Pattaya And A Tsunami?

[astromash]

I've been back in the UK for the last 6 months (boo!) and will be returning to Pattaya in a couple of weeks (hurrah!). I just got off the phone to my girlfriend. She tells me her family are urging her to return home to Korat because it's on the news that because of all the rain Pattaya may be hit by a tsunami.

My girlfriend is usually fairly level-headed. She doesn't seem worried and isn't intending to leave Pattaya. So I don't what to make of this 'news'.

Anyone heard anything along these lines? All I've ever heard in the past is that because of its position on the Gulf of Thailand, Pattaya would be very unlikely to be hit by a tsunami.

[chiang mai]

I've been back in the UK for the last 6 months (boo!) and will be returning to Pattaya in a couple of weeks (hurrah!). I just got off the phone to my girlfriend. She tells me her family are urging her to return home to Korat because it's on the news that because of all the rain Pattaya may be hit by a tsunami.

My girlfriend is usually fairly level-headed. She doesn't seem worried and isn't intending to leave Pattaya. So I don't what to make of this 'news'.

Anyone heard anything along these lines? All I've ever heard in the past is that because of its position on the Gulf of Thailand, Pattaya would be very unlikely to be hit by a tsunami.

I can't even go there on this.

[lazeeboy]

well it should cleanup the town

[Murgatroyd]

There has been a lot of rumors about a so called "Storm surge", but this is the first I have heard about a Tsunami...

Tsunamis are not caused be rain, even excessive amounts of rain... they are usually caused by seismic disturbances, such as underwater earthquakes, or possibly a big volcanic eruption... a big meteorite strike would also cause a tsunami...

But not rain.

[Phil Conners]

Tsunamis are caused by earthquakes, not rain.

[basjke]

Tsunamis are caused by earthquakes, not rain.

Are you sure water can not pile up and then sudden slide down causing a giant wave

[CGW]

Surely if it rained very heavily 5 or 10 miles offshore, when the tide came in it would be equivalent to a tsunamis?

[astromash]

There has been a lot of rumors about a so called "Storm surge", but this is the first I have heard about a Tsunami...

Aha! So "tsunami" may be her way of trying to convey "storm surge". Thanks for that.

Okay, so what's this I hear about a possible "storm surge" in Pattaya?

[Jingthing]

I have heard that Thais are taught in school that high tide/low tide cycles are caused by rainfall levels.

[eefoo]

There has been a lot of rumors about a so called "Storm surge", but this is the first I have heard about a Tsunami...

Aha! So "tsunami" may be her way of trying to convey "storm surge". Thanks for that.

Okay, so what's this I hear about a possible "storm surge" in Pattaya?

A 'Storm Surge' is a rise in sea level in front of an approaching hurricane (or typhoon in this area). Not a lot of those hit Pattaya either!

[Freddyrocks]

Usually the use of "storm surge" wouldn't apply to rain alone. That saying is usually is used in connection with a Typhoon/cyclone/hurricane type of occurance.

[Heng]

Wish we finally did have a nice sized natural disaster here, so I could once and for all justify stockpiling all this drinking water, Campbell's soup, and 9 mm ammo.

[NightOwl888]

There has been a lot of rumors about a so called "Storm surge", but this is the first I have heard about a Tsunami...

Tsunamis are not caused be rain, even excessive amounts of rain... they are usually caused by seismic disturbances, such as underwater earthquakes, or possibly a big volcanic eruption... a big meteorite strike would also cause a tsunami...

But not rain.

Tsunamis are caused by earthquakes, not rain.

Tsunamis can also be caused by landslides. In fact, landslides are capable of producing much larger tsunamis than earthquakes. In turn, landslides can be caused by excessive rain.

That said, for Pattaya to be hit by a tsunami, there would need to be a landslide on the opposite (Western) side of the gulf or somewhere underwater within the gulf. Since underwater landslides are unlikely to be caused by too much rain, is there anything in the news of there being a potential landslide near Hua Hin?

[allexx]

There has been a lot of rumors about a so called "Storm surge", but this is the first I have heard about a Tsunami...

Tsunamis are not caused be rain, even excessive amounts of rain... they are usually caused by seismic disturbances, such as underwater earthquakes, or possibly a big volcanic eruption... a big meteorite strike would also cause a tsunami...

But not rain.

Tsunamis are caused by earthquakes, not rain.

Tsunamis can also be caused by landslides. In fact, landslides are capable of producing much larger tsunamis than earthquakes. In turn, landslides can be caused by excessive rain.

That said, for Pattaya to be hit by a tsunami, there would need to be a landslide on the opposite (Western) side of the gulf or somewhere underwater within the gulf. Since underwater landslides are unlikely to be caused by too much rain, is there anything in the news of there being a potential landslide near Hua Hin?

A tsunami is a series of waves created when a body of water, such as an ocean, is rapidly displaced. Earthquakes, mass movements above or below water, some volcanic eruptions and other underwater explosions, landslides, underwater earthquakes, large asteroid impacts and testing with nuclear weapons at sea all have the potential to generate a tsunami. The effects of a tsunami can be devastating due to the immense volumes of water and energy involved. Since meteorites are small, they will not generate a tsunami.

[Basil B]

... Since meteorites are small, they will not generate a tsunami.

Meteorites can be large, fortunately the earth is not hit by large meteorite that often, the last one of any size to cause significant damage was the Tuguka one that hit in 1908, fortunately it was an air burst over an unpopulated area of Russia, but had it hit over sea/ocean I think there would have been a risk of tsunami.

BB

[lembit]

I've been back in the UK for the last 6 months (boo!) and will be returning to Pattaya in a couple of weeks (hurrah!). I just got off the phone to my girlfriend. She tells me her family are urging her to return home to Korat because it's on the news that because of all the rain Pattaya may be hit by a tsunami.

My girlfriend is usually fairly level-headed. She doesn't seem worried and isn't intending to leave Pattaya. So I don't what to make of this 'news'.

Anyone heard anything along these lines? All I've ever heard in the past is that because of its position on the Gulf of Thailand, Pattaya would be very unlikely to be hit by a tsunami.

The water in the bay is not deep enough for a sunami, so Pattaya aria is safe for sunamis, that's one of the resons I live there.....it's quit safe for the most disasters in Pattaya, from nature that is!

[balo]

The water in the bay is not deep enough for a sunami, so Pattaya aria is safe for sunamis, that's one of the resons I live there.....it's quit safe for the most disasters in Pattaya, from nature that is!

Disasters happens daily in Pattaya , you don't need a tsunami to get rid of the tourists.....

[barryofthailand]

I don't really think a Tsunami is possible in Pattaya as Pattaya has a bay, not an open ocean as in the Indian ocean in Phucket. When Phucket had the Tsunami it came on the Patong side, not the Caron Side as Patong is the open ocean and Caron is not. Now if Pattaya had an earthquake in the Bay it might be possible, but very unlikely. Uneducated Thais do not know about these things.

Barry

[Naam]

i believe that tsunamis are caused by vampire bats when too many of them flap their wings too fast

[britmaveric]

Highly unlikely due to the geography.

Edited September 14, 2008 by britmaveric

[nookiebear]

There was talk of an abnormally high tide expected but certainly not a tsunami

[Rimmer]

Maybe they are confused between Tsunami and Hadron particle collider, after all the words sound very similar right?

[Soutpeel]

Possible, but highly unlikely....more likely these is confusion over the possibility of excessive high tides, have also heard that in Thai schools, the tides are explained in relation to rain fall levels ??

Water depth in the GOT (275'-300' deep) could sustain Tsunanmi, if you where in deep water, you proberly not even know it had passed under you, as there would not be a "wave" as such, as the water depth decreases you have the wave formation occuring.

[Murgatroyd]

Since meteorites are small, they will not generate a tsunami.

Tell that to the Dinosaurs

[Guderian]

There was a storm surge predicted for late August that never happened - obviously because of the 499 Buddhist priests who offered prayers against it!

(It was in the main newspapers as well as on a number of Pattaya boards.)

The map below shows the areas expected to be affected by a serious storm surge in the Gulf of Thailand, and Pattaya seems to be just safe - not sure how accurate the map is, though.

[LtCol]

The main reason the last Tsunami affected Phuket & not Pattaya is the geography of Pattaya being above sea level & the dissipating effect of less depth to the location & Phuket being below sea level contributed to the disastrous results there & at Aceh.

I would suggest that perhaps a 'Tidal Surge' or 'High Tide" may have been misinterpreted into a 'Tsunam' in the retelling.

Some of the destructive results of a Tsunami , such as people falling from High Buildings & Drowning seem to be a normal happening in Pattaya anyway , so how could you tell if one hit ???

[Geroc]

5555 ! Surely a new hoax ! Look at the map and see the gulf is really too short for a tsunami.

[Soutpeel]

The main reason the last Tsunami affected Phuket & not Pattaya is the geography of Pattaya being above sea level & the dissipating effect of less depth to the location & Phuket being below sea level contributed to the disastrous results there & at Aceh.

I would suggest that perhaps a 'Tidal Surge' or 'High Tide" may have been misinterpreted into a 'Tsunam' in the retelling.

Some of the destructive results of a Tsunami , such as people falling from High Buildings & Drowning seem to be a normal happening in Pattaya anyway , so how could you tell if one hit ???

Really and here's me thinking it had something to do with the fact that there was a a big strip of land, between Phuket and Pattaya call ed Thailand, in between the Indian ocean and the gulf of Thailand

Also didnt realise everyone in Phuket had to wear a scuba tank to live there.."Phuket being below sea level"

In addtion shallower water does not dissipate the energy, in fact it concentrates the enery, hence the wave formation and increased destructive power..if you are in reasonably deep water offshore and a Tsunami came through, most likley you would not even know its gone past you..

[Madame]

I don't really think a Tsunami is possible in Pattaya as Pattaya has a bay, not an open ocean as in the Indian ocean in Phucket. When Phucket had the Tsunami it came on the Patong side, not the Caron Side as Patong is the open ocean and Caron is not. Now if Pattaya had an earthquake in the Bay it might be possible, but very unlikely. Uneducated Thais do not know about these things.

Barry

Agree.

Also the US Navy chose Pattaya as base, (hopefully) because of its geological position.

[Rimmer]

I don't really think a Tsunami is possible in Pattaya as Pattaya has a bay, not an open ocean as in the Indian ocean in Phucket. When Phucket had the Tsunami it came on the Patong side, not the Caron Side as Patong is the open ocean and Caron is not. Now if Pattaya had an earthquake in the Bay it might be possible, but very unlikely. Uneducated Thais do not know about these things.

Barry

Agree.

Also the US Navy chose Pattaya as base, (hopefully) because of its geological position.

Ya mean close proximity to the Marine Bar? Must be that because as far as I know It's not a deep water port and has no major US Navy repair facilities.

In any event everyone knows that the sea is higher in Phuket than it is in Pattaya it's all to do with the Polar caps

right?