What do you do if you are in water when tsunami hits?

[glubglub]

Well, not to think too negatively, but what emergency actions do you do if you happen to be in the water when a quake or the generated tsunami hits nearby? It seems like quakes are happening with more intensity these days...

It's very different than rip current where you can get out by swimming parallel to get out of it, tsunami will actually bring you closer to land... along with other debris that will make a burger out of you.

Obvious and non-obvious suggestions welcome!

 

[fcallagy]

Poignant question alright but have no idea on what the best tactic maybe. The backwash or rip must be huge and maybe swimming out the back of the wave before it starts to break would seem like a good initial idea if your already in the water but you may be kept out there for a long while more. Obviously depends on the size of the waves in question

 

[Lazuli]

 

[cmburch]

There was some video of divers for the 2004 tsunami. Probably could do a search for the footage.

google 2004 tsunami scuba

 

[scottwilson]

I would say you Screwed. I dont reckon you would be able to dive/swim under the wave as that amount of force would drag you with it no matter what.........scary thought

 

[scottwilson]

CNN.com - American diver underwater during catastrophe - Dec 29, 2004

interesting read

 

[Pastor]

I would suggest a quick evacuation of the bowels and a prayer!

This very thing happened to 2 friends of mine in Sri Lanka during the Asia Tsunami, it's documented to somewhere on the forum. They never spoke about it much but it sounded like there wasn't anything you could do except try to stay alive and pray for a bit of luck.

 

[Erik]

Hang on to your ass.

 

[Broseidon]

I would say you Screwed. I dont reckon you would be able to dive/swim under the wave as that amount of force would drag you with it no matter what.........scary thought

A wave is simply energy moving through a body of water, if you're out at sea you'll just move up and down vertically, as per any other wave.

Unless you're in shallow water you'll be fine! If you are in the shallows though you're probably fooked!

 

[pinoycatfish]

P R A Y, and for me i`ll try to stay afloat as long as i can that way i can better asses the situation (just my opinion) and pray some more

 

[wet]

Backfloat like a sea otter...

 

[blaiz]

Easy, Place head between legs and kiss your a$$ good by

 

[Cynder]

Tsunamis are generally not very high (the wave is the same height as the vertical shift in the sea floor so max is approx 10ft) and have very long wave lengths.
The wavelength is actually the key to their destructive power, they dont so much build up and break on the shore (they certainly do build up as they hit shallower water) but they more just plough straight over the shore because the wave is so long it just keeps coming.
So, as stated, if you were out at see you might not even notice because the wave height might not be much compared to a tremendous length.
If you were in shallow water I imagine the draw back before the surge would feel like the mother of all rips....
I think, if you knew what was happening, i'd be tempted to swim with the 'rip' no way you'd swim out the side of this thing and hopefully you'd swim far enough out to sea to meet the wave at its low stage, before it built up and, biggest hope of all, before it became a 'cement mixer' once it picked up debris.
If you get swept in over the beach . . . . Dodge, Dip, Duck, Dive & Dodge?

-Cyn-

 

[trux]

Yes, very well said. I'd just add, that you may have the chance to see what's happening. Tsunamis usually comes in a series of waves, where the second or the third one are the most destructive. It announces itself by sudden retreating of the sea level. So if you manage to see the sea retreating, you'd probably do your best to get up to the boat (if there is one), or to the surface, and trying to get out to the open water with greater depth, where the wave is still flat, as fast as you can.

Well, in the same time, I know that in Indonesia and in Thailand there were some snorkelers and swimmers who were not far from the beach, and when they saw the sea disappearing under them, they managed to run to the coast and safe themselves there. But I think they manged doing it only because they were rather close to the beach and found themselves suddenly on the dried sea bed, so could run relatively fast. And in plus they managed to find a sufficiently elevated shelter there. If you have to swim, and in plus against the retreating current, I am afraid you have little chance to do it to the shore before the wave hits.

 

[sross]

Tsunamis are generally not very high (the wave is the same height as the vertical shift in the sea floor so max is approx 10ft) and have very long wave lengths.
The wavelength is actually the key to their destructive power, they dont so much build up and break on the shore (they certainly do build up as they hit shallower water) but they more just plough straight over the shore because the wave is so long it just keeps coming.
So, as stated, if you were out at see you might not even notice because the wave height might not be much compared to a tremendous length.

Hi Cynder,

Actually, wave height does increase as the Tsunami moves into shallower water, and its velocity decreases.

I saw a video taken in Aceh in Indonesia during the 2004 tsunami, and the wave hight was at the second-floor windows of many buildings.

At sea a tsunami can be only a foot high with a wavelength of more than a hundred miles, and though it travels at very high speed in deep water (over 200 mph) it is unnoticeable because the small height change occurs over many minutes.

Anyhow, as the wave moves along, energy is transmitted, or flows along (the energy flux) and conservation of energy applies. As the wave slows down in shallower water, energy flux is maintained constant by moving some of it into potential energy generated by pushing the water higher. i don't know if this explanation is clear, but there's a great animated diagram on this page:

[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave_shoaling]Wave shoaling - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

 

[Cynder]

The wavelength is actually the key to their destructive power, they dont so much build up and break on the shore (they certainly do build up as they hit shallower water) but they more just plough straight over the shore because the wave is so long it just keeps coming.
-Cyn-

I wasnt meaning to claim they dont build up and get higher when they hit shallow water, as I said, they certainly do and i've seen terrifying videos as im sure everyone on here has. I was just pointing out how shallow they are in open water and putting the emphasis more on their wavelength as the key to their destructive power as the water just keeps coming once it hits the shore.

-Cyn-

 

[tlong]

Stiff as a board; Light as a feather......Stiff as a board; Light as a feather.....
Then ride that sucker in like a pro body boarder!!

 

[ReefTroll]

I'd die of orgasm if I got to body surf a tsunami!!! (And if I didn't then, I'd obviously just die!)

 

[hyeparis]

I think odds of diving when a tsunami hit is real real low. I would imagine anyone who dives in deeper waters should be fine.

 

[podge]

As long as I had a pie and a pint as it came rolling up the beach I reckon I’d be alright.