Japanese Fishing Trawler, Carried Away by Tsunami, Found Drifting Toward British Columbia

A 150′ foot long fishing trawler carried away last March by the tsunami off the east coast of Japan has been spotted drifting in the Pacific Ocean, 120 miles off Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, Canada.  About 5 million tons of debris … Continue reading

One Year After the Tsunami – No.18 Kyotoku-maru, Remains As Tsunami Monument or Scar

One year ago today, the largest earthquake in Japan’s history, measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale, struck 70 miles offshore, triggering a 23-foot (7-meter) tsunami that washed far inland smashing towns, airports and highways across the north-eastern Japanese coast. Over 16,000 people are known … Continue reading

First Tsunami Flotsam Arrives on West Coast & Perfect Storm Flotsam Discovery in Ireland

Two stories about flotsam and ocean currents. The first flotsam from the earthquake and tsunami, which struck Japan on March 11, is beginning to arrive on the West Coast of the United States. A large black float, believed to have floated from Japan, was … Continue reading

Of Waves and Whales – Whaling and the Tsunami

Within hours of the tsunami that struck northern Japan last March, the internet was abuzz with the somewhat bizarre suggestion that the earthquake and wave which followed might be some sort of cosmic retribution for Japanese whaling.  Regardless of what one thinks of that suggestion, … Continue reading

U.S. 7th Fleet Moves Away from Stricken Nuclear Plants; Another Reactor Explosion

The US 7th fleet has moved away from the Fukushima nuclear power plants after helicopters from the carrier Ronald Reagan were exposed to an airborne radioactive plume.  Seventeen Navy personnel are being treated for what is described as “low levels of contamination.”   … Continue reading

The Power of Water – A Town Swept Away and Reactors Melting Down

The New York Times published an article this morning, The Destructive Power of Water, where it compares the force of a ten meter high tsunami wave to “a hundred tanks coming across you. Even though it’s a fluid, it operates like a solid hammer.” … Continue reading

A Hawaiian Tsunami – National Geographic Simulation

The Hawaiian islands and the West Coast of the United States suffered relatively minor damage in Friday’s tsunami.   What would a tsunami created by a major eruption of Hawaii’s Mauna Loa volcano be like?  National Geographic presents  a chilling simulation.  Thanks to Linda … Continue reading

Aftermath of the Tsunami – Explosion at Nuclear Power Plant, Five Reactors at Risk

Friday’s 8.9 magnitude earthquake and 10-meter high tsunami on the  coast of northeast Japan devastated cities and villages, killing as many as 1,300.   It also significantly damaged at least five nuclear reactors at two power plants. Yesterday afternoon, a massive explosion … Continue reading