 2 sentences of perhaps 1,800 people killed in the DR due to a Tsunamis in 1946.

Eighty-eight tsunamis have been reported for the entire Caribbean Region in the past 500 years, including 14 tsunamis reported from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands (Lander et al., submitted). 30 tsunamis caused significant damage including reports of as many as 9600 fatalities, which can be attributed to tsunamigenic earthquakes and tsunamis combined. 1922 deaths are confirmed as being specifically related to tsunamis during the last 150 years. A 1918 M 7.5 earthquake resulted in a tsunami that killed at least 116 people in northwestern Puerto Rico. A runup of about 6 m has been documented by mapping, and sedimentary evidence for at least two earlier tsunamis in the area has been cited. Eyewitness reports of the St. Croix tsunami give a maximum wave height of 7.6 m in Frederiksted. Immediately after the 1946 Hispaniola earthquake a tsunami struck northeastern Hispaniola, followed by a series of smaller tsunamis, probably caused by continuing landsliding. The initial tsunami was as much as 4-5 m high and propagated inland for several kilometers, drowning, according to some reports, nearly 1,800 people.

http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/of99-353/stateknowledge.html
 

Guatiao

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Mar 27, 2004
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Is the DR Govt & People giving donations?

I was wondering even though I know the economy is bad, is there a sense of humanity? is the media showing the tragedy? I ask because I remember how the DR & haiti got donations after the rains.
 

AnnaC

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Jan 2, 2002
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Canada is giving 4 million along with water, medicine and food. There was a long list of countries sending about 35 million in total so far.
 
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