7165 Unforecasted Earthquake, Forgotten Tsunamis

Sunday, February 19, 2012: 9:30 AM
Room 202-204 (VCC West Building)
Kenji Satake , University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
The Tohoku earthquake was the largest in Japan’s history and much larger than forecast from past occurrences. However, geological and historical studies have found traces of similar-sized tsunamis in the past. The quickly issued warning, within 3 min of the earthquake, underestimated the tsunami heights. The updated tsunami warning based on offshore sea level observations did not reach some affected areas. The tsunami propagated across the Pacific Ocean and caused fatalities in California.