The female operator in answer to a query from an aircraft after giving weather
information reported no ill effects from the earthquake.

So everything appears well on Diego Garcia.

1653 on 13254 USB

dxAce
Michigan
USA

dxAce wrote:

The female operator in answer to a query from an aircraft after giving weather
information reported no ill effects from the earthquake.

So everything appears well on Diego Garcia.

They got lucky. DG is an atoll (for those who don't know what that is,
look it up), a 30 foot high wave could easily wipe it off the face of
the earth.


1653 on 13254 USB

dxAce
Michigan
USA

I talked by phone, about an hour ago, with a gentleman on DG and he
said they experienced waves 3 to 4 feet high but suffered no damage.
If the island's elevation is only 4 to 22 feet high, that makes sense.
But why was there so much damage to the coast of Somalia, another 2000
miles further west, and no damage to DG?? Would they tell us if there
really was damage on DG??

wrote:

I talked by phone, about an hour ago, with a gentleman on DG and he
said they experienced waves 3 to 4 feet high but suffered no damage.
If the island's elevation is only 4 to 22 feet high, that makes sense.
But why was there so much damage to the coast of Somalia, another 2000
miles further west, and no damage to DG?? Would they tell us if there
really was damage on DG??

Nah, it's all a big secret to get you conspiracy kooks going!

But actually it probably has a lot to do with the mechanics of the wave itself
and the sea floor/bed around Diego Garcia itself. The wave may have 'flowed'
around Diego Garcia, but when it reached Somalia it had nowhere else to go but
up the beach.

It's pretty simple physics.

dxAce
Michigan
USA

In article , dxAce wrote:


wrote:

I talked by phone, about an hour ago, with a gentleman on DG and he
said they experienced waves 3 to 4 feet high but suffered no damage.
If the island's elevation is only 4 to 22 feet high, that makes sense.
But why was there so much damage to the coast of Somalia, another 2000
miles further west, and no damage to DG?? Would they tell us if there
really was damage on DG??

Nah, it's all a big secret to get you conspiracy kooks going!

But actually it probably has a lot to do with the mechanics of the wave itself
and the sea floor/bed around Diego Garcia itself. The wave may have 'flowed'
around Diego Garcia, but when it reached Somalia it had nowhere else to go but
up the beach.

It's pretty simple physics.

Yes, I dug out the Nat. Geo. World Atlas and the physical map of the
Indian Ocean shows why some areas like India and Somalia got plastered.
The continental shelf and the shoreline are parallel to the wave front,
so the energy got concentrated vertically. Diego Garcia and the Chagos
have the Chagos Trench that runs east and south of DG, so the energy
could diffract around.

The surprise for me is that Broome and Northwest Australia didn't get
it hard. One description (can't remember if it was in the newspaper or
on one of the American TV news broadcasts) said that in these subduction
quakes, some of the seabed falls and some areas rise. So there's a
dipole effect where, for some directions, the waves cancel out.

They said Sumatra moved 100 ft. I'd hate to be a land surveyor there
using GPS. Until they recalibrate their local benchmarks, it'll be
hopeless.

Mark Zenier Washington State resident

dxAce wrote:
wrote:

I talked by phone, about an hour ago, with a gentleman on DG and he
said they experienced waves 3 to 4 feet high but suffered no
damage.
If the island's elevation is only 4 to 22 feet high, that makes
sense.
But why was there so much damage to the coast of Somalia, another
2000
miles further west, and no damage to DG?? Would they tell us if
there
really was damage on DG??

Nah, it's all a big secret to get you conspiracy kooks going!

But actually it probably has a lot to do with the mechanics of the
wave itself
and the sea floor/bed around Diego Garcia itself. The wave may have
'flowed'
around Diego Garcia, but when it reached Somalia it had nowhere else
to go but
up the beach.

It's pretty simple physics.

dxAce
Michigan
USA

It all has to do with something called "run-up".........basically, it's
how far the water travels inland which is determined by the sea floor.
USGS has an online walk through on the mechanics of the tsunami. I am
a survivor of the great Alaskan earthquake and subsequent tsunamis in
1964. Did you know that since the initial temblor (off the coast of
Sumatra) there have been a total of 46 exceeding 5.0......and that
there now are indications that a wave was generated as well that
entered the pacific. Interesting stuff here.

Dionne wrote:

dxAce wrote:
wrote:

I talked by phone, about an hour ago, with a gentleman on DG and he
said they experienced waves 3 to 4 feet high but suffered no
damage.
If the island's elevation is only 4 to 22 feet high, that makes
sense.
But why was there so much damage to the coast of Somalia, another
2000
miles further west, and no damage to DG?? Would they tell us if
there
really was damage on DG??

Nah, it's all a big secret to get you conspiracy kooks going!

But actually it probably has a lot to do with the mechanics of the
wave itself
and the sea floor/bed around Diego Garcia itself. The wave may have
'flowed'
around Diego Garcia, but when it reached Somalia it had nowhere else
to go but
up the beach.

It's pretty simple physics.

dxAce
Michigan
USA

It all has to do with something called "run-up".........basically, it's
how far the water travels inland which is determined by the sea floor.
USGS has an online walk through on the mechanics of the tsunami. I am
a survivor of the great Alaskan earthquake and subsequent tsunamis in
1964. Did you know that since the initial temblor (off the coast of
Sumatra) there have been a total of 46 exceeding 5.0......and that
there now are indications that a wave was generated as well that
entered the pacific. Interesting stuff here.

Yes, there have been a lot of aftershocks. I subscribe to the the service he

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/products/..._services.html

Which notifies me of earthquakes exceeding 5.5 anywhere in the world or 4.5 in
the USA.

dxAce
Michigan
USA

Thanx for the link. Didn't know that was hiding in there!

Hi!

I just found this info on the status of Diego Garcia. I was stationed
there for a year (1979-1980) as a member of the US Navy. I was happily
suprised to learn that the island was spared...having spent many hours
roaming the shores of "DG", I know how easily it could be overrun by a
tsunami...don't recall a place as HIGH as 22 feet...The highest spot I
was on was the at the base SWIMMING POOL! It was elevated so that when
you stood at poolside, you were at about room height of surrounding
buildings. I was a lifeguard in my "spare" time. We were standing
port/starboard (12 on 12 off) work schedules at the Naval Security
Group Activity there. I still managed to hold down a part time job!
I was there when we did the failed Iranian Embassy Rescue Mission.
Some of the C-130 crews met at the pool to talk about the
"mission"...no one...even THEM knew exactly where they were going or
why! It was very hush hush. I am also a ham radio operator (WA1JMM)
and although I didn't get to operate while there, I did get a British
Indian Ocean Territory call sign from the British Government...think it
was "VP9GD" or GRD...they used your initials for the call letters! Got
to make one phone patch at the Navy MARS station and then discovered
the Autovon phone system...got to talk to my wife via an very
understanding phone op in Maine! Ah the fond memories of "The Rock"!
George, Senior Chief Petty Officer, USN (Retired).

George wrote:

Hi!

I just found this info on the status of Diego Garcia. I was stationed
there for a year (1979-1980) as a member of the US Navy. I was happily
suprised to learn that the island was spared...having spent many hours
roaming the shores of "DG", I know how easily it could be overrun by a
tsunami...don't recall a place as HIGH as 22 feet...The highest spot I
was on was the at the base SWIMMING POOL! It was elevated so that when
you stood at poolside, you were at about room height of surrounding
buildings. I was a lifeguard in my "spare" time. We were standing
port/starboard (12 on 12 off) work schedules at the Naval Security
Group Activity there. I still managed to hold down a part time job!
I was there when we did the failed Iranian Embassy Rescue Mission.
Some of the C-130 crews met at the pool to talk about the
"mission"...no one...even THEM knew exactly where they were going or
why! It was very hush hush. I am also a ham radio operator (WA1JMM)
and although I didn't get to operate while there, I did get a British
Indian Ocean Territory call sign from the British Government...think it
was "VP9GD" or GRD...they used your initials for the call letters! Got
to make one phone patch at the Navy MARS station and then discovered
the Autovon phone system...got to talk to my wife via an very
understanding phone op in Maine! Ah the fond memories of "The Rock"!
George, Senior Chief Petty Officer, USN (Retired).

http://www.members.tripod.com/carlvillanueva/id22.htm

dxAce
Michigan
USA