Tsunami not expected to be catastrophic in Americas – seismologistpublished at 04:31 British Summer Time
04:31 BST
Regan Morris
Reporting from Los Angeles
Seismologist Dr Lucy Jones says the tsunami could damage harbours and waterfront property in Hawaii – and possibly in California – but it is not expected to cause a catastrophic loss of life anywhere in the Americas.
Tsunami waves in Hawaii are predicted to be 3-10 feet, while in Santa Barbara, the wave height is predicted to be 1-2 feet. For comparison, in Japan in 2011 some wave heights were 42 feet, Jones said.
“It’s not a wave,” she said. “That’s how much the sea level rises temporarily.”
Crescent City in northern California is expected to get 6-foot waves in its harbour, she added.
The predicted wave height for Santa Barbara is higher than that for Washington or British Columbia in Canada – even though California is further away – because of the pattern forming in the ocean, she said.
Dr Jones said she’d been speaking with a camp counselor on Catalina Island – off the coast of Los Angeles – where waves are expected to hit around 01:00 local time (09:00 BST).
“They’re not evacuating,” she said, adding that even though the threat was minimal, they might decide to move campers away from the closest beachfront cabins.
AloJapan.com