Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
INFLUENTIAL
Major tsunamis have helped
prompt or shape tsunam
programs in the United States.
Place name denotes source
area.
TSUNAMI
S
The 1918, 1964, and 2009 events caused
most of their harm near the tsunami sources.
The 1700 tsunami probably did so as well.
The 1946 and 1960 tsunamis reached Hawaii
from sources far away. The 2004 tsunami
occasioned the Tsunami Warning and
Education Act (P.L. 109-424).
i
TSUNAMI WARNING
CENTERS
The 1964 tsunami led to an Alaskan center
that now serves most of North America. The
warning center in Hawaii originated soon after
the 1946 tsunami and took on Pacific-wide
responsibilities after the 1960 tsunami.
Palmer
, AK
Honolulu, HI
TSUNAMI
PROGRAMS
The NTHMP emerged in 1995, partly to address
newly discovered hazards at Cascadia.
Precedent for the NTHMP includes the Joint
Tsunami Research Effort (JTRE), a Hawaii-
JTRE
N
THMP
50
TSUNAMI BUDGETS
Federal spending
1997-2008 in $M
all of NOAA's
other
tsunami efforts and
NTHMP
-related
activities
based response to the tsunamis of 1946,
1960, and 1964. Outlays for tsunami warning
and forecasts ramped up to the present
40
for
30
levels soon after the 2004 tsunami.
20
10
0
200
TSUNAMI DEATHS
in the United States,
and
tsunami source.
Location by postal
abbreviation
Most of the documented losses to tsunamis in
the United States occurred midway through
the 20th century. Nearly all the deaths in
Hawaii resulted from tsunamis that had
traveled thousands of kilometers from sources
on the Pacific Rim. Near-source losses
occurred mainly in Puerto Rico and Alaska.
HI
near
far from
AK
100
American
Samoa
HI
CA, OR
PR
H
I
AK
H
I
0
9.5
EARTHQUAKE SIZE
Moment magnitudes
of largest
earthquakes
worldwide
Early U.S. efforts in tsunami warning,
mitigation, and research were prompted by
three Pacific Ocean tsunamis in the middle of
the 20th century. This was a time of unusually
large earthquakes. An ensuing lull in large
quakes ended around the start of the current
millennium.
9.0
8.5
8.0
1900
1920
1940
YEAR C.E.
1960
1980
2000
FIGURE 1.2
Timelines for U.S. tsunami warning centers, programs, tsunami budget, deaths from tsunamis
in the United States and its territories, and earthquakes of magnitude 8.0 or larger worldwide since
the year 1900. Sources of data for this igure include: NOAA (federal spending); http://www.ngdc.noaa.
gov/hazard/tsu_db.shtml (tsunami fatalities); http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqarchives/ (great
earthquake history). SOURCE: Committee member.
