"This is the story of a journey. It begins in a small, slightly overfull office in Sydney, Australia and ends in the unremitting heat of the Atacama Desert coast in Chile. To get from A to B though is no straight line, it takes many geographical and anecdotal tangents. The journey is one of discovery. It describes my part in the emergence of a new and extremely violent science - unravelling the mysteries of past tsunamis. There are two sides to the story of every tsunami - the careful piecing together of the physical evidence for these catastrophic events and the patient assembly of the jigsaw puzzle that often reflects the less tangible signs, the human story. After all, the only reason we really care about tsunamis is because they catch us by surprise, destroy our coastal communities, and kill us. The past couple of decades have seen 1000s of unnecessary tsunami-related deaths but we continue to believe that we can control nature, control this beast. It is only when you delve into the past that you start to realise that not only have tsunamis been even bigger than we have experienced in living memory, but that they have also destroyed coastal communities, and just like today we never seem to truly learn from these experiences. In the absence of this huge back catalogue of human folly we continue to make the same mistakes. In this case the past is our key to the future -the more we know about the past, the better prepared we will be for the future. The trick is to know what you are looking for; and this is the start of that journey"--

"This is the story of a journey. It begins in a small, slightly overfull office in Sydney, Australia and ends in the unremitting heat of the Atacama Desert coast in Chile. To get from A to B though is no straight line, it takes many geographical and anecdotal tangents. The journey is one of discovery. It describes my part in the emergence of a new and extremely violent science - unravelling the mysteries of past tsunamis. There are two sides to the story of every tsunami - the careful piecing together of the physical evidence for these catastrophic events and the patient assembly of the jigsaw puzzle that often reflects the less tangible signs, the human story. After all, the only reason we really care about tsunamis is because they catch us by surprise, destroy our coastal communities, and kill us. The past couple of decades have seen 1000s of unnecessary tsunami-related deaths but we continue to believe that we can control nature, control this beast. It is only when you delve into the past that you start to realise that not only have tsunamis been even bigger than we have experienced in living memory, but that they have also destroyed coastal communities, and just like today we never seem to truly learn from these experiences. In the absence of this huge back catalogue of human folly we continue to make the same mistakes. In this case the past is our key to the future -the more we know about the past, the better prepared we will be for the future. The trick is to know what you are looking for; and this is the start of that journey"--

"Tsunamis, the giant waves that periodically engulf coastal areas and even the shores of lakes and rivers, have had a major impact on the world. Not only have they caused countless deaths, but have changed nations, societies and cultures from prehistoric to modern times. This book describes the science of tsunamis and the many ways they can be generated ranging from earthquakes, to volcanic eruptions and explosions, to landslides and others. It also explains how the waves travel across oceans at the speed of a jet airplane and how they focus or disperse their incredible energy. It delves into the clues that ancient tsunamis have left behind to be unraveled by modern science so that we can better understand not only what has happened in the past, but also what will happen in the future. The book also explores the human side of tsunami disasters looking at their effect on the residents of impacted communities by recounting the amazing true stories of survival, heroism and tragic loss. It discusses and provides examples of what works in mitigation, preparedness, warning, response and recovery from tsunamis, what doesn't work, and what needs to be done. It contains little-known stories about scientists struggling to better understand these catastrophic waves, while fighting government ignorance and reluctance to take action, as well as amazing chance discoveries, and the continued quest to learn more and become better prepared, as every year the odds of yet another catastrophic tsunami increase - It is not if, but when!"--

A puzzling tsunami entered Japanese history in January 1700. Samurai, merchants, and villagers wrote of minor flooding and damage. Some noted having felt no earthquake; they wondered what had set off the waves but had no way of knowing that the tsunami was spawned during an earthquake along the coast of northwestern North America. This orphan tsunami would not be linked to its parent earthquake until the mid-twentieth century, through an extraordinary series of discoveries in both North America and Japan. The Orphan Tsunami of 1700, now in its second edition, tells this scientific detective story through its North American and Japanese clues. The story underpins many of today�s precautions against earthquake and tsunami hazards in the Cascadia region of northwestern North America. The Japanese tsunami of March 2011 called attention to these hazards as a mirror image of the transpacific waves of January 1700. Hear Brian Atwater on NPR with Renee Montagne http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4629401

This book is an overview of the state-of-the art developments in sedimentology of tsunami-induced and tsunami-affected deposits, namely tsunamiites. It also highlights new problems and issues calling for additional investigation, and provides insight into the direction for future tsunamiite researches. Provides a comprehensive overview of developments in tsunamiites Investigates future trends and development needs Cutting edge research articles from leading experts aimed at researchers and scientists

Uses historical research and personal accounts of survivors to tell the story of the tsunamis that hit Crescent City, California on Good Friday, 1964, which damaged hundreds of homes and businesses and killed eleven people. Includes some information about Alaska.

Tsunamis are underrated as major hazards, mainly due to the misconceptions that they occur infrequently and happen along some distant shoreline. However, evidence for past great tsunami has recently been discovered along apparently aseismic and protected coastlines, such as those of Australia and Western Europe. This is a comprehensive and well illustrated textbook on all aspects of tsunami. It can be used by a student or layperson to gain encyclopedic knowledge about tsunami.