Experts less concerned with repeat of 2004 tsunami than with devastating storms

[webfact]

Experts less concerned with repeat of 2004 tsunami than with devastating storms

BANGKOK, 26 June 2014 (NNT) – Experts indicated on Wednesday they were less concerned with a repeat of the 2004 tsunami than they were with the current tendency for devastating tropical storms.

The Thailand Research Fund has hosted a seminar entitled "Second Round of Tsunami: Possibility or Rumor" to address the recent rumors about an impending repetition of the 2004 tsunami in Thailand.

At the seminar, Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology (SIIT) instructor Amon Phimanmat said the violent sea waves on the Andaman Coast at present were due to strong winds that resulted from seasonal monsoons, and were unrelated to a tsunami.

Thiraphan Onthammarat from Mahidol University's Faculty of Engineering indicated that a repeat of an earthquake in the same spot likely required between 300-500 years of energy accumulation, and that Thailand's warning system should provide a warning 1-3 hours before the arrival of a tsunami.

Manwhile, Anat Rueangratsami from Chulalongkorn University viewed that the fault line that can trigger a tsunami was located far enough for Thailand. He argued that tropical storms should currently be of more concern.


-- NNT 2014-06-26

[MrY]

the violent sea waves on the Andaman Coast at present were due to strong winds that resulted from seasonal monsoons, and were unrelated to a tsunami

Well reasoned, dear Watson.

the fault line that can trigger a tsunami was located far enough for Thailand

The fault line that created Boxing Day tsunami that killed 2500 foreigners and "2500" Thais is still within inches of where it lied back then. Sure the storms are of more concern to them. The tsunami was in 2004, the storms are now.

[tigermonkey]

I'm not arguing that violent tropical storms should not be the greater concern, especially after what we recently witnessed in the Philippines, but K. Thirapan and K. Anat seem to be rather off the mark in their evaluation of tsunamis. The fault line that generated the earthquake/tsunami in 2004 is not the only fault line that can generate such an event. They seem to be fixated on the fault line that generated the 2004 event, as if there were absolutely no others and therefore we are safe for "300-500 years".