Hi everbody!

I usualy lurk around this site and I think this is only my second post,but I have learned a vast amount of knowledge from everybody-thanks,but I saw something on the tube tonight that provoked a lot of thought for myself,but I think would be a good thread for discussion for other forum members as well.It was on the Discovery channel and dealt with the topic of mega tsunamis(giant tidal waves)and the threat of one hitting the eastern U.S. seaboard.I know Hollywood made a movie about an asteroid hit in the atlantic and it's consequences-cant recall the movies name-but this scenario is based on real life science and has been thoroughly researched by scientific studies.I dont know if Chris K. or anybody who has lived in Alaska has heard anything about a much smaller in scale incident that happened in a sea-sheltered cove in Alaska in 1954.Aparently
a huge portion of a mountain collapsed into the coves water and created what scientist now call a mega-tsunami-creating a 500 ft(above sea-level)wave that travelled at approx.300
mph out to sea.The devastation to the surrounding countryside was unbelievable-every tree on the surrounding mountainsides,300 ft up -was obliterated.Today when you look
at the mountainsides,there is nothing but newer growth trees
300 ft up untill you reach older growth trees from 1954.The contrast between the two areas indicated that an extremely powerfull,destructive event had occured there.Scientists,
geologists,seismologists,etc,from all over the globe have been studying that occurence,and have been studying the rest
of the planet for simalar occurances and have found a few simalar events that have happened thousands of years ago(including one that originated from Hawaii)sending a giant wave that hit the west coast of America.These mega tsunamis
are only created and triggered by a combination of an active
/dormant volcanoes and a large earthquake.Here's the scary part-they have searched the entire globe looking for the next likely occurance area, and the site is located on an currently volcanic island in the Canary islands chain-off the west coast of Africa.The scientists bluntly stated that it is not a question of if,but when it will happen.They already know that a major earthquake fault line runs down the center of this island and all it would take is a strong
enough quake to set the chain in motion.Although the entire
west coast of the US/Canada has lived under the threat of
when the "BIG ONE" is going to happen for decades,I wonder if residents of the east coast of America are aware of this potential threat.I know that they already have their hands full during hurricane season,without something else to worry
about!I currently live in central Canada so I wouldn't be directly affected survival wise,if there was an incident on either coast,but I have relatives and friends in B.C.,and both coasts in the US who I care deeply about.The scientists
stated that "WHEN" this natural disaster occurs,all previous
natural disasters combined would be dwarfed by its magnitude
These are their projections for the above mentioned natural disaster-A major earthquake would crack the entire island in
half,sending the entire west half of the island crashing into the Atlantic ocean-estimated weight of the island falling into the sea is roughly 1/2 to 3/4 of a trillion tons.They further estimate the following:creation of a wave or mega Tsunami 600-1000 miles wide,1000-1500 ft or more tall, by 20-40 miles deep,traveling 400-600 miles per hour.
Estimated time to reach the eastern seaboard-8 hrs.Estimated
area affected-from Miami to New York,estimated death toll if
affected areas not evacuated in time-60 million plus.They also stated that the mega tsunami would lose a lot of its size and power crossing the Atlantic,but you would still be looking at a wall of water 100's of miles wide,at least 1000
ft tall,at least 20 miles deep crossing the shore at 300 mph
reaching 10-30 miles inland before it subsided.I dont know about the rest of you,but I just about sh#t myself when I heard those figures.Worst thing about it,we're powerless to stop it!I don't want to come across as some sort of prophet of doom or run around saying the sky is falling,but this raises great concerns and questions for myself and i would think other forum members who might be affected.I know we all try to be prepared by making PSK's,BUG-OUT kits,position
supplies in our vehicles,check out various escape routes from our homes etc.Are there other forum members who would be affected by such a major natural disaster?The question I want to raise is:If such a disaster occured on either the east or west coasts,and you were given 7-8 hours warning before it hit,could you get you and your loved ones 30-40 miles inland before it struck?How would you do it?What would
you bring with you?This scenario applies to all our overseas
forum members,imagine you were in the same scenario in your own country.For me and mine,I would hope to get as much of that7-8 hrs headtime as possible.I'd hate to miss the news on TV or Radio if I was doing yardwork or worse wake up from
sleeping and find out I've only got half that time left!In this most extreme situation,I would concentrate first on getting my wife and son in our car,also our two pets-sorry to some-but they're family too.The only things I would grab on the way out would be my well stocked bug-out bag and a 12 guage shotgun with lots of ammo.I would say that along with what I normaly carry in the car this is all I'd grab and hope that by being better prepared than most we can flee a medium to large size city and beat the inevitable traffic gridlock and public chaos that's sure to accompany this scenario.Everything that we leave behind are only material goods,and I'd be counting my blessings by just getting out alive with my family.When I sit and think about
such an event happening it makes me sad.Unlike most of us here on the forum who would probably survive such an event by being better prepared,I cant help thinking of the many who would perish needlessly for their lack of such.
Unfortunetly,such events can bring out the worst in mankind
and I think that at first it would end up being a dog eat dog,every person for themselves situation,thus the reason I would bring along the shotgun and ammo.I hope I would never
have to exercise the right of self defense,but one might have no choice.
I Know that such an event is hard to comprehend,but history
and scientific evidence prove that it will happen again soon-probably emenating from the Canary Islands.This is not
even close to the world-wide doomsday for mankind threat posed by a large asteroid hitting Earth scenario.
Still science has shown that large asteroids have hit Earth
in the past and it will probably happen again.We now have a
govt.space agency dedicated to finding and tracking near earth objects and other asteroids whose orbit might pose a threat.Given advance warning of such a threat,technology is
advancing at such a rate that mankind may be able to use
nuclear weapons to deflect an asteroids orbit by a degree or two,causing it to miss colliding with Earth and avoiding
doomsday for mankind.Unfortunatly the mega tsunami threat is very real,and there is absolutely nothing man can do about it-except to wait for it to happen!
There is an old saying "those who fail to learn from history
are doomed to repeat it".I'd rather be prepared to get outta
Dodge,than to stick my head in the sand and pretend it's not
gonna happen!!Sorry for the long winded post,but i think many people may be unawear of this potential threat,and I
thought I would throw the above scenario out for discussion
and hear what you all have to say!

Dennis

Hmm....40 miles in 8 or so hours....gridlock likely....I would throw my stuff on my touring bike and pedal away to high ground. It helps that high ground is much closer here on the left coast.

second option - rig the kayak for the ride of a life time! Don't forget the PFD and a helmet.

I believe I recall reading that the tsunami triggered by the 1969 Alaska earthquake clearcut the forest in one Alaskan fiord to a height of 1,000 above MSL. Probably not good conditions for the kayak....

Good idea on option one... I have to say, I didn't think of that. And the wife and I both have bikes!

Option two doesn't sound so good... before I go that route, I think I'd just don the SCUBA gear and anchor myself on the lee side of a hill. Once the influx of water stopped, you could surface and float until it all receeded again. How's that for a bizarre solution? <img src="images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

anchor your self ? the water might rip your scuba gear of ya and even it it stayed on its place. A tsunami usually brings things with him land in worths, so you may me crushed by cars, homes, trucks, trees,etc....

I found this site a couple of days ago and it's been pretty enligthtening. Especially the thread on "more on homeland security". In particular Old Bald Guy and BeachDoc's post were very helpful. Thanks for taking the time on posting!

I didn't say it was a great second option... just thought it might work better than a kayak on the surface!

And I did mention getting on the lee side of a hill to deflect debris as much as possible. <img src="images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Well, since I can't quite afford to add a helicopter to my PSK, maybe I'll settle for a surfboard <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Chris.

Well before you even start packing, question would be how will you get out? Car? Bike? Foot? Evacuation? Now depending on that what would you take would make a difference. In one hour you can pack a lot of stuff if you had to use the car. If you were beign evacuated most likely you will be limited to a small bag or back pack in order to make space for others. This is a real deal here. Thinking of NY and how 20 mile ride can change into 2-3 hour trip I can only imagine what would happen if we tried to get out in case of real emergency.

Matt

Most of our plans have some variation of 3 stages: Vehicle, bike (or canoe or...), and foot (or expedient swimming). Think powered vehicle, human-powered vehicle, self-propelled. The first stage transports the second two stages "just in case", the second stage transports the third stage "just in case", and if the third stage does not get the job done, S.T.O.P. - actually, various plans/scenarios discussed en famile have temporary rally / bug-in locations as well.

Yeah that was my first idea (stages of transport) and I tought I was original <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />. I keep my kayaks ready to go on 5 min notice... I have all the gear put together, my tents, PFD, bags and clothes. Roof racks are in easy to reach spot. My weapons can be transfered into cases in a minute. I also have couple of cases of MREs, 24 cans of Mad Max special and 5 gallons of water. I can leave within an hour and never came back but that's based on the assumption that I can use my car. Take away the gateaway vechicle and I'm forced to prioritize. Than it becomes more difficult...