Waves over 2 meters

November 25, 2016

Tsunami in Miyagi likely topped 2 meters

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20161125_12/

A fishery port in Japan's northeastern prefecture of Miyagi was found to have been hit by a tsunami more than 2 meters high after Tuesday's strong earthquake.

That's bigger than the 1.4-meter tsunami the Meteorological Agency described as the highest observed just after the magnitude-7.4 earthquake struck off neighboring Fukushima Prefecture. The agency had warned of tsunami along the coast of northeastern Japan.

A fishery cooperative worker took a photo of the tsunami at the port of Ohama in Higashimatsushima. It shows that the waters reached an inclined road about 60 meters inland and more than 2 meters above sea level.

Professor Fumihiko Imamura of Tohoku University's International Research Institute of Disaster Science says he believes the photo shows traces of the tsunami.

He also says a simulation by his institute shows that about 10 kilometers west of the port, the surface of the sea rose 2.5 meters.

Imamura says residents need to remember that waves can be higher than forecast and to evacuate quickly.

The head of a branch of the Miyagi prefectural fishery cooperative, Takashi Sasaki, says he was surprised to hear of tsunami as high as an adult human.