Major Earthquake Rocks Andaman

[mcfester]

Anyone know if there's a tsunami alert?

It was a few hours ago.

[ScubaBuddha]

http://www.tsunami-alarm-system.com/en/index.html

Edited March 30, 2010 by ScubaBuddha

[keestha]

Yesterday at 11hours 54 minutes ICT there was a 6,6 earthquake close to the Andaman Islands (India) at 13.60N 92.88E, at a depth of 26 miles (!), an event as unlikely to cause a tsunami as somebody falling off his barstool somewhere at Bangla Road.

[KarenBravo]

Most earthquakes are when two tectonic plates move horizontally to each other. No tsunami.

Tsunamis are caused when the two tectonic plates move vertically in relation to each other. This type of seismic event is much rarer.

[ScubaBuddha]

Most earthquakes are when two tectonic plates move horizontally to each other. No tsunami.

Tsunamis are caused when the two tectonic plates move vertically in relation to each other. This type of seismic event is much rarer.

Just FYI, there are lots of things can cause a tsunami. Underwater landslides, underwater volcanic eruptions, even meteorites can cause tsunamis (Just ask the dinosaurs).

There is also the possibility of an above ground landslide causing a tsunami when a landslide/avalanche occurs next to a body of water, as happened in Lituya Bay, Alaska. Lituya Bay holds the world record tsunami height of 500+ meters. This can happen at random, but this one was triggered by an 8.0 earthquake. Of course in these types of tsunamis it's irrelevant whether the earthquake was generated by a strike slip fault (horizontal) or an dip-slip fault (vertical)

On the night of July 7th, 1958 the world’s largest Tsunami struck Lituya bay, located about 250 miles west of Juneau. The tsunami was 1,700 feet or 520 meters tall, almost twice the height of the Eiffel Tower.

The Tsunami happened immediately after a magnitude 8.3 earthquake caused an enormous landslide along the Fairweather Fault. The resulting crash of rock into water, caused the largest wall of water in human history. The deadly wave hurtled at jet speeds and wiped out everything within a four mile radius.

Fortunately Lituya Bay is virtually empty, otherwise it would have caused unprecedented destruction, far greater than the tsunami that struck Thailand in 2004.

http://oliviastella.com/geo201/landslide.html

http://www.usc.edu/dept/tsunamis/alaska/19...ages/index.html

Edited March 31, 2010 by ScubaBuddha

[LivinLOS]

Someones been watching that 'mega tsunami' show on Nat Geo