3/19/2013

HOW WERE THE EFFECTS OF THE 1958 LITUYA BAY TSUNAMI

IIM

DIFFERENT FROM THE EFFECTS OF THE 2004 INDIAN OCEAN TSUNAMI ON SRI LANKA?

Anne | 6c

It is 2004. You are vacationing in Sri Lanka. Suddenly, you feel a slight shake that gets bigger and bigger. Then you see a giant wall of water coming at you. What is it? It is the 2004 earthquake-triggered Indian Ocean tsunami. A tsunami is a long high sea wave caused by an earthquake or other disturbance. How where the effects of the 1958 Lituya Bay tsunami different from the effects of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami on Sri Lanka? Most tsunamis occur in the Pacific Ocean. Tsunamis occur there because of the Ring of Fire. The Ring of Fire is a zone of volcanic and earthquake activity caused by the movement of the Pacific plate. This earthquake activity causes many tsunamis. As a result of tsunamis, houses are flooded, people die, and cities are wrecked. This can be prevented by using warning systems. If there is a warning, people have time to prepare by putting up sandbags, leaving their houses, and getting insurance. Lituya Bay is a large inlet along the Alaskan panhandle. It is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. On July 9, 1958 a 1720 foot high megatsunami hit Lituya bay, Alaska. It was one of the largest local tsunamis ever recorded. How did it happen? Before that, an 8.0 magnitude earthquake along the Fairweather fault dislodged 30 million cubic meters of rock, which fell into Gilbert Inlet

(just 13 miles from the epicenter). This sudden displacement of water caused the tsunami. The Lituya Bay tsunami cleared the mountainside of all trees 524 meters above sea level. The water went 3,600 ft inland and covered 5 square miles. Although there was a lot of material damage, only five people died due to Alaskas low population. There were three fishing boats in the bay. Miraculously, only one of them went under, killing two people. The other fishermen were witnesses. Also, three people died on Khantaak Island. On Sunday, December 26, 2004 an undersea megathrust earthquake with a magnitude of 9.2 struck the Indian Ocean. It was the largest magnitude earthquake in forty years. The energy released was equal to 23,000 Hiroshima-type atomic bombs. Ninety minutes later, a tsunami traveling at the speed of a jet airliner hit the coast of Sri Lanka. 36,600 people were killed, and 800,000 more were directly affected. About ninety thousand houses were damaged, since they were mostly made of wood. This was about 1,000 miles from the epicenter. Sri Lanka was the second most badly hit by the tsunami. Although the Lituya bay tsunami was bigger, only five people died. This is because Lituya bay is a small inlet with a narrow entrance and the waves resulting from the landslide were contained. On the other hand, the Indian Ocean tsunamis epicenter was in open water off the coast of Sumatra, so

the effects were felt far and wide. Also, Lituya bay is in Alaska, the least populated state, so there werent a lot of people at the time of the tsunami. However, the islands around the Indian Ocean have a high population. This poses a greater possibility of people getting hurt. There is little knowledge about the Lituya bay tsunami because Alaska was a remote place, and in 1958 scientists didnt have all the high-tech equipment they do now. On the other hand, right now most people have either a smartphone or a video camera. There are a lot of videos and pictures of the Indian Ocean tsunami.

Works Cited "Biggest Wave | Biggest Tsunami | Lituya Bay, Alaska." Biggest Wave | Biggest Tsunami | Lituya Bay, Alaska. Extreme Science, n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2013. <http://www.extremescience.com/biggest-wave.htm>. "The Deadliest Tsunami in History?" National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 07 Jan. 2005. Web. 18 Mar. 2013. <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/12/1227_041226_tsunami.html>. Fritz, Hermann M., Fahad Mohammed, and Jeseon Yoo. "Lituya Bay Landslide Impact Generated Mega-Tsunami 50th Anniversary." Pure and Applied Geophysics 166.1-2 (2009): 153-75. Springer Link. Web. Helgeson, T. J. "Tsunami - Tsunami Disaster in Sri Lanka." Tsunami - Tsunami Disaster in Sri Lanka. Waves of Devastation, Spring 2005. Web. 18 Mar. 2013. <http://academic.evergreen.edu/g/grossmaz/HELGESTJ/>. "View of Lityua Bay and Description of Tsunami." View of Lityua Bay and Description of Tsunami. University of South California, n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2013. <http://www.usc.edu/dept/tsunamis/alaska/1958/webpages/lituyacloseup.html>.