Ireland Not Immune From Tsunami
When I think of tsunamis, I don’t ever think of Ireland. What generally comes to my mind is the Pacific Ocean and the tragedy of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. There have actually been many destructive tsunamis over the past twenty years and none of them have been in Ireland [think: Nicaragua (1992), Indonesia (1992, 1994, 1996), Japan (1993), Philippines (1994), Mexico (1995), Peru (1996, 2001), Papua-New Guinea (1998), Turkey (1999), and Vanuatu (1999)].
The truth is that tsunamis have happened in Ireland before and they could happen again. It’s just that one hasn’t hit the country for a long time. Professor Mike Williams of NUI Galway will deliver a talk Irish Tsunami – Myths and Dangers tonight at the Institute of Technology, Sligo discussing this very thing. Williams became interested in this topic because he wanted to know how gigantic boulders got on top of Ireland’s coastal cliffs. He discovered that in 1839 there was a massive storm (possibly a tsunami) that carried the boulders onto the shores. And even more interesting, he found that in 1755 a Portuguese earthquake created a wave that reached Galway Bay.
Of course, a serious natural event would have to occur for a tsunami to reach Ireland again (like an earthquake, underwater landslide or an asteroid hitting the Atlantic Ocean) but surprising to me it’s not beyond the realm of possibility. It’s a good thing there’s an official Tsunami warning system for Ireland and the rest of the EU just in case.
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Wow!! I had no idea! Thanks for sharing! This is really quite interesting. Let's just hope that this doesn't ever happen.
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