2004 Indian Ocean tsunami waves hit Florida, Maine
mongabay.com
August 14, 2007
Waves from the devastating December 2004 tsunami were recorded along the Atlantic coast of North America, reports a new study published in Geophysical Research Letters.
Analyzing more than 100 tide gauge records from Florida to Nova Scotia, Canadian scientists found that the tsunami was identified by most outer tide gauges, showing maximum heights for waves in northern regions 32 and 39 centimeters (1.0 and 1.3 feet) and maximum heights for waves in southern regions between 15 and 33 centimeters (0.49 and 1.1 feet).
In northern regions, the impact of tsunami-like waves were more than doubled by a major storm moving along the eastern seaboard of the United States.
The authors warn that “although the northern Atlantic Ocean has low tsunami hazards, tsunamis from distant seismic events could threaten coastal infrastructure and habitat when the waves coincide with winter storm waves.”
CITATION: Richard E. Thomson, Alexander B. Rabinovich, and Maxim V. Krassovski (2007). Double jeopardy: Concurrent arrival of the 2004 Sumatra tsunami and storm-generated waves on the Atlantic coast of the United States and Canada. Geophysical Research Letters August 14, 2007
