Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Tsunami warning on the radio

There was a tsunami warning on the radio this morning. Evidently the Solomon Islands event triggered the regional network, so all the boffin-to-yobbo communication networks sprung into action. Since Canberra is 100 km inland and 600 meters above sea level, I didn't pay it much attention, but evidently the wave height on the coast was 10-20 cm.

Not exactly a city-destroying wave of doom, but better to try the new system on one of these than a M 9.5 monster or a caldera collapse on the Kermedec. The main problem was that in Sydney, all the tourists flocked down to the shoreline to see why all the ferries stopped and the harbor was cleared. Go figure.

I haven't had a chance to find the USGS report, or to look up relief agencies, but a NZ or Australian news search should get you to the latter.

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