Natural Hazard
Tsunami Preparedness WeekWoods Hole Oceanographic Institution | 27 Mar 2013A tsunami is a massive, fast-moving wave created by an underwater earthquake or landslide. The large volume of water displaced by a sudden movement of the seafloor creates a pulse in the ocean that races out from its source at speeds of up to 500 miles per hour and extends thousands of feet below the surface.
Natural Hazard | Research NOAA Releases Coastal Population Trends ReportNOAA's National Ocean Service | 26 Mar 2013If current population trends continue, the already crowded U.S. coast will see population grow from 123 million people to nearly 134 million people by 2020, putting more of the population at increased risk from extreme coastal storms like Sandy and Isaac, which severely damaged infrastructure and property last year. The projection comes from a new report released today from NOAA with input from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Coastal Development and Tourism | Natural Hazard Breaking the rules for how tsunamis workEurekAlert | 06 Mar 2013(University of Southern California) Until now, it was largely believed that the maximum tsunami height onshore could not exceed the depth of the seafloor. But new research shows that when focusing occurs, that scaling relationship breaks down and flooding can be up to 50 percent deeper with waves that do not lose height as they get closer to shore.
Natural Hazard | Research Cargo container research to improve buildings' ability to withstand tsunamisEurekAlert | 05 Feb 2013(Purdue University) A multi-university team lead by Ronald Riggs, a structural engineer at the University of Hawaii, has determined just what the impact of cargo containers could be and will present findings at an international conference in June. The goal is to supply structural engineers with information to design buildings in areas vulnerable to tsunamis.
Natural Hazard