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