Interesting to consider that during the last ice age, the weight on the northern hemesphere would have buldged out the ring of fire and when that catastrophically melted super fast the ring of fire would have pulled back in quickly.
Your post reminded me of two stories from Amanda Ripley's book The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes—and Why (https://tinyurl.com/56nt62fm). It is a fascinating and insightful book.
However, the 2004 tsunami was different since there were tremors and other signs of a coming tsunami; unfortunately, people took action only in a few cases, as in the two examples below. It is primarily due to people not knowing what actions to take once they saw the signs, except in the two cases below and a few other cases:
“Consider two cities, both very close to the epicenter of the earthquake that set off the 2004 tsunami. Jantang was a coastal village on the northern coast of Sumatra. The residents felt the ground shake, and about twenty minutes later, a roaring wave swept their lives away. The water reached heights of forty-five to sixty feet. All of the village’s structures were destroyed. Over 50 percent of the people were killed.
Langi, on the island of Simeulue, was even closer to the quake. Islanders had just eight minutes after the ground shook to get to high ground—the shortest interval between earthquake and tsunami anywhere and too fast for a buoy-based warning system, had there been one. Waves there reached thirty to forty-five feet—slightly less than the height in Jantang, but still decidedly deadly. As in Jantang, all the town’s buildings were decimated. But in Langi, 100 percent of the eight-hundred-person population survived. No one—not a child, not a grandmother—was lost. “In Langi, when the ground shook, everyone left for higher ground—and stayed there for a while. That was the tradition, no matter what. In 1907, the island had experienced a tsunami, which locals say killed about 70 percent of the population. And the survivors had passed this lesson on through the generations in Langi and other towns. Everyone knew the word smong, the word for tsunami in the Simeulue language.”
And
“Even a child can do better than a fancy warning system, if she has been trusted with some basic information. English schoolgirl Tilly Smith was vacationing with her parents and sister in Thailand in 2004 when the tide suddenly rushed out. Tourists pointed at the fish flopping on the sand. Out on the horizon, the water began to bubble strangely, and boats bobbed up and down. Smith, ten, had just learned about tsunami in her geography class, two weeks earlier. She had watched a video of a Hawaii tsunami and learned all the signs. “Mummy, we must get off the beach now. I think there is going to be a tsunami,” she said. Her parents started warning people to leave. Then the family raced up to the JW Marriott hotel where they were staying and alerted the staff, who evacuated the rest of the beach. In the end, the beach was one of the few in Phuket where no one was killed or seriously hurt.”
The book also discusses how DHS’s color-coded system, used after 9/11, did not inform people what to do.
“Now compare that description to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s color-coded alert system. It is indeed easy to understand, and it gets repeated frequently. But other than that, the alerts are inconsistent, unspecific, impersonal, and untargeted. “That isn’t a warning system,” says warnings expert Mileti. “That’s the first 10 percent of the system. It’s a risk classification system. It would be equivalent to saying, ‘It’s orange today for floods.’” Warnings need to tell people what to do. Since people aren’t sure what action they should take in response to an Orange Alert for terrorism, the color codes are unsatisfying—like someone clinking a glass to give a toast and then standing there in silence.”
Audible has a great book that tells the 9/11 story from the standpoint of the people in the FBI. It's really good and touches on a lot of these types of communications failures.
No, but probably just because I was too scared to ask. I did get to record an interview with him for a school project in middle school where we talked about what it was like to live in the 1920s, and then during the Depression and WWII. I remember hearing about rationing stuff like rubber and glass and metal, and then putting 2 and 2 together with the way my grandparents lived. Canning, reusing, and gardening were absolute pillars, and I think I picked up some of that frugality from their generation.
Yeah, I kind of regret never getting to ask my grandpa more about his past. Probably scared to touch a nerve, just like you. His family were Polish Jews during World War II and all of his siblings died in the Warsaw Ghetto. Only his dad and he made it out. I only know most of this from what my mom told me. (He's my grandpa on my dad's side, so my mom was his daughter-in-law.)
Those were very dark times indeed, and my grandparents were all relatively fortunate to have the limited trauma they had. It could have been much, much worse, I think.
Is that a Hokusai? It looks very similar to The Great Wave, one of my favorite pieces of art. I used to work at the Art Institute in Chicago and was lucky enough to be working there when it was on display a few years ago.
Interesting to consider that during the last ice age, the weight on the northern hemesphere would have buldged out the ring of fire and when that catastrophically melted super fast the ring of fire would have pulled back in quickly.
Ice ages probably produced incredible tsunamis! I bet we'll find evidence of this one day.
Your post reminded me of two stories from Amanda Ripley's book The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes—and Why (https://tinyurl.com/56nt62fm). It is a fascinating and insightful book.
However, the 2004 tsunami was different since there were tremors and other signs of a coming tsunami; unfortunately, people took action only in a few cases, as in the two examples below. It is primarily due to people not knowing what actions to take once they saw the signs, except in the two cases below and a few other cases:
“Consider two cities, both very close to the epicenter of the earthquake that set off the 2004 tsunami. Jantang was a coastal village on the northern coast of Sumatra. The residents felt the ground shake, and about twenty minutes later, a roaring wave swept their lives away. The water reached heights of forty-five to sixty feet. All of the village’s structures were destroyed. Over 50 percent of the people were killed.
Langi, on the island of Simeulue, was even closer to the quake. Islanders had just eight minutes after the ground shook to get to high ground—the shortest interval between earthquake and tsunami anywhere and too fast for a buoy-based warning system, had there been one. Waves there reached thirty to forty-five feet—slightly less than the height in Jantang, but still decidedly deadly. As in Jantang, all the town’s buildings were decimated. But in Langi, 100 percent of the eight-hundred-person population survived. No one—not a child, not a grandmother—was lost. “In Langi, when the ground shook, everyone left for higher ground—and stayed there for a while. That was the tradition, no matter what. In 1907, the island had experienced a tsunami, which locals say killed about 70 percent of the population. And the survivors had passed this lesson on through the generations in Langi and other towns. Everyone knew the word smong, the word for tsunami in the Simeulue language.”
And
“Even a child can do better than a fancy warning system, if she has been trusted with some basic information. English schoolgirl Tilly Smith was vacationing with her parents and sister in Thailand in 2004 when the tide suddenly rushed out. Tourists pointed at the fish flopping on the sand. Out on the horizon, the water began to bubble strangely, and boats bobbed up and down. Smith, ten, had just learned about tsunami in her geography class, two weeks earlier. She had watched a video of a Hawaii tsunami and learned all the signs. “Mummy, we must get off the beach now. I think there is going to be a tsunami,” she said. Her parents started warning people to leave. Then the family raced up to the JW Marriott hotel where they were staying and alerted the staff, who evacuated the rest of the beach. In the end, the beach was one of the few in Phuket where no one was killed or seriously hurt.”
The book also discusses how DHS’s color-coded system, used after 9/11, did not inform people what to do.
“Now compare that description to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s color-coded alert system. It is indeed easy to understand, and it gets repeated frequently. But other than that, the alerts are inconsistent, unspecific, impersonal, and untargeted. “That isn’t a warning system,” says warnings expert Mileti. “That’s the first 10 percent of the system. It’s a risk classification system. It would be equivalent to saying, ‘It’s orange today for floods.’” Warnings need to tell people what to do. Since people aren’t sure what action they should take in response to an Orange Alert for terrorism, the color codes are unsatisfying—like someone clinking a glass to give a toast and then standing there in silence.”
Audible has a great book that tells the 9/11 story from the standpoint of the people in the FBI. It's really good and touches on a lot of these types of communications failures.
I had a very different visual in mind involving a giant wave made out of toddlers. My brain is broken.
Fun fact: my grandfather was orphaned at age 13.
Damn, that must've been tough. Did he ever share stories of growing up after that?
No, but probably just because I was too scared to ask. I did get to record an interview with him for a school project in middle school where we talked about what it was like to live in the 1920s, and then during the Depression and WWII. I remember hearing about rationing stuff like rubber and glass and metal, and then putting 2 and 2 together with the way my grandparents lived. Canning, reusing, and gardening were absolute pillars, and I think I picked up some of that frugality from their generation.
Yeah, I kind of regret never getting to ask my grandpa more about his past. Probably scared to touch a nerve, just like you. His family were Polish Jews during World War II and all of his siblings died in the Warsaw Ghetto. Only his dad and he made it out. I only know most of this from what my mom told me. (He's my grandpa on my dad's side, so my mom was his daughter-in-law.)
Those were very dark times indeed, and my grandparents were all relatively fortunate to have the limited trauma they had. It could have been much, much worse, I think.
From Japan🗾, thanks for this article, Andrew!
Thanks, Louise! Did I do all right?
I wish but I think it's meant to come the other way. I'll be running for the Sierras
Sometimes you eat the bar, and sometimes the bar just kind of wipes a third of the coast away.
When I'm surfing the Cascadia Subduction Zone Tsunami Event I'll remember this story
Maybe you can ride that wave all the way to Tokyo!
Is that a Hokusai? It looks very similar to The Great Wave, one of my favorite pieces of art. I used to work at the Art Institute in Chicago and was lucky enough to be working there when it was on display a few years ago.
No, just an image created to hearken back to this time. The Great Wave is incredible! I would love to see this piece in person.