"Let nothing human be alien to me"- Terence

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Tsunami

Is this unprecedented?  I don't mean the earthquake, of course, but the anticipation and coverage of the impending tsunami.  I suppose it is akin to a major hurricane, which we can track as it storms toward land.  But I really don't remember ever seeing anything like this- the knowledge of this wave, crashing blindly but with a seemingly malevolent intent across the ocean, and we seem to know nearly within the minute when it will hit. 

How is this going to be covered?  Will there be cameras there?  Are we going to see it coming, live?  I admit to a growing obsession with this.  How far away will it be before we can see it? 

And, if I am going to be completely honest about this, I am a little worried about a letdown.  I don't think I am alone here.  I imagine that the news people are really hoping for a dramatic cataclysm.

Anyone else?  Are you just as interested in how this is unfolding as I am?

6 comments:

  1. I'm totally fascinated!

    In terms of delectation of major events, bigger is always better. But my guess is that if you heard any individual story of suffering (instead of a generalized sense of mass suffering), you would very much rather that it had not happened. That is, on the perhaps not unwarranted presumption that you are not an evil sadistic bastard.

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  2. That should read "perhaps unwarranted"

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  3. Well, reviews on that are mixed. But you are right, epic- I don't want anyone to suffer here. But I think we all have a perhaps guilty attraction to disaster porn- we're amazed at what nature can do.

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  4. Brian,

    I've seen reports that the waves to strike Hawaii will be amplified by around 2 feet, on average. In Hilo Bay things the water will be a little higher.

    Also,
    You may want to see this piece by Robert F. Worth on the separatist movement in South Yemen. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/28/world/middleeast/28yemen.html?hp

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  5. Oh, yeah, totally! I just meant there's a paradox where we sort of hope it's dramatic, and then feel terrible when we hear about what happened to one person.

    So, do you feel stood up by the tsunami?

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  6. I think people are misreading it, the anticipation for the tsunami was not in the amount of people that would be hurt (there was no reason for anyone but an idiot who chooses to test a tsunami), the anticipation was in waiting for a huge wave to come crashing onto shore, there were enough inundation areas there to minimize property damage so even that wasn't an issue.

    charo

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