Can you imagine the devastation that would be caused if a massive wall of water several hundred feet high slammed into Florida at more than 100 miles an hour? To many people such a scenario is impossible, but that is what people living along the Indian Ocean thought before the 2004 tsunami and that is what people living in Japan thought before the 2011 tsunami. Throughout history, giant tsunamis have been relatively rare events, but they do happen. Scientists tell us that a mega-tsunami can race across the open ocean at up to 500 miles an hour, and when they reach shore they can produce waves that are hundreds of feet high. And even though authorities claim that the threat to Florida is “remote”, it might surprise you to learn that there are “Tsunami Hazard Zone” signs on Florida beaches. If a highly unusual event (such as a giant meteor hitting the Atlantic Ocean) caused a giant tsunami that hit Florida, the devastation would be absolutely unimaginable. Most people don’t realize this, but almost the entire bottom half of Florida is just barely above sea level. If a giant tsunami did hit Florida, there would be nothing to stop it from sweeping across the entire state… South Florida has two big problems. The first is its remarkably flat topography. Half the area that surrounds Miami is less than five feet above sea level. Its highest natural elevation, a limestone ridge that runs from Palm Beach to just south of the city, averages a scant 12 feet. With just three feet of sea-level rise, more than a third of southern Florida will vanish; at six feet, more than half will be gone; if the seas rise 12 feet, South Florida will be little more than an isolated archipelago surrounded by abandoned buildings and crumbling overpasses. And the waters won’t just come in from the east – because the region is so flat, rising seas will come in nearly as fast from the west too, through the Everglades. Even worse, South Florida sits above a vast and porous limestone plateau. “Imagine Swiss cheese, and you’ll have a pretty good idea what the rock under southern Florida looks like,” says Glenn Landers, a senior engineer at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This means water moves around easily – it seeps into yards at high tide, bubbles up on golf courses, flows through underground caverns, corrodes building foundations from below. “Conventional sea walls and barriers are not effective here,” says Robert Daoust, an ecologist at ARCADIS, a Dutch firm that specializes in engineering solutions to rising seas. Of course the authorities do all that they can to play down this potential threat. They say that it is “highly unlikely” that a tsunami will ever hit Florida. The following comes from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection… Although it is highly unlikely that a tsunami will impact Florida, it is not impossible. Floridians may also travel to locations where tsunamis are more likely. It is vital to know (and instruct children) that if the ocean suddenly recedes from the shore do not stand and stare. It is necessary immediately to run uphill or away from the shore and go to the highest location possible which may mean up the stairs of a substantial building. Everyone should be aware that no matter where in the world they are, if the sea is observed to recede from the shore, they should immediately run for high ground. That last part is quite funny. There is no “high ground” until you get to north Florida. If a mega-tsunami strikes, there is going to be no place to hide.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 01:50:35 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015