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With the help of my colleague, Alex Molina, I recently wrote about the realistic danger that tsunamis posed to the west coast of the United States.

I had vastly underestimated the damage a tsunami can do, and the last two days, after reading about the 8.3 magnitude earthquake and tsunami that followed, I also got to watch the Pacific Ocean’s tsunami warning system in action.

In the case of Samoa, American Samoa, and Tonga, the earthquake’s epicenter and aftershocks were in some cases less than 100 miles from the coastlines. This meant that the early warning system had little time to warn anyone. At this time, over 111 people are reported missing or dead from the three Pacific territories, and that count is expected to be considerably higher once emergency personnel make it to hard to access, outlying areas. In some cases, the waves came as far as a mile inland.

Handling the challenges of flood risks in densely populated areas has been a constant historical factor in human settlements. Most cities are located in the valleys, flood plains and the coasts. Cities through their nature of having large impervious areas produce large run-offs which the drainage network cannot accommodate, and are potentially exposed to floods. It has been acknowledged that the damage potential of floods in the cities is extraordinarily high. Given the high population density in urban areas, even small scale flash floods may cause considerable damage. At the extreme end of the disaster spectrum, urban flash floods can result in disasters that set back development drastically. With climate change and global warming resulting in increased frequency of flood s and their magnitude, continuing urbanization and disproportionate growth, the economic costs of flash floods will soar. Sustainable management of urban flood risks is becoming an increasingly challenging task for city/municipal authorities. (ii)

Flash floods are distinctly characterized by very swift rise and recession, associated with debris flows and landslides, occurring along channels and rivers with small drainage area. Their distinct features paint a stark picture. Flash floods happen suddenly, easily and frequently, are very destructive, and difficult to protect against. Of late, flash floods brought extremely destructive disasters e.g. the recent flash floods in Istanbul, Turkey. In most cases it involves a break in flood protection facility.

Now for the good news

Otherwise, the new system in the Pacific seems to be working well. In all fairness, the tsunami that hit American Samoa was practically a point-blank shot and we did not have the benefit of the buoys to warn us of what was coming. Once the tsunami had time to move out and start hitting buoys, however, we had a clear picture of when the waves would hit Hawaii, Japan, the west coast of the United States, and other Pacific area at risk.

Warnings were made well in advance, and ships were able to seek deeper, safer waters, tsunami watches and warnings went into effect, and quickly out of effect, once the NOAA knew the waves had lost considerable power and size and represented little threat.

Even in far away, Venice Beach, California, lifeguards advised people to get out of the water in advance of the waves, and the tsunami showed up right on time. Apparently there wasn’t much punch left, but I’m sure the state of California is relieved. Still, the unfortunate and low lying town of Crescent City, California was battered by a 1.5 foot peak over normal tides - a size comparable to the largest waves to hit Hawaii after the quake. State officials, knowing the town’s vulnerability to tsunamis, were able to take the right precautions, however, and other than a scare to the local fish, no one was harmed and no property damage was reported.

The flow of the weather determines crop yields, human health, efficiency in distribution, water shortages, and droughts, as well as the production of energy; it does indeed affect almost every human endeavor.

If you plan writing articles about the weather, you need to focus on the long-term trends, the records that are being broken, the cooling of the planet, the increase of ice at the South Pole, annual rainfalls, and the major events such as hurricanes, typhoons, cyclones, tornadoes, ice storms, and huge deluge of rain during peak storm season.

You see, people are interested in the weather not only because of the soccer game on the weekend, or the barbecue on a three-day weekend, but also because it affects their commute to work, their jobs, their family, and every aspect of their lives.

If you can do write about these things and if your articles address people’s individual concerns about the weather, you’ll be amazed at how many people will read your articles online. Please consider all this

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