1 00:00:04,571 --> 00:00:05,663 C'mon, Matt! 2 00:00:31,398 --> 00:00:32,456 Attention all stations. 3 00:00:32,599 --> 00:00:34,590 Stand by for an urgent tsunami warning 4 00:00:34,734 --> 00:00:38,966 for the Big Island and the islands of Maui, Lanai and Oahu. 5 00:00:39,105 --> 00:00:42,404 This warning is based on a 7.5 magnitude earthquake 6 00:00:42,542 --> 00:00:44,339 near ailua-ona. 7 00:02:04,023 --> 00:02:05,752 Could it really happen? 8 00:02:05,892 --> 00:02:09,623 Could a giant wave really menace the beaches of Hawaii? 9 00:02:10,196 --> 00:02:11,754 There is something out there 10 00:02:11,898 --> 00:02:14,958 and it threatens coastlines around the world. 11 00:02:15,101 --> 00:02:20,232 It's one of nature's least understood forces: Tsunami! 12 00:02:24,344 --> 00:02:26,574 We often see hurricanes and typhoons 13 00:02:26,713 --> 00:02:29,375 that churn up higher-than-normal tide. 14 00:02:29,516 --> 00:02:32,610 They can flood low-lying coastal communities. 15 00:02:32,752 --> 00:02:35,846 But as dangerous as these storm surges can be, 16 00:02:35,989 --> 00:02:39,390 they are not the worst of all possible waves. 17 00:02:41,127 --> 00:02:43,288 The real monsters are tsunamis, 18 00:02:43,429 --> 00:02:46,159 freak waves usually produced by undersea disturbances 19 00:02:46,299 --> 00:02:47,698 like earthquake. 20 00:02:47,834 --> 00:02:52,897 They can race across entire oceans and swallow cities whole. 21 00:02:54,174 --> 00:02:57,302 And they can leave tens of thousands dead. 22 00:02:59,245 --> 00:03:00,303 Throughout history, 23 00:03:00,446 --> 00:03:05,008 tsunamis have generated legendary disasters... 24 00:03:05,151 --> 00:03:09,554 Reversion the shores nearly every ocean and sea. 25 00:03:10,623 --> 00:03:13,649 Without warning and without mercy. 26 00:03:13,793 --> 00:03:17,229 Killer waves have struck again and again. 27 00:03:18,264 --> 00:03:21,631 And tsunamis are as mysterious as they are deadly, 28 00:03:21,768 --> 00:03:25,727 because so few have ever been observed by scientists. 29 00:03:28,474 --> 00:03:32,137 This extraordinary footage was shot in 1952, 30 00:03:32,278 --> 00:03:36,214 in the uril Islands off Russia's northern Pacific Coast. 31 00:03:36,349 --> 00:03:40,615 A typical tsunami, it moved inland like a rising tide, 32 00:03:40,753 --> 00:03:43,483 but with far greater speed and force. 33 00:03:43,623 --> 00:03:46,353 Fortunately it caused only minor damage here... 34 00:03:46,492 --> 00:03:48,153 and no deaths. 35 00:03:48,294 --> 00:03:51,559 But tsunamis can be catastrophic. 36 00:03:58,404 --> 00:04:00,167 In the last century alone, 37 00:04:00,306 --> 00:04:04,174 more than 50,000 people have been killed by tsunamis. 38 00:04:04,310 --> 00:04:07,074 Most had little or no warning. 39 00:04:08,514 --> 00:04:11,074 Few were even aware of the danger. 40 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:16,481 But for the people of the Pacific Rim, 41 00:04:16,623 --> 00:04:20,150 deadly tsunamis are not rare events. 42 00:04:20,860 --> 00:04:23,988 They live in the most seismically active part of the planet, 43 00:04:24,130 --> 00:04:26,690 an area criss-crossed by earthquake zones 44 00:04:26,833 --> 00:04:28,801 and dotted with volcanoes, 45 00:04:28,935 --> 00:04:29,902 so it's not surprising 46 00:04:30,036 --> 00:04:33,995 that the vast majority of the world's tsunamis occur here. 47 00:04:34,140 --> 00:04:35,664 In the middle of the Pacific, 48 00:04:35,808 --> 00:04:39,938 the Hawaiian Islands lie isolated and exposed. 49 00:04:41,147 --> 00:04:44,878 It's people are certainly no strangers to tsunamis. 50 00:04:45,184 --> 00:04:48,585 But some of them are acutely aware of the risk. 51 00:04:50,290 --> 00:04:52,850 Dr. Walter Dudley is director of marine science 52 00:04:52,992 --> 00:04:57,759 at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, and a leading expert on tsunamis. 53 00:04:57,897 --> 00:05:00,764 We'll have a little on-site safety briefing. 54 00:05:04,070 --> 00:05:08,097 Today he's taking one of his classes on a snorkeling field trip. 55 00:05:09,475 --> 00:05:12,740 But first, a few words of caution. 56 00:05:12,879 --> 00:05:14,710 Okay guys, everybody listen up. 57 00:05:14,847 --> 00:05:16,337 We're only about 30 miles 58 00:05:16,482 --> 00:05:18,473 from the epicenter of two of the largest earthquakes 59 00:05:18,618 --> 00:05:19,983 that have ever struck this island. 60 00:05:20,119 --> 00:05:20,778 In both cases, 61 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:23,821 they generated large destructive tsunamis. 62 00:05:23,956 --> 00:05:26,083 The waves took about ten minutes to get here 63 00:05:26,225 --> 00:05:28,591 and were about 10 to 15 feet high. 64 00:05:28,728 --> 00:05:30,559 So if you are out there on the reef, 65 00:05:30,697 --> 00:05:32,289 and you feel a big earthquake, 66 00:05:32,432 --> 00:05:34,297 drop your gear and get out of the water 67 00:05:34,434 --> 00:05:36,732 and move ashore as quickly as possible 68 00:05:36,869 --> 00:05:39,167 Okay, let's have a good lab. 69 00:05:44,944 --> 00:05:49,381 They are among the most catastrophic of all natural phenomenon. 70 00:05:49,515 --> 00:05:53,212 Unlike things like hurricanes, there are no warning signs. 71 00:05:53,353 --> 00:05:54,843 The weather doesn't get bad. 72 00:05:54,987 --> 00:05:56,079 You don't feel the earth shake. 73 00:05:56,222 --> 00:06:00,056 It can be just a beautiful day and then, all of a sudden, 74 00:06:00,193 --> 00:06:05,495 the ocean can come up and come ashore 30 feet high. 75 00:06:08,534 --> 00:06:10,001 In the Hawaiian Islands, 76 00:06:10,136 --> 00:06:12,104 we've recorded tsunami wave heights 77 00:06:12,238 --> 00:06:18,973 as great as 56 feet on this island from the 1946 Aleutian tsunami. 78 00:06:19,112 --> 00:06:20,670 In prehistoric times, 79 00:06:20,813 --> 00:06:23,976 wave heights may have reached over a thousand feet. 80 00:06:24,317 --> 00:06:28,219 Hilo has been struck by tsunamis as long as there has been a Hilo. 81 00:06:28,354 --> 00:06:30,379 But it was really in 1946 82 00:06:30,523 --> 00:06:32,855 when there was a built-up downtown Hilo 83 00:06:32,992 --> 00:06:35,927 that we had a very, very large tsunami 84 00:06:37,363 --> 00:06:41,231 Nineteen forty-six... after four years of war, 85 00:06:41,367 --> 00:06:43,699 Hawaiians can relax. 86 00:06:44,971 --> 00:06:49,135 At last, their island paradise is safe from attack. 87 00:06:55,181 --> 00:06:57,274 But more than 2,000 miles away, 88 00:06:57,417 --> 00:07:00,284 a new threat emerges from the sea. 89 00:07:01,387 --> 00:07:04,117 On April 1, at around 12:30 in the morning, 90 00:07:04,257 --> 00:07:06,851 an undersea earthquake off the coast of Alaska 91 00:07:06,993 --> 00:07:09,223 generates a huge tsunami. 92 00:07:09,362 --> 00:07:12,024 Within minutes it will make its first landfall 93 00:07:12,165 --> 00:07:14,030 on the Aleutian island of Unimak, 94 00:07:14,167 --> 00:07:16,795 90 miles from the epicenter. 95 00:07:17,870 --> 00:07:20,304 Inside the island's Scotch Cap Lighthouse, 96 00:07:20,440 --> 00:07:22,135 the men feel the tremor, 97 00:07:22,275 --> 00:07:25,438 but they have no idea what's heading their way. 98 00:07:25,978 --> 00:07:27,809 When the wave slams into their island, 99 00:07:27,947 --> 00:07:31,144 it's more than 100 feet high. 100 00:07:34,086 --> 00:07:35,018 After it passes, 101 00:07:35,154 --> 00:07:38,248 the Scotch Cap Lighthouse has disappeared, 102 00:07:38,391 --> 00:07:40,586 and so has its crew. 103 00:07:42,328 --> 00:07:44,888 The tsunami continues racing south toward Hawaii 104 00:07:45,031 --> 00:07:47,829 at over 400 miles per hour. 105 00:07:49,068 --> 00:07:53,198 And just as in Alaska, no one here suspects a thing. 106 00:07:54,407 --> 00:07:57,205 It's first impact in the islands is deceptive. 107 00:07:57,343 --> 00:07:59,937 Some waves are as small as two or three feet, 108 00:08:00,079 --> 00:08:03,810 barely hinting at the tsunamis awesome power. 109 00:08:09,555 --> 00:08:12,820 By the time it arrives at Coconut Island in Hilo Bay, 110 00:08:12,959 --> 00:08:17,328 the tsunami has begun to swell to monstrous proportions. 111 00:08:17,864 --> 00:08:20,059 Its waves wash over the island, 112 00:08:20,199 --> 00:08:24,067 easily overtopping the 30-foot palm trees. 113 00:08:28,908 --> 00:08:31,809 Lining Hilo Bay were dozens of homes. 114 00:08:31,944 --> 00:08:35,903 Apua Heuer's family lived on a bluff high above the bay. 115 00:08:36,048 --> 00:08:40,508 My family ventured as close as it could to the edge of this bluff 116 00:08:40,653 --> 00:08:43,019 when we saw this mammoth wave come in. 117 00:08:43,155 --> 00:08:46,522 It's 32 feet from here down to the ocean. 118 00:08:46,659 --> 00:08:48,991 We had to step back because where we were standing, 119 00:08:49,128 --> 00:08:51,392 all of a sudden, it was ocean. 120 00:08:52,798 --> 00:08:54,265 In the city of Hilo, 121 00:08:54,400 --> 00:08:56,868 residents panicked when the first waves hit, 122 00:08:57,003 --> 00:08:58,630 fleeing for their lives. 123 00:08:58,771 --> 00:09:01,501 Many try in vain to outrun the tsunami 124 00:09:01,641 --> 00:09:05,008 We heard this horrible clash in Hilo and we knew that 125 00:09:05,144 --> 00:09:08,375 the buildings on the ocean side were being knocked down. 126 00:09:08,514 --> 00:09:10,914 There was turmoil all day long. 127 00:09:11,050 --> 00:09:15,919 The whole town was awash with water and hurt people and lost people. 128 00:09:16,055 --> 00:09:18,546 We did see people in the ocean struggling, 129 00:09:18,691 --> 00:09:20,591 dogs trying to swim ashore. 130 00:09:20,726 --> 00:09:22,023 We saw that. 131 00:09:22,161 --> 00:09:23,287 But you couldn't do anything about it. 132 00:09:23,429 --> 00:09:26,262 The force of the water was so great, you couldn't venture into it. 133 00:09:26,399 --> 00:09:28,367 You had no chance. 134 00:09:28,501 --> 00:09:30,435 You felt very helpless and wondered 135 00:09:30,570 --> 00:09:33,164 was there anybody out there that you knew. 136 00:09:34,740 --> 00:09:36,708 One photographer watches in horror 137 00:09:36,842 --> 00:09:40,903 as a wave overtakes a dock worker trapped on a pier. 138 00:09:41,047 --> 00:09:42,014 In the next frame, 139 00:09:42,148 --> 00:09:44,139 taken after the wave has passed, 140 00:09:44,283 --> 00:09:50,051 the worker is nowhere to be seen... swept away like so many others. 141 00:09:51,524 --> 00:09:55,358 I had gotten up, gone downstairs to wash up... 142 00:09:55,494 --> 00:10:00,329 Larry Nakagawa was 14 when the wave struck his home in Hilo. 143 00:10:00,466 --> 00:10:03,799 ...and as I was washing my face and brushing my teeth, 144 00:10:03,936 --> 00:10:08,100 I heard this strange sound of gravel being thrown on the pavement. 145 00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:09,400 So my brother came out and said 146 00:10:09,542 --> 00:10:11,339 "It looks like we are having a tidal wave. 147 00:10:11,477 --> 00:10:12,967 We better get on the tree." 148 00:10:13,112 --> 00:10:18,140 So he hoisted me up and then my father was hoisted. 149 00:10:18,284 --> 00:10:21,811 He and my father were on the same branch and, 150 00:10:21,954 --> 00:10:27,221 because of the way the branch was, he had to hold my father around, 151 00:10:27,360 --> 00:10:29,328 to grab hold of the trunk. 152 00:10:29,462 --> 00:10:30,793 And I think that when the wave came, 153 00:10:30,930 --> 00:10:33,831 he felt that if he hung onto my father... 154 00:10:33,966 --> 00:10:34,990 the way... 155 00:10:35,134 --> 00:10:37,102 the force of the wave would push him, 156 00:10:37,236 --> 00:10:39,898 and if he hung on, he would take my father in. 157 00:10:40,039 --> 00:10:43,236 So he let go and he went with the wave. 158 00:10:43,576 --> 00:10:46,977 It was strict horror to go into the mortuaries. 159 00:10:47,113 --> 00:10:49,946 When they found somebody, identified somebody 160 00:10:50,082 --> 00:10:53,051 all the bodies were covered they put a tag on a toe. 161 00:10:53,185 --> 00:10:54,812 But they were covered with a blanket. 162 00:10:54,954 --> 00:10:58,685 And when you pulled back the blanket to see if you recognized them, 163 00:10:58,824 --> 00:11:04,057 the horror on their death... was terrible... when they died. 164 00:11:04,196 --> 00:11:05,993 They were frightened. 165 00:11:06,132 --> 00:11:08,498 Eyes open, mouth agape. 166 00:11:08,634 --> 00:11:11,467 And just a terror looked-face on them. 167 00:11:11,604 --> 00:11:14,300 It was very unpleasant to look at. 168 00:11:18,844 --> 00:11:21,335 Twenty-five miles northwest of Hilo, 169 00:11:21,480 --> 00:11:23,948 the little peninsula called Laupahoehoe 170 00:11:24,083 --> 00:11:27,849 lies exposed to the full fury of the tsunami. 171 00:11:28,821 --> 00:11:32,382 Students have just arrived in the Laupahoehoe schoolyard 172 00:11:32,525 --> 00:11:35,358 and are waiting for classes to start. 173 00:11:36,262 --> 00:11:40,130 Among them are Bunji Fujimoto and his two brothers. 174 00:11:41,400 --> 00:11:45,461 That day remains vivid in Bunji's memory. 175 00:11:46,405 --> 00:11:49,067 I could see a wall of water coming in from out in the ocean. 176 00:11:49,208 --> 00:11:51,972 It compared to filling up a cup of coffee. 177 00:11:52,111 --> 00:11:55,342 You just keep pouring and once it hits the brim, 178 00:11:55,481 --> 00:11:57,540 it spills over, and that's what happened back here, 179 00:11:57,683 --> 00:11:58,707 up on the wall. 180 00:11:58,851 --> 00:11:59,909 It didn't stop with the wall. 181 00:12:00,052 --> 00:12:01,485 It just came over, spilled over. 182 00:12:01,620 --> 00:12:03,087 And we could see we were in trouble. 183 00:12:03,222 --> 00:12:04,849 We had to run. We started running. 184 00:12:04,990 --> 00:12:06,480 When the water started coming over, 185 00:12:06,625 --> 00:12:09,093 we started running up to higher ground to my left, 186 00:12:09,228 --> 00:12:10,320 where the school building was. 187 00:12:10,463 --> 00:12:12,556 Fortunately, we made it in time. 188 00:12:12,698 --> 00:12:14,529 A bunch of the other children didn't make it, 189 00:12:14,667 --> 00:12:18,262 the other students, mostly students in this area. 190 00:12:20,172 --> 00:12:24,006 My brother was down here and we never found him. 191 00:12:24,143 --> 00:12:24,871 We always wondered 192 00:12:25,010 --> 00:12:27,069 what he would have turned out to be like later on. 193 00:12:27,213 --> 00:12:31,343 He was 14 years old and just getting to his prime of life. 194 00:12:32,251 --> 00:12:33,843 You can't do anything about it. 195 00:12:33,986 --> 00:12:37,114 You can't do anything more than just think and talk about it 196 00:12:45,397 --> 00:12:49,731 Bunji's brother was among the 25 who died at Laupahoehoe, 197 00:12:49,869 --> 00:12:52,736 mostly students and their teachers. 198 00:13:32,111 --> 00:13:35,877 Almost all of the bayfront area was nearly totally destroyed. 199 00:13:36,015 --> 00:13:38,950 The businesses were ripped right off their foundations. 200 00:13:39,084 --> 00:13:42,576 Many of the structures were wooden and they were totally collapsed. 201 00:13:44,190 --> 00:13:46,886 The railway which was built on wooden railway ties 202 00:13:47,026 --> 00:13:49,460 the wooden ties were floated out by the water 203 00:13:49,595 --> 00:13:52,621 and the rails twisted into pretzels. 204 00:13:56,502 --> 00:13:59,437 One hundred fifty-nine people died that day 205 00:13:59,572 --> 00:14:02,200 96 in Hilo alone. 206 00:14:04,510 --> 00:14:06,944 Over time, the city would rebuild. 207 00:14:07,079 --> 00:14:10,276 But this tragedy would mark a turning point. 208 00:14:10,649 --> 00:14:12,480 Those who lived in the shadow of the tsunamis 209 00:14:12,618 --> 00:14:17,715 were determined to be better prepared for the next killer wave. 210 00:14:18,591 --> 00:14:21,355 Just two years later, in 1948, 211 00:14:21,493 --> 00:14:22,892 the U.S. Government established 212 00:14:23,028 --> 00:14:26,623 the Pacific Tsunami warning center in Honolulu. 213 00:14:27,967 --> 00:14:31,061 Today, the center remains on alert around the clock, 214 00:14:31,203 --> 00:14:35,196 coordinating the efforts of dozens of Pacific Rim countries. 215 00:14:35,341 --> 00:14:38,504 We try to get a warning out as quickly as possible, 216 00:14:38,644 --> 00:14:41,442 and we have to go to our resources to find out where the earthquake is 217 00:14:41,580 --> 00:14:43,104 and what its magnitude is. 218 00:14:43,249 --> 00:14:45,046 And then, given that information, 219 00:14:45,184 --> 00:14:48,745 we issue this warning to the various participants 220 00:14:48,888 --> 00:14:51,322 in the warning system in the Pacific. 221 00:14:51,891 --> 00:14:54,951 Equipped with state-of-the-art satellite technology, 222 00:14:55,094 --> 00:14:58,621 seismic sensors, and a vast network of wave monitors, 223 00:14:58,764 --> 00:15:02,097 the warning center can track any major earthquake on the planet 224 00:15:02,234 --> 00:15:05,692 and determine whether a tsunami is on its way. 225 00:15:06,872 --> 00:15:09,306 Scientists know that an undersea earthquake, 226 00:15:09,441 --> 00:15:11,136 or a volcanic eruption 227 00:15:11,277 --> 00:15:14,371 anything that causes the sea floor to shift suddenly 228 00:15:14,513 --> 00:15:17,346 can displace huge volumes of water. 229 00:15:17,483 --> 00:15:19,644 When this disruption reaches the surface, 230 00:15:19,785 --> 00:15:21,912 a series of waves spreads out. 231 00:15:22,054 --> 00:15:25,956 They can move as fast as 600 miles per hour. 232 00:15:26,325 --> 00:15:29,852 Unlike a normal wave caused by wind or tides, 233 00:15:29,995 --> 00:15:32,395 the energy of a tsunami is evenly distributed 234 00:15:32,531 --> 00:15:34,556 all the way to the ocean bottom. 235 00:15:34,700 --> 00:15:37,760 In deep water, there's barely a ripple at the surface 236 00:15:37,903 --> 00:15:42,203 But as a tsunami wave approaches land, the seafloor rises. 237 00:15:42,341 --> 00:15:44,275 The energy is compressed 238 00:15:44,410 --> 00:15:49,109 and the waves can be pushed up as high as 100 feet or more. 239 00:15:52,051 --> 00:15:54,110 It's always a number of thousands of people 240 00:15:54,253 --> 00:15:57,689 that could possibly live or die, depending on our decision. 241 00:15:57,823 --> 00:15:58,847 Here in the Hawaiian Islands, 242 00:15:58,991 --> 00:16:05,021 for example, every few years, we have... 243 00:16:05,731 --> 00:16:07,426 That's interesting. 244 00:16:11,603 --> 00:16:15,334 We've got an earthquake to deal with. 245 00:16:18,644 --> 00:16:20,441 It looks like it's a small local quake 246 00:16:20,579 --> 00:16:23,412 in the central part of Alaska. 247 00:16:23,549 --> 00:16:26,416 The center detects two or three quakes every week. 248 00:16:26,552 --> 00:16:27,712 Most like this one 249 00:16:27,853 --> 00:16:30,117 present no threat of tsunami. 250 00:16:30,255 --> 00:16:32,450 But even when a tsunami alert is issued, 251 00:16:32,591 --> 00:16:34,991 not everyone will take it seriously. 252 00:16:35,127 --> 00:16:38,153 When you go from one tsunami to the next tsunami, 253 00:16:38,297 --> 00:16:40,527 people don't even know what they are. 254 00:16:40,666 --> 00:16:43,999 So it's hard for them to even consider them a threat. 255 00:16:44,136 --> 00:16:45,967 First of all, you have to convince them 256 00:16:46,105 --> 00:16:47,299 that there is such a thing, 257 00:16:47,439 --> 00:16:51,307 and secondly, that it can cause destruction. 258 00:16:52,244 --> 00:16:55,941 Even in Hawaii, with its tragic history of tsunamis, 259 00:16:56,081 --> 00:16:58,879 people can forget the lessons of the past. 260 00:17:02,021 --> 00:17:03,420 In 1960, 261 00:17:03,555 --> 00:17:06,456 12 years after the warning center was established, 262 00:17:06,592 --> 00:17:08,719 a massive earthquake off the coast of Chile 263 00:17:08,861 --> 00:17:12,922 generates a tsunami that fans out across the Pacific. 264 00:17:13,298 --> 00:17:16,392 Hawaii lies directly in its path. 265 00:17:21,006 --> 00:17:22,940 Early on the evening of May 22, 266 00:17:23,075 --> 00:17:26,010 the warning center issues its prediction 267 00:17:27,046 --> 00:17:30,914 ...a tsunami will hit Hilo sometime around midnight. 268 00:17:33,185 --> 00:17:37,781 But with midnight long past, and only small waves washing ashore, 269 00:17:37,923 --> 00:17:42,951 many ignore the alert, and return to the downtown bayfront. 270 00:17:50,736 --> 00:17:53,296 A few even gather at the Suisan Fish Market 271 00:17:53,439 --> 00:17:55,999 to watch the waves come in. 272 00:18:03,482 --> 00:18:07,942 The 35-foot wall of water strikes like a bomb. 273 00:18:13,826 --> 00:18:16,886 Once again Hilo is brought to its knees, 274 00:18:17,029 --> 00:18:22,228 with $30 million in damage and 61 dead. 275 00:18:22,701 --> 00:18:26,193 This wave will change Hilo forever. 276 00:18:27,072 --> 00:18:28,869 Today, as you look at downtown Hilo, 277 00:18:29,007 --> 00:18:31,271 you see the highway along the bayfront, 278 00:18:31,410 --> 00:18:34,311 which used to be the railway before the tsunamis. 279 00:18:34,446 --> 00:18:37,609 You see a big expanse of green parkland 280 00:18:37,749 --> 00:18:40,946 soccer fields and places where people picnic 281 00:18:41,086 --> 00:18:43,611 and play ball. 282 00:18:43,755 --> 00:18:46,485 All of that was homes and businesses... 283 00:18:46,625 --> 00:18:50,561 very, very heavily populated before the tsunamis. 284 00:19:02,474 --> 00:19:06,433 If you go there today, you can see the old roads which go in, 285 00:19:06,578 --> 00:19:08,910 driveways, all leading to nothing. 286 00:19:09,047 --> 00:19:09,809 They see that area and they think 287 00:19:09,948 --> 00:19:11,711 what wonderful urban planning we have in Hilo 288 00:19:11,850 --> 00:19:13,078 to have all that parkland. 289 00:19:13,218 --> 00:19:15,345 That's planning thanks to Mother Nature 290 00:19:15,487 --> 00:19:18,513 and at great expense to the city of Hilo, 291 00:19:18,657 --> 00:19:21,558 both in terms of property and loss of life. 292 00:19:22,594 --> 00:19:24,858 Tsunamis have been rare events. 293 00:19:24,997 --> 00:19:28,023 There has not been a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami 294 00:19:28,167 --> 00:19:29,657 in over 30 years. 295 00:19:29,801 --> 00:19:31,894 But if you look at the number of tsunami events 296 00:19:32,037 --> 00:19:33,664 over the last century 297 00:19:33,805 --> 00:19:36,296 there's been on the average one destructive tsunami 298 00:19:36,441 --> 00:19:37,999 every seven years 299 00:19:38,143 --> 00:19:39,167 so in many ways you would say that 300 00:19:39,311 --> 00:19:42,712 we're long overdue for the next tsunami 301 00:19:43,749 --> 00:19:46,217 Walter Dudley is not the only scientist 302 00:19:46,351 --> 00:19:48,546 who's worried about the next one. 303 00:19:48,687 --> 00:19:51,053 In the Seattle office of the National Oceanic 304 00:19:51,190 --> 00:19:52,782 and Atmospheric Administration, 305 00:19:52,925 --> 00:19:53,857 Dr. Eddie Bernard 306 00:19:53,992 --> 00:19:56,290 is spearheading efforts to alert the public 307 00:19:56,428 --> 00:19:58,419 to the dangers of tsunamis. 308 00:19:58,564 --> 00:19:59,861 Most certainly they're killers. 309 00:19:59,998 --> 00:20:02,762 If you look at the history of the United States since World War I I, 310 00:20:02,901 --> 00:20:04,334 more people have died from tsunamis 311 00:20:04,469 --> 00:20:06,232 than from earthquakes in our country. 312 00:20:06,371 --> 00:20:08,498 It's one of the few natural disasters 313 00:20:08,640 --> 00:20:12,474 that has such broad impact. 314 00:20:12,611 --> 00:20:14,943 Most natural disasters are very localized. 315 00:20:15,080 --> 00:20:17,640 An earthquake, although it may be several hundreds of miles, 316 00:20:17,783 --> 00:20:20,809 doesn't affect anything outside of that hundreds-of-miles area 317 00:20:20,953 --> 00:20:23,922 But if you add up the dimensions of the Pacific Rim shorelines, 318 00:20:24,056 --> 00:20:26,388 it's on the order of 100,000 miles. 319 00:20:26,525 --> 00:20:28,891 So one earthquake, properly placed, 320 00:20:29,027 --> 00:20:32,360 can affect the coastlines thousands of miles away. 321 00:20:33,565 --> 00:20:34,964 In Japan, however, 322 00:20:35,100 --> 00:20:38,001 the greatest tsunami threat comes from earthquakes generated 323 00:20:38,136 --> 00:20:42,800 not thousands of miles away, but much closer to home. 324 00:20:42,941 --> 00:20:44,772 This island nation lies on top of one 325 00:20:44,910 --> 00:20:48,277 of the most seismically active regions on earth. 326 00:20:49,248 --> 00:20:50,146 The Japanese know that 327 00:20:50,282 --> 00:20:54,548 the sea's bounty is often matched by its wrath. 328 00:20:56,221 --> 00:21:00,351 In 1896, an offshore quake sent 100-foot waves 329 00:21:00,492 --> 00:21:04,292 crashing into villages on the Sanriku Coast. 330 00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:09,794 The next morning, 331 00:21:09,935 --> 00:21:13,132 local fishermen returning to shore were stunned. 332 00:21:13,272 --> 00:21:14,569 A few miles out at sea, 333 00:21:14,706 --> 00:21:15,695 they had not even noticed 334 00:21:15,841 --> 00:21:18,401 the tsunami passing under their boats. 335 00:21:18,543 --> 00:21:20,943 Now they found their homes destroyed, 336 00:21:21,079 --> 00:21:23,604 their families decimated. 337 00:21:24,716 --> 00:21:28,345 More than 22,000 had drowned. 338 00:21:36,895 --> 00:21:40,558 Four decades later, it happened again. 339 00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:45,226 1,500 vessels were swept ashore by the wall of water 340 00:21:45,370 --> 00:21:47,395 and many in their crews drowned. 341 00:21:47,539 --> 00:21:50,269 Government aid is being rushed, but it will be a long time 342 00:21:50,409 --> 00:21:53,276 before this stricken region can be restored in the land 343 00:21:53,412 --> 00:21:55,380 of the rising sun. 344 00:22:01,653 --> 00:22:05,054 The Japanese are no strangers to tsunamis. 345 00:22:10,729 --> 00:22:11,627 Iller waves, 346 00:22:11,763 --> 00:22:14,231 like the ones recorded in the news footage, 347 00:22:14,366 --> 00:22:17,802 visit their shores with frightening regularity. 348 00:22:20,305 --> 00:22:24,207 But even the Japanese can be taken by surprise. 349 00:22:25,944 --> 00:22:30,074 In 1993, a quake off the coast of Okushiri Island 350 00:22:30,215 --> 00:22:32,410 generates tsunami waves that reach shore 351 00:22:32,551 --> 00:22:35,145 in less than 10 minutes 352 00:22:37,723 --> 00:22:38,917 It's the middle of the night, 353 00:22:39,057 --> 00:22:42,151 and most do not have time to evacuate. 354 00:22:43,261 --> 00:22:47,027 One of the lucky ones is television cameraman Hiroshi Nakamura 355 00:22:47,165 --> 00:22:49,793 who records his own escape on video. 356 00:22:53,538 --> 00:22:57,338 There was a straight road from our hotel to the hills. 357 00:22:59,845 --> 00:23:03,713 We reached the crossroads as we were driving to the hills. 358 00:23:07,719 --> 00:23:10,586 Usually, we would turn to the left, 359 00:23:13,058 --> 00:23:18,189 but the driver saw something like white waves ahead on his left side 360 00:23:27,239 --> 00:23:32,609 The disaster I saw from the hill was just like a war movie. 361 00:23:35,847 --> 00:23:40,307 The devastation was something that made a strong impression on me. 362 00:23:41,887 --> 00:23:43,650 The fact that the whole town vanished 363 00:23:43,789 --> 00:23:46,485 is something I haven't forgotten. 364 00:23:53,398 --> 00:23:57,664 Nearly 200 died that night in Okushiri. 365 00:23:59,638 --> 00:24:01,196 On the southern tip of the island, 366 00:24:01,339 --> 00:24:05,776 where there were hundreds of homes, only rubble remained. 367 00:24:07,279 --> 00:24:10,771 Dr. Eddie Bernard arrived in Okushiri two days later 368 00:24:10,916 --> 00:24:13,612 with a special tsunami task force. 369 00:24:13,752 --> 00:24:15,413 Well, my emotional reaction was... 370 00:24:15,554 --> 00:24:19,456 it was like being at ground zero of the atomic bomb or something... 371 00:24:19,591 --> 00:24:21,559 You just couldn't believe the destruction. 372 00:24:21,693 --> 00:24:27,131 The power of these waves was far more than I had expected. 373 00:24:27,265 --> 00:24:29,563 Although I had been studying this phenomenon for 25 years... 374 00:24:29,701 --> 00:24:33,193 I'd never seen the power of a devastating tsunami... 375 00:24:33,338 --> 00:24:34,805 and what it actually could do. 376 00:24:34,940 --> 00:24:36,840 You just look at some of the structures 377 00:24:36,975 --> 00:24:38,442 that were ripped apart 378 00:24:38,577 --> 00:24:40,943 and saw how things were destroyed entirely. 379 00:24:41,079 --> 00:24:44,537 Then you start to appreciate the forces at work here. 380 00:24:44,983 --> 00:24:50,319 Looking at a photograph of a young girl 381 00:24:50,455 --> 00:24:55,290 who wasn't too much older than my daughter at that time, 382 00:24:55,427 --> 00:24:57,520 really brought home the fact 383 00:24:57,662 --> 00:24:59,994 that most of the people who died in this event 384 00:25:00,131 --> 00:25:02,065 were young children or the elderly. 385 00:25:02,200 --> 00:25:05,692 What we actually could see were the remnants of people's lives. 386 00:25:05,837 --> 00:25:06,861 Then you realize that... 387 00:25:07,005 --> 00:25:11,533 these 500 homes had destroyed the lives of hundreds of families. 388 00:25:11,676 --> 00:25:14,839 And, of course, death was part of that process. 389 00:25:14,980 --> 00:25:15,708 And so... 390 00:25:15,847 --> 00:25:19,783 you had to be very respectful of what we were actually looking at. 391 00:25:19,918 --> 00:25:21,351 Although it was scientifically important, 392 00:25:21,486 --> 00:25:25,183 we didn't want to be disrespectful for those people who had passed away 393 00:25:25,323 --> 00:25:27,814 And it motivated me as a research scientist to realize that 394 00:25:27,959 --> 00:25:30,689 the real reason for studying tsunamis in the research mode 395 00:25:30,829 --> 00:25:32,023 is to save a few lives. 396 00:25:32,163 --> 00:25:34,154 And that's the bottom line. 397 00:25:37,002 --> 00:25:41,132 Today Okushiri is slowly recovering from its tragedy. 398 00:25:46,611 --> 00:25:48,135 The people are rebuilding their homes 399 00:25:48,280 --> 00:25:51,113 and repairing their lives. 400 00:25:51,516 --> 00:25:53,814 But because space is at a premium here, 401 00:25:53,952 --> 00:25:57,319 most new homes must be built where the old ones stood... 402 00:25:57,455 --> 00:26:01,482 making them just as vulnerable to the next tsunami. 403 00:26:01,626 --> 00:26:05,892 There is no one spot, however, that will probably never be rebuilt. 404 00:26:06,031 --> 00:26:07,931 The devastated southern tip of the island 405 00:26:08,066 --> 00:26:10,933 will likely remain an empty zone, 406 00:26:11,069 --> 00:26:15,062 a reminder of what was taken by the sea 407 00:26:20,612 --> 00:26:22,773 Two hundred miles to the south is another town 408 00:26:22,914 --> 00:26:26,042 that has long suffered the ravages of tsunamis. 409 00:26:28,086 --> 00:26:29,553 Over the past century, 410 00:26:29,688 --> 00:26:33,784 Taro has seen 3,000 of its citizens swept away. 411 00:26:34,426 --> 00:26:38,419 The people of this town have learned to carry on in the face of tragedy, 412 00:26:38,563 --> 00:26:42,055 to live with the continual threat of disaster. 413 00:26:43,635 --> 00:26:47,765 The last great wave struck here in 1933 414 00:26:49,808 --> 00:26:55,041 It left Taro in ruins, and wiped out nearly a quarter of its population. 415 00:26:55,914 --> 00:26:59,475 A year later, the survivors fought back. 416 00:27:09,628 --> 00:27:10,686 They built a wall 417 00:27:10,829 --> 00:27:14,629 to keep the sea in check the next time it rose. 418 00:27:19,537 --> 00:27:22,631 Today, the wall dominates the town, 419 00:27:22,774 --> 00:27:26,471 a reinforced concrete battlement 34 feet high 420 00:27:26,611 --> 00:27:29,444 and in some spots, 80 feet thick. 421 00:27:35,220 --> 00:27:36,312 For the people of Taro, 422 00:27:36,454 --> 00:27:41,414 it's become a familiar and reassuring part of the landscape 423 00:27:45,730 --> 00:27:48,062 In the summer, the seawall gets warmed up 424 00:27:48,199 --> 00:27:51,760 and I cannot sleep because the heat reflects off of it. 425 00:27:52,871 --> 00:27:56,432 At that time I wish there were no seawall, 426 00:27:56,775 --> 00:28:00,142 but I never forget its reason for existing. 427 00:28:01,880 --> 00:28:06,146 If there were no wall, I wouldn't want to live here. 428 00:28:08,586 --> 00:28:13,250 Taro is also protected by its own tsunami warning center. 429 00:28:16,961 --> 00:28:19,521 Besides the usual satellite technology 430 00:28:19,664 --> 00:28:21,097 there are video cameras, 431 00:28:21,232 --> 00:28:25,191 permitting technicians to monitor the harbor 24 hours a day, 432 00:28:25,336 --> 00:28:30,171 looking for changes in sea levels and awaiting the inevitable. 433 00:28:41,019 --> 00:28:44,978 And if alarms are sounded, Taro is ready. 434 00:28:48,960 --> 00:28:53,090 Crack teams of gatekeepers carry out regular drills, 435 00:28:53,231 --> 00:28:56,826 closing the wall's six doors against the sea. 436 00:29:07,278 --> 00:29:11,806 Each of the massive steel doors must be sealed in under four minutes. 437 00:29:14,152 --> 00:29:18,452 They've never been tested against a major tsunami. 438 00:29:22,494 --> 00:29:24,621 The seawall certainly offers the people of Taro 439 00:29:24,763 --> 00:29:29,666 a measure of comfort, but that may not be enough. 440 00:29:29,801 --> 00:29:33,794 It's 34-foot height should stop most waves. 441 00:29:33,938 --> 00:29:39,103 But the infamous tsunami of 1896 had waves over 90 feet high. 442 00:29:40,178 --> 00:29:44,512 There's just no way to know how big the next one will be. 443 00:29:52,690 --> 00:29:55,853 Back on the wave-ravaged island of Okushiri, 444 00:29:55,994 --> 00:29:58,292 they're building their own wall. 445 00:30:05,036 --> 00:30:05,695 When it's completed, 446 00:30:05,837 --> 00:30:08,362 it will surround nearly a quarter of the island, 447 00:30:08,506 --> 00:30:12,704 providing at least partial protection against the next tsunami. 448 00:30:16,214 --> 00:30:18,739 But the people of Okushiri haven't put all their faith 449 00:30:18,883 --> 00:30:21,374 in reinforced concrete. 450 00:30:24,088 --> 00:30:28,650 In a ceremony held every June, they pay homage to the dead, 451 00:30:28,793 --> 00:30:31,489 including hundreds of tsunami victims, 452 00:30:31,629 --> 00:30:35,156 enshrining their memories in stone. 453 00:30:53,151 --> 00:30:58,214 As darkness falls, a bonfire is lit to serve as a beacon, 454 00:30:58,356 --> 00:31:02,292 guiding home those who were lost to the waves. 455 00:31:10,501 --> 00:31:13,664 Paper lanterns symbolize the souls of the victims, 456 00:31:13,805 --> 00:31:16,740 released once again to the sea. 457 00:31:35,560 --> 00:31:41,931 It is an act of remembrance and perhaps a prayer for deliverance. 458 00:32:00,852 --> 00:32:04,811 The threat of tsunami is not as distant as most of us think. 459 00:32:04,956 --> 00:32:07,652 Half a world away from the fishing villages of Japan 460 00:32:07,792 --> 00:32:11,159 lies the Northwest Coast of the United States. 461 00:32:11,296 --> 00:32:13,287 The town of Crescent City, California, 462 00:32:13,431 --> 00:32:17,595 shares a tragic legacy with Taro and Okushiri. 463 00:32:19,404 --> 00:32:24,341 People here can still recall their own encounter with a deadly wave 464 00:32:27,545 --> 00:32:30,571 March 27, 1964. 465 00:32:30,715 --> 00:32:32,080 Good Friday. 466 00:32:32,216 --> 00:32:34,411 A violent earthquake off the coast of Alaska 467 00:32:34,552 --> 00:32:37,385 generates an enormous tsunami. 468 00:32:38,222 --> 00:32:42,420 The Pacific Coast of North America, from Vancouver to San Diego, 469 00:32:42,560 --> 00:32:44,926 lies in its path. 470 00:32:45,830 --> 00:32:47,263 At 11 that night, 471 00:32:47,398 --> 00:32:50,094 Crescent City Civil Defense Chief, Bill Parker, 472 00:32:50,234 --> 00:32:52,395 receives urgent news. 473 00:32:52,537 --> 00:32:55,267 My first experience with a tsunami was a teletype 474 00:32:55,406 --> 00:32:57,237 that came into my office 475 00:32:57,375 --> 00:33:00,435 And it said that there was a probability of a tsunami 476 00:33:00,578 --> 00:33:03,877 and it gave an estimated time of arrival in Zulu time. 477 00:33:04,015 --> 00:33:05,880 Well, we didn't even know what a tsunami was, 478 00:33:06,017 --> 00:33:08,383 let alone know how to spell it. 479 00:33:08,519 --> 00:33:09,577 And we certainly didn't know 480 00:33:09,721 --> 00:33:12,781 how to convert Zulu time to our time. 481 00:33:12,924 --> 00:33:18,328 And we were really devastated as to what the threat was and what to do. 482 00:33:18,463 --> 00:33:19,589 On March 27, 483 00:33:19,731 --> 00:33:23,667 we received this teletype telling us there was a good possibility 484 00:33:23,801 --> 00:33:26,326 that Crescent City would have a tsunami. 485 00:33:26,471 --> 00:33:28,769 And we were really frightened. 486 00:33:28,906 --> 00:33:31,670 But not everyone in Crescent City was frightened. 487 00:33:31,809 --> 00:33:34,300 Many were intrigued by the novelty 488 00:33:34,445 --> 00:33:38,472 and went down to the waterfront to watch the waves come in. 489 00:33:38,616 --> 00:33:40,709 Among them was Ray Magnuson. 490 00:33:40,852 --> 00:33:43,252 I parked the car down by the entrance to the dock 491 00:33:43,388 --> 00:33:47,484 and I met my wife there and started walking down the road. 492 00:33:47,625 --> 00:33:50,617 As I went down the road, I could hear a roar. 493 00:33:50,762 --> 00:33:51,387 Some guys said, 494 00:33:51,529 --> 00:33:53,224 "Hey look, hey look, it's coming over the jetty." 495 00:33:53,364 --> 00:33:55,730 Well, I assumed it was a tidal wave coming over the jetty, 496 00:33:55,867 --> 00:33:57,129 which was not too good a thing to be hearing, 497 00:33:57,268 --> 00:33:59,998 since I was not very far above sea level. 498 00:34:00,138 --> 00:34:02,231 I waited and watched and watched, 499 00:34:02,373 --> 00:34:04,534 and pretty soon up the road, you could see water coming. 500 00:34:04,675 --> 00:34:06,575 Then there was a cafe on the right hand side 501 00:34:06,711 --> 00:34:09,305 of the road looking down, and the cafe slid across the road. 502 00:34:09,447 --> 00:34:10,573 I thought at that time, I said, 503 00:34:10,715 --> 00:34:11,807 "I better get out of here." 504 00:34:11,949 --> 00:34:13,917 So I turned and started walking. 505 00:34:14,052 --> 00:34:16,145 The water was chasing me, still behind me, 506 00:34:16,287 --> 00:34:17,549 and I got back to the car. 507 00:34:17,688 --> 00:34:19,212 Anyway, the water kept coming and kept coming, 508 00:34:19,357 --> 00:34:21,757 and as you know, Volkswagens float. 509 00:34:21,893 --> 00:34:24,623 Well, sure enough, ours began to float 510 00:34:25,997 --> 00:34:27,760 You could hear the explosions up in town. 511 00:34:27,899 --> 00:34:29,560 Then, as things began to be destroyed 512 00:34:29,700 --> 00:34:31,497 you could hear things break a big hunk of lumber 513 00:34:31,636 --> 00:34:32,466 stopped in front of the car 514 00:34:32,603 --> 00:34:36,198 and it made a breakwater, and the car just floated there. 515 00:34:36,340 --> 00:34:39,673 Water went out and we drove away. 516 00:34:44,482 --> 00:34:48,009 We had no idea of the extent of the damage. 517 00:34:48,152 --> 00:34:49,744 And we were all dumfounded. 518 00:34:49,887 --> 00:34:51,787 When we looked out, we could not believe it. 519 00:34:51,923 --> 00:34:56,053 I gave a report to the director of emergency services 520 00:34:56,194 --> 00:34:57,684 of the state of California. 521 00:34:57,829 --> 00:34:59,956 He was giving a report to the governor, 522 00:35:00,098 --> 00:35:03,966 and I told him I think that Crescent City is gone. 523 00:35:16,013 --> 00:35:23,146 The final toll: 11 people killed; more than $7 million in damage. 524 00:35:25,590 --> 00:35:26,989 And now we all knew: 525 00:35:27,125 --> 00:35:31,357 A tsunami could happen anywhere, not just far away, 526 00:35:31,496 --> 00:35:33,930 but right here at home. 527 00:35:40,404 --> 00:35:41,598 Three decades later, 528 00:35:41,739 --> 00:35:45,334 the people of Crescent City are better prepared. 529 00:35:45,776 --> 00:35:48,768 But unlike the Japanese, they have no seawalls, 530 00:35:48,913 --> 00:35:53,873 no computerized warning system, no video cameras guarding the town. 531 00:35:54,018 --> 00:35:55,542 If a tsunami struck here tomorrow, 532 00:35:55,686 --> 00:35:59,178 this town could be devastated once again. 533 00:36:02,627 --> 00:36:05,562 Was the Crescent City disaster a unique event? 534 00:36:05,696 --> 00:36:09,598 Or could another tsunami strike the Pacific Northwest? 535 00:36:10,268 --> 00:36:12,964 Giant waves are part of the oral traditions 536 00:36:13,104 --> 00:36:18,235 of many native American tribes who lived along these shores. 537 00:36:18,576 --> 00:36:21,670 The Tolowa people spoke of one such event. 538 00:36:22,680 --> 00:36:24,238 The grandmother told the two children 539 00:36:24,382 --> 00:36:27,374 to go right away as fast as they could. 540 00:36:27,685 --> 00:36:30,552 The two children ran as fast as they could, 541 00:36:33,991 --> 00:36:37,051 upstream away from the harbor. 542 00:36:43,568 --> 00:36:46,537 Halfway there, they looked back. 543 00:36:47,004 --> 00:36:49,097 They could see the water come. 544 00:36:49,240 --> 00:36:51,765 They could hear the people cry. 545 00:36:52,009 --> 00:36:55,570 They could hear the cries rise and fade away. 546 00:36:58,783 --> 00:37:00,842 When they reached the top of the mountain, 547 00:37:00,918 --> 00:37:04,684 the boy made a fire and they sat around it. 548 00:37:07,858 --> 00:37:11,692 When the sun came up, everything was gone. 549 00:37:14,265 --> 00:37:16,893 They went back to where their house had been. 550 00:37:17,468 --> 00:37:19,868 There wasn't anything there. 551 00:37:20,004 --> 00:37:22,996 Everything was swept clean. 552 00:37:28,279 --> 00:37:29,678 It's only a legend, 553 00:37:29,814 --> 00:37:33,272 but it may be based upon a terrifying reality. 554 00:37:33,417 --> 00:37:35,942 Just off shore and several thousand feet down 555 00:37:36,087 --> 00:37:38,885 lies the Cascadia Subduction Zone. 556 00:37:39,023 --> 00:37:42,186 It's a 900-mile crack in the earth's crust, 557 00:37:42,326 --> 00:37:45,261 capable of producing powerful earthquakes. 558 00:37:45,396 --> 00:37:50,561 A tsunami generated here could reach the coast in less than 20 minutes. 559 00:37:55,072 --> 00:37:58,337 Near the mouth of the Copalis River in southern Washington... 560 00:37:58,476 --> 00:38:03,379 geologist Brian Atwater seeks evidence of just such an event... 561 00:38:03,514 --> 00:38:07,678 evidence that would correspond to some of the ancient stories. 562 00:38:09,053 --> 00:38:11,613 The first indication of a catastrophe: 563 00:38:11,756 --> 00:38:15,522 A dreary grove called the Ghost Forest 564 00:38:16,027 --> 00:38:19,519 These trees were flourishing some three centuries ago, 565 00:38:19,664 --> 00:38:23,191 when an earthquake caused the river banks to sink, 566 00:38:23,567 --> 00:38:27,230 and what had been high ground became a salt marsh, 567 00:38:27,371 --> 00:38:29,635 poisoning the trees. 568 00:38:30,074 --> 00:38:30,836 The same earthquake 569 00:38:30,975 --> 00:38:34,604 almost certainly generated a tsunami here. 570 00:38:39,884 --> 00:38:43,718 Atwater believes he's found more clues in the banks of the river 571 00:38:43,854 --> 00:38:47,017 telltale signs embedded in the soil itself 572 00:38:47,158 --> 00:38:51,026 revealing that this region was indeed flooded by a tsunami. 573 00:38:51,162 --> 00:38:53,756 Got a big piece of burned wood in here. 574 00:38:54,899 --> 00:38:55,797 I assume it's a campfire. 575 00:38:55,933 --> 00:38:58,629 We might have a fire pit coming out of this here. 576 00:39:00,471 --> 00:39:02,632 We got a three-layer cake here. 577 00:39:02,773 --> 00:39:05,606 We go back 300 years or a little more to a time 578 00:39:05,743 --> 00:39:07,973 when this site was a forest. 579 00:39:08,112 --> 00:39:10,205 It had sitka spruce, it had western red cedar, 580 00:39:10,348 --> 00:39:12,543 and it had native people who were cooking, 581 00:39:12,683 --> 00:39:14,446 using rocks like this. 582 00:39:14,585 --> 00:39:19,887 The brown layer records a campsite and the forest floor. 583 00:39:20,024 --> 00:39:22,515 The gray later represents the tsunami 584 00:39:22,660 --> 00:39:25,220 generated by an earthquake 300 years ago. 585 00:39:25,363 --> 00:39:29,823 The tsunami comes in, dumps the sand on the campsite. 586 00:39:29,967 --> 00:39:33,130 Then the mud builds up on top of the tsunami deposit, 587 00:39:33,270 --> 00:39:36,000 because the land had dropped during the earthquake. 588 00:39:37,508 --> 00:39:41,672 But this wasn't the only great wave to strike the coast of Washington. 589 00:39:41,812 --> 00:39:45,270 Atwater and other scientists have found more evidence of earthquakes 590 00:39:45,416 --> 00:39:48,044 and tsunami in the distant past. 591 00:39:48,185 --> 00:39:50,415 There was a tsunami about 1,000 years ago 592 00:39:50,554 --> 00:39:52,112 generated in Puget Sound 593 00:39:52,256 --> 00:39:55,225 by an earthquake probably as large as the obe earthquake, 594 00:39:55,359 --> 00:39:58,294 on a fault that goes right under downtown Seattle 595 00:39:58,429 --> 00:40:01,796 During an earthquake, land was moved upward 20 feet. 596 00:40:01,932 --> 00:40:04,958 The floor of Puget Sound probably moved upward as well. 597 00:40:05,102 --> 00:40:06,000 If the floor moves up, 598 00:40:06,137 --> 00:40:08,298 the surface of Puget Sound up here moves up. 599 00:40:08,439 --> 00:40:10,907 Temporarily, it's 20 feet higher than it wants to be. 600 00:40:11,041 --> 00:40:13,066 Gravity takes over and you get a big wave. 601 00:40:13,210 --> 00:40:18,477 So that's what happened 1,000 years ago in Puget Sound. 602 00:40:20,117 --> 00:40:22,085 And it could happen again. 603 00:40:22,219 --> 00:40:24,414 Scientists believe there's a one in ten chance 604 00:40:24,555 --> 00:40:28,013 of a major tsunami striking the Pacific Northwest 605 00:40:28,159 --> 00:40:30,457 in the next 50 years. 606 00:40:30,594 --> 00:40:31,253 Here in Washington, 607 00:40:31,395 --> 00:40:34,694 there are many places where people do not yet have 608 00:40:34,832 --> 00:40:37,323 enough information from public official 609 00:40:37,468 --> 00:40:40,232 about what they should do in the event of one of these. 610 00:40:40,371 --> 00:40:43,966 They do not yet have posted the kind of tsunami warning signs 611 00:40:44,108 --> 00:40:47,077 that one sees in Oregon now that help to direct a person, 612 00:40:47,211 --> 00:40:49,771 just sort of put it in the mind, everyday as you drive past it. 613 00:40:49,914 --> 00:40:51,973 You see this on the outer banks in North Carolina: 614 00:40:52,116 --> 00:40:53,708 "Hurricane Evacuation Route". 615 00:40:53,851 --> 00:40:56,319 These kinds of signs need to be up on this coast 616 00:40:56,454 --> 00:40:58,149 so in the event of one of these kinds of tsunamis, 617 00:40:58,289 --> 00:41:00,314 people think, "Oh, yeah, I remember about that sign. 618 00:41:00,458 --> 00:41:01,618 It said, 'Go up that road."' 619 00:41:01,759 --> 00:41:04,023 And there might be high ground, far enough up that road, 620 00:41:04,161 --> 00:41:05,458 far enough away that 621 00:41:05,596 --> 00:41:08,258 you could survive the effects of a tsunami. 622 00:41:09,834 --> 00:41:12,826 Brian Atwater isn't trying to scare people. 623 00:41:12,970 --> 00:41:16,098 He just hopes to raise public awareness. 624 00:41:16,874 --> 00:41:19,900 And the message is finally getting across: 625 00:41:20,377 --> 00:41:23,039 Government officials have begun developing new strategies 626 00:41:23,180 --> 00:41:27,412 to save lives when the next tsunami strikes. 627 00:41:27,551 --> 00:41:31,078 The state of Oregon has recently drawn a line in the sand, 628 00:41:31,222 --> 00:41:36,285 establishing a 300-miles-long inundation zone along their coast. 629 00:41:36,427 --> 00:41:37,257 Because of the risk, 630 00:41:37,394 --> 00:41:41,421 no new schools or hospitals can be constructed close to shore 631 00:41:41,565 --> 00:41:43,897 without special permission. 632 00:41:44,768 --> 00:41:48,670 One town that lies within the zone is Cannon Beach. 633 00:41:49,206 --> 00:41:50,798 It's a quiet little resort town 634 00:41:50,941 --> 00:41:55,776 whose population swells to as much as 20,000 in the summer. 635 00:41:56,780 --> 00:42:00,443 Cannon Beach is more prepared for a tsunami than most towns, 636 00:42:00,584 --> 00:42:03,246 conducting regular tests of its warning system. 637 00:42:03,387 --> 00:42:05,912 Test, test, test. 638 00:42:06,056 --> 00:42:09,116 But they don't want to frighten the residents or the tourists, 639 00:42:09,260 --> 00:42:10,750 so the shrill siren is replaced 640 00:42:10,895 --> 00:42:13,830 with something a little bit friendlier. 641 00:42:25,442 --> 00:42:28,707 The folks in Cannon Beach have maintained their sense of humor, 642 00:42:28,846 --> 00:42:31,815 but they do take tsunami seriously. 643 00:42:33,484 --> 00:42:35,384 They know they have a lot to lose, 644 00:42:35,519 --> 00:42:38,716 especially here at Cannon Beach Elementary, 645 00:42:38,856 --> 00:42:41,882 only 400 feet from the ocean. 646 00:42:43,394 --> 00:42:46,420 We're going to add "re" to the beginning of the word. 647 00:42:46,564 --> 00:42:51,365 So what would be the new word if you add "re" to the first word? 648 00:42:51,502 --> 00:42:52,127 Brian B.? 649 00:42:52,269 --> 00:42:52,758 Regain? 650 00:42:52,903 --> 00:42:53,892 Regain is right. 651 00:42:54,038 --> 00:42:55,471 And how do you spell regain, Nathan? 652 00:42:55,606 --> 00:42:57,506 "R-E-G-A-l-N" 653 00:42:57,641 --> 00:42:58,972 Right. 654 00:43:03,314 --> 00:43:05,908 These kids are well aware of the tsunami threat. 655 00:43:06,050 --> 00:43:09,178 And they know what to do when the alarm bell rings. 656 00:43:09,787 --> 00:43:12,119 Let's exit calmly, class. 657 00:43:24,735 --> 00:43:28,000 They have only a few minutes to get to higher ground. 658 00:43:45,723 --> 00:43:50,285 You guys did it this time in 13 minutes and 30 seconds. 659 00:43:50,427 --> 00:43:53,726 Great job. Great job. 660 00:43:55,733 --> 00:43:57,894 You hustled all the way up. 661 00:43:58,035 --> 00:44:00,026 I saw people encouraging one another. 662 00:44:00,170 --> 00:44:01,660 You not only focussed on 663 00:44:01,805 --> 00:44:04,535 keeping yourself and your partner straight, 664 00:44:04,675 --> 00:44:06,870 but you also and safe 665 00:44:07,011 --> 00:44:10,003 but you also were encouraging people all the way. 666 00:44:10,147 --> 00:44:12,012 I really, really appreciate that. 667 00:44:12,149 --> 00:44:14,174 Great job. Give yourselves one more hand. 668 00:44:14,318 --> 00:44:17,014 Alright. Great. 669 00:44:22,660 --> 00:44:25,288 Plans are in the works to relocate the school, 670 00:44:25,429 --> 00:44:28,557 but until then evacuation drills will continue. 671 00:44:28,699 --> 00:44:31,964 It's the only way to prevent a catastrophe. 672 00:44:34,038 --> 00:44:38,338 The last tsunami hit Cannon Beach 30 years ago. 673 00:44:38,609 --> 00:44:39,735 And in the school playground, 674 00:44:39,877 --> 00:44:42,311 there's chilling evidence of its power: 675 00:44:42,446 --> 00:44:46,075 The steel swing set bears scars inflicted by trees, 676 00:44:46,216 --> 00:44:49,276 uprooted and hurled about by the waves. 677 00:44:49,420 --> 00:44:51,820 Fortunately, that tsunami struck at night, 678 00:44:51,955 --> 00:44:54,583 when the schoolyard was empty. 679 00:44:56,427 --> 00:44:59,191 The next one could happen anytime. 680 00:45:00,864 --> 00:45:03,992 Cannon Beach is well aware of the dangers of tsunami. 681 00:45:04,134 --> 00:45:07,763 But there are other towns at risk along the Pacific Coast... 682 00:45:07,905 --> 00:45:10,999 and many of them are simply unprepared 683 00:45:11,141 --> 00:45:12,267 For the state of Washington, 684 00:45:12,409 --> 00:45:15,003 there's a resort area called Long Beach 685 00:45:15,145 --> 00:45:17,375 It's a low-lying sand barrier. 686 00:45:17,514 --> 00:45:18,572 And during the summer months, 687 00:45:18,716 --> 00:45:21,549 sometimes there's as many as 40 or 50,000 people 688 00:45:21,685 --> 00:45:23,778 that are out there in recreational activities. 689 00:45:23,921 --> 00:45:26,219 That would be by far the worst case scenario, 690 00:45:26,356 --> 00:45:28,483 because there's only one way out of that, 691 00:45:28,625 --> 00:45:31,355 and that poses a very gruesome picture. 692 00:45:31,495 --> 00:45:34,487 Probably the people couldn't evacuate in time. 693 00:45:34,631 --> 00:45:37,464 And anything that's not reinforced concrete would be wiped out. 694 00:45:37,601 --> 00:45:41,002 And it becomes timber in the water, then causing more damage, 695 00:45:41,138 --> 00:45:44,801 because now it's incorporated as part of the wave. 696 00:45:44,942 --> 00:45:46,603 Automobiles become floating objects 697 00:45:46,744 --> 00:45:48,575 and they'd be propelled all over the place. 698 00:45:48,712 --> 00:45:50,805 So as the wave sweeps back and forth, 699 00:45:50,948 --> 00:45:52,779 it would probably just bulldoze 700 00:45:52,916 --> 00:45:56,010 and leave probably six or eight inches of sand. 701 00:45:56,153 --> 00:45:59,589 So when it's all over, it'll be nice smooth sandy beach 702 00:45:59,723 --> 00:46:02,715 without any of man's structures on it anymore. 703 00:46:05,362 --> 00:46:07,922 Warning systems and evacuation procedures are 704 00:46:08,065 --> 00:46:10,556 well-established here in Hawaii. 705 00:46:10,701 --> 00:46:13,761 But they're only effective if people trust them. 706 00:46:14,204 --> 00:46:15,796 Leave the area. 707 00:46:15,939 --> 00:46:19,875 This is an update on the civil defense tsunami alert. 708 00:46:20,010 --> 00:46:23,946 At this time, you are advised to stay in your room 709 00:46:24,081 --> 00:46:26,208 until further notice. 710 00:46:26,350 --> 00:46:29,808 Roads out of Waikiki are now closed. 711 00:46:29,953 --> 00:46:33,514 In 1994, a tsunami warning was issued here 712 00:46:33,657 --> 00:46:36,626 and beaches were evacuated throughout the islands. 713 00:46:36,760 --> 00:46:39,490 Three hundred thousand people responded 714 00:46:39,630 --> 00:46:43,327 But this tsunami alert may have done more harm than good. 715 00:46:43,467 --> 00:46:44,627 Well, in 1994, 716 00:46:44,768 --> 00:46:48,295 there was a large earthquake in the northwest Pacific Ocean. 717 00:46:48,438 --> 00:46:51,100 It was big enough to have generated a Pacific-wide tsunami. 718 00:46:51,241 --> 00:46:53,971 The early indications were that there was significant run-up 719 00:46:54,111 --> 00:46:57,103 of the water in the tidal stations closest to the earthquake. 720 00:46:57,247 --> 00:47:00,341 So the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center declared a tsunami warning. 721 00:47:00,484 --> 00:47:03,180 They accurately predicted the arrival time of the waves, 722 00:47:03,320 --> 00:47:05,788 but they are incapable of predicting 723 00:47:05,923 --> 00:47:08,983 how large the waves are actually going to be. 724 00:47:09,126 --> 00:47:10,753 When tsunamis occur as rarely as they do 725 00:47:10,894 --> 00:47:12,885 and with as little money as is available for research, 726 00:47:13,030 --> 00:47:14,054 we as yet just don't know 727 00:47:14,198 --> 00:47:16,928 how to predict how large the waves will be. 728 00:47:17,067 --> 00:47:21,231 So in Hawaii the waves came ashore six inches high. 729 00:47:21,371 --> 00:47:22,167 And unfortunately 730 00:47:22,306 --> 00:47:25,434 most of the public interprets that as a false alarm, 731 00:47:25,576 --> 00:47:27,703 when in fact it's just our lack of understanding. 732 00:47:27,845 --> 00:47:31,406 It could've been a potentially devastating tsunami. 733 00:47:32,850 --> 00:47:34,784 The problem with over-warning people is 734 00:47:34,918 --> 00:47:37,512 of course, they lose confidence in the system. 735 00:47:37,654 --> 00:47:39,588 They say, "Oh, it's just another false alarm," 736 00:47:39,723 --> 00:47:40,849 and we don't bother. 737 00:47:40,991 --> 00:47:43,755 Or the flip side of this is they become so cavalier about it 738 00:47:43,894 --> 00:47:46,886 they will actually go to the beach to see what it is. 739 00:47:47,030 --> 00:47:50,124 So I think it's incumbent upon us as scientists 740 00:47:50,267 --> 00:47:52,132 to try to find a more accurate way... 741 00:47:52,269 --> 00:47:54,931 of forecasting the effects of these. 742 00:47:56,006 --> 00:48:00,067 Now the technology finally exists to do just that. 743 00:48:00,210 --> 00:48:02,974 In a government warehouse near Dr. Bernard's office, 744 00:48:03,113 --> 00:48:05,775 you can see the future of tsunami forecasting. 745 00:48:05,916 --> 00:48:10,285 A 20-foot signal buoy, coupled with advanced wave sensors, 746 00:48:10,420 --> 00:48:14,720 could put an end to false alarms and help save lives. 747 00:48:15,058 --> 00:48:18,619 Anchored in the middle of the ocean as part of a Pacific-wide network, 748 00:48:18,762 --> 00:48:22,459 the system will make it possible to predict the height of tsunami waves 749 00:48:22,599 --> 00:48:25,432 as well as when and where they'll strike. 750 00:48:26,203 --> 00:48:30,469 Undersea gauges will take the precise measure of each passing wave 751 00:48:30,607 --> 00:48:33,838 and transmit the data to the buoy floating above. 752 00:48:33,977 --> 00:48:37,936 A satellite will complete the link to the tsunami warning center. 753 00:48:39,149 --> 00:48:41,913 The new system could eliminate false alarms 754 00:48:42,052 --> 00:48:46,045 and build public confidence in the tsunami warning system. 755 00:48:48,358 --> 00:48:50,292 But there are certain types of tsunamis 756 00:48:50,427 --> 00:48:51,792 that can strike so suddenly 757 00:48:51,929 --> 00:48:55,194 and with such force that even the most sophisticated system 758 00:48:55,332 --> 00:48:57,926 would be unable to provide a warning. 759 00:48:58,068 --> 00:48:59,057 Here in the Hawaiian Islands, 760 00:48:59,202 --> 00:49:02,660 where all of the land is built by volcanic eruptions, 761 00:49:02,806 --> 00:49:05,570 the islands grow up from the sea floor, 762 00:49:05,709 --> 00:49:08,644 and then periodically the sides slide back 763 00:49:08,779 --> 00:49:10,542 down onto the ocean floor. 764 00:49:10,681 --> 00:49:12,239 They've created magnificent cliffs 765 00:49:12,382 --> 00:49:15,510 along the sides of all of the islands in the chain. 766 00:49:15,652 --> 00:49:16,676 But when those chunks of the islands 767 00:49:16,820 --> 00:49:18,754 slide off onto the Pacific Ocean floor 768 00:49:18,889 --> 00:49:21,551 as huge landslides and debris flows... 769 00:49:21,692 --> 00:49:25,184 they have the potential to generate giant destructive tsunamis 770 00:49:25,329 --> 00:49:28,526 And there's evidence that they have created waves 771 00:49:28,665 --> 00:49:33,295 as high as 1,000 feet on some of the islands in the past. 772 00:49:35,172 --> 00:49:38,835 These landslide waves may be part of Hawaii's future 773 00:49:38,976 --> 00:49:41,274 as well as its past. 774 00:49:41,645 --> 00:49:45,911 Here on the Big Island, a huge crack in the earth is opening up 775 00:49:50,253 --> 00:49:52,153 It's 60 miles long. 776 00:49:52,289 --> 00:49:54,985 And it's growing wider every year. 777 00:49:55,826 --> 00:49:56,656 Some scientists think 778 00:49:56,793 --> 00:50:01,230 it's gradually detaching one side of the island from the other. 779 00:50:02,699 --> 00:50:05,862 The great crack is one of these fault zones. 780 00:50:06,003 --> 00:50:08,233 At one time, it may have actually had magma in it. 781 00:50:08,372 --> 00:50:11,034 But now, it's probably serving more like a hinge, 782 00:50:11,174 --> 00:50:15,133 where part of the island is beginning to slide down 783 00:50:15,278 --> 00:50:19,772 and may someday slip away toward the ocean floor. 784 00:50:21,251 --> 00:50:26,348 A thousand-foot tsunami on the coast of Hawaii would be catastrophic. 785 00:50:26,490 --> 00:50:28,958 But a giant tsunami could happen anywhere, 786 00:50:29,092 --> 00:50:33,188 even without earthquakes, volcanoes, or landslides. 787 00:50:33,330 --> 00:50:34,524 A few scientists are beginning 788 00:50:34,664 --> 00:50:38,794 to examine another possible cause extremely remote, 789 00:50:38,935 --> 00:50:40,368 but terrifying. 790 00:50:40,504 --> 00:50:45,464 Recently, the effects of a meteor impact have been studied. 791 00:50:45,609 --> 00:50:47,008 Depending on the size of the meteor, 792 00:50:47,144 --> 00:50:49,578 you could have some very destructive waves 793 00:50:49,713 --> 00:50:53,308 generated by the splash from a meteor in the ocean. 794 00:51:00,057 --> 00:51:03,686 You could have a wave formed hundreds of feet high. 795 00:51:05,262 --> 00:51:08,595 It is probably the surprise no one's prepared for. 796 00:51:27,084 --> 00:51:29,575 A giant tsunami generated by a meteor 797 00:51:29,719 --> 00:51:33,314 may only happen once every few thousands years. 798 00:51:34,658 --> 00:51:38,822 But it doesn't take a giant tsunami to devastate a community. 799 00:51:39,696 --> 00:51:41,960 At the memorial park near Hilo, 800 00:51:42,099 --> 00:51:44,829 where the Laupahoehoe school once stood 801 00:51:44,968 --> 00:51:46,993 today's students gather with survivors 802 00:51:47,137 --> 00:51:50,265 on the 50th anniversary of the tragedy. 803 00:52:26,209 --> 00:52:28,677 People ask me, "If we have another tsunami..." 804 00:52:28,812 --> 00:52:30,973 And I say, "No, it's not if we have a tsunami. 805 00:52:31,114 --> 00:52:33,344 It's when the next tsunami strikes." 806 00:52:33,483 --> 00:52:34,780 Because there will definitely be another one. 807 00:52:34,918 --> 00:52:39,355 It might not be this year or next, or even this decade. 808 00:52:39,489 --> 00:52:41,457 But it could be tomorrow as well. 809 00:52:50,267 --> 00:52:53,725 In Hawaii, they know what a tsunami can do. 810 00:52:57,774 --> 00:53:01,175 The rest of us would be wise to listen to their lament 811 00:53:01,311 --> 00:53:04,041 and learn from their experience.