Heroes Insider Weekly

Extreme Weather Survival - Tsunamis

MNdreamer AKA Storm

 Writing Survival for Extreme Weather

 Tsunami Survival

Hello again.  I hope you have been able to apply some things so far that I have shown you.  We have discussed cold, earthquakes and forest fires.   You’re seen how to stay warm and live through freezing temps, and how to survive a building falling apart around you. This week we are going to discuss something that can be the result of an earthquake and comes from the ocean in the form of water—a tsunami.

But what exactly is a tsunami?  Have you seen the images of them on television?  A tsunami is water from the ocean, a giant wave right?  Well yes, but also no.  This is what most people think, but they are only partially right.

A tsunami is not simply one wave; it is a succession of several waves.  It typically is a set of four to eight waves but can have wiggle room.  As land shifts it has to have somewhere to go.  When an earthquake occurs, either on land or under the ocean, it moves the water.  The shaking and moving land forces the ocean to shift, sending pulses through the water.  As the vibrations travel across the surface of the water, they quickly grow in size.  It doesn’t take long for them to reach a shoreline, and when they do, they are huge waves.

The waves travel across the ocean at varying speeds.  When a tsunami first starts, they are barely noticeable, moving flat like the surface.  The reason we are aware of them, is we have devices all over the ocean that measure depths.  When one of these buoys detects a dramatic shift in depth, it sends a signal warning that a tsunami may be racing towards shore.  When a tsunami is in this flat stage it could be moving at up to 500 mph (800kph).  This is how fast jets travel to give you a comparison.

As the tsunami inches towards shore, the water shallows forcing the surface to change shape into the wave structure we recognize.  This slows the speed down dramatically.  The closer it gets to land, the higher the wave will become, and the more it will slow down.  The first wave or two may not be the big one.  It is a good chance that the third one will be the big wave that does the most destruction and causes the loss of life.

So now that you know what exactly a tsunami is, let’s go someplace that has one and see what happens before, during, and after so that you can write about it.

Let’s say I am writing a tragic romance novel.  My two characters have fallen hopelessly in love and want to take a romantic trip together.  They decide on one of the most romantic places in the world.  Fabulous beaches, beautiful sunsets, savory food, relaxing music—Hawaii, also at risk for tsunami’s which is in our favor.

Our couple is enjoying themselves on their vacation, away from the world, away from technology.  They turn off their cell phones, ignore all television, and lavish each other with attention.  In the early afternoon they are laying on the beach.  They decide to go for a swim but notice the tide suddenly pulls back from land, pulls way back.  They shrug it off and decide to go back to lying on the beach.  What they don’t know, since they are ignoring technology, is that an earthquake of sizable proportions has just occurred under the ocean several hundred miles offshore.

Right now a tsunami is racing its way directly at Hawaii.  One of the first indications that a tsunami is about to crash onto land is that the water will pull back from the shore.  The tide pulling back will not be like the typical shift of the morning and night tidal shifts.  This pull back is twenty or more feet, enough for people to stop and notice something isn’t right.  People will take note, but lucky for the writer most people aren’t bright enough to run like they should.

So this is the point every week I bring up for you to make that decision.  Does the character make the right decision, or the wrong one?  The correct decision when faced with a tsunami is to move, and move quickly, for high ground.  Areas frequented with tsunamis have evacuations routes posted.  I lived in Washington State for a few years.  I was right on the water of Puget Sound and we were at risk for tsunamis.  Along the streets were signs posted with the official city evacuation route leading to higher ground.  So as my characters lounge on the beach, the smart folks of Hawaii that noticed the water waning back, are making their way up the cliffs.  They are running and moving as fast as they can, as north as they can, away from the beach.

Now my characters aren’t bright.  They are enjoying the sunshine and not caring that the people around them are disappearing.  At some point one of them begins to hear a noise and it alerts them.  A dull roar begins.  It starts to get louder and louder.  They look up trying to find the source and see no logical machines that could be making it.  At some point they notice out at sea a huge wave making its way towards shore.  The wave seems to be making its way in at a fast pace.

Do they run?  Do they hide?  Do they panic?  Nope.

They get up from their chairs and stand on the beach to watch as so many people killed by tsunamis have done.  Within seconds a giant wall of water, one bigger than they ever could have imagined, overtakes the beach and crashes on shore.  The wave is 40ft high (12m).  To give you a visual that is like a four story house.  When the tsunami crashes on shore, there is a good chance that anyone standing on the beach could be killed instantly from the force of the water alone.  If they are lucky enough to survive the pressure of the water hitting them, they are going to go through hell, and most likely won’t survive much longer.

As the water hits the shore, it’s going to begin picking up everything it crosses.  The sand underneath it will begin mixing in with the water, as well as any dirt, grass or mud.  Trees and rocks are also going to become part of the flow.  The wave is going to turn into a river moving across the land.  It will cross over buildings, cars, people, animals, and anything else in its way like they are all paper.  Everything will be battered and parts picked up and carried with it.  The water mixes with everything and becomes one giant river of debris, dirt and water.

Any person stuck traveling along in this current not only runs the risk of drowning at this point, but also of being battered with debris from objects carried along with it.  Glass and other sharp objects can cut into them and sever limbs.  This is not a good place to be.  Sadly my characters were not bright and found themselves here, and paid the price.  The guy didn’t make it.  He fell to the mercy of the river as it moved across the land.

The huge waves can come as one or two and then several small ones.  They can be spaced out over a few hours or a day.  Once the tsunami is finished battering the land it may take a long time for the water to go away.  The vision left behind will be that of total destruction.  The area may look more like a swamp or a lake.  The people that have gone through the tsunami will be filthy, covered in mud and dirt, and have injuries everywhere.  Our female character has survived, but at a cost.  She now has to live without the man she came with (As I said a tragic romance).  It will take a long time to rebuild, a long time before it will even be possible.

Interested in reading more about how tsunamis can be used in a story?  My sequel to The Company Ink titled The Crimson Ink, which is a mature romance, includes a large part about a tsunami hitting Hawaii triggered by a large earthquake in Chile. I use all sorts of extreme weather in my writing on a regular basis to kill off a character, put someone in a stressful situation, move the plot along, or just make the scene more interesting.