Scale of Japan quake-tsunami destruction revealed

Jonathan Barbara

Mar 18th 2011, 18:46

Looking around I found this 2008 report which highlights the LACK of coastal defences from flooding, and then as well tsunamis. http://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/climate_change/malta_en.pdf In defense of Sea Level Rise and coastal floods it states that only 5% of Malta is below 7.6m.. Japan's Tsunami was 23m....

Jonathan Barbara

Mar 16th 2011, 16:20

National Geographic says about the Indian Ocean 2004 tsunami "caused waves as high as 50 feet (15 meters) in some places, according to news reports. But in many other places witnesses described a rapid surging of the ocean, more like an extremely powerful river or a flood than the advance and retreat of giant waves."

So the concern, rather than the height of the wave, is the volume of water: will the valleys be big enough to hold that amount of water? Will it find its way to the sea soon enough?

The low-lying east is open to the eastern mediterranean, whilst the high Dingli side is sheltered by the Tunisian peninsula. Possibly a good thing as the water would relatively slow down in its uphill struggle, for if it were to come in through the Dingli side, given that it does overcome the cliffs, then it would be a devastating downhill freefall with no chance of escape for the island.

The possible tsunami evacuation plan reminds me of a song in my teens... Go West!

r ferriggi

Mar 15th 2011, 08:34

rightly said Barbara.

we need an earthquake plan, a tsunami plan, a sea water contamination plan ( desalination stopped), an oil spill plan.

i am neither joking nor complaining.

i am encouraging the authiorities to start working in this direction.

IT IS A FACT,,, THAT we live in ( or clsoe to) a relatively very unstable area vis a vis earthquakes, we live in a small island in a heavily traffiked part of the med.

lets start thinking about catastrophes so that we are better prepared.

i heard some experts say that IF Japan had not been (very very) prepared,,,, the disaster would have been many times worse.

Jonathan Barbara

Mar 14th 2011, 23:15

Seriously, some geographic experts should start forming a strategy on how to put forth an evacuation procedure in the case of such a catastrophe claiming our island - no matter how remote. If you consider it, we have lots of residential areas lying along the eastern, low-lying coast and around the valleys up which such water could make its devastating way.

Jesmond Micallef

Mar 14th 2011, 20:55

What raw destructive power !! Words simply cannot describe the scenes depicted in the video footage here !! I extend my solidarity with all the Japanese people in this hour of need. How absolutely tragic !! Don't know what to say, really, completely speechless !!