Japan Threatened By 113-Foot Tsunami, Says Japanese Government Expert Report

This is no April Fool’s story. It’s a real story at Spiegel. 

Everyone knows that some climate scientists like to use sea level rise as a way to scare the public when it comes to the dangers of global warming. A one-meter rise could wreak havoc and displace tens of millions of people overnight over 100 years they fret.

 Most experts, however, agree that the current rate of sea level rise is more of a nuisance than a catastrophe, and something that we can do little to prevent. But now there are some experts who say that there is another risk looming out there that needs to be taken far more seriously, especially in Japan – monster tsunamis.

Der Spiegel has a new article on how Japan could be a hit by a 34 meter (113-foot) tsunami from earthquake activity in the Pacific. Spiegel writes:

New research results show that the danger is greater than assumed up to now. […] An earthquake in the ocean with a magnitude of 9.0 in the Nankai Gorge off the east coast of Japan could trigger a wave of more than 20 meters and flood a large part of the coastal region, the Japanese media quoted a research report today from a government-appointed expert commission. […] Wave heights with peaks of up to 34 meters are possible in the future, the report now says.”

That is something we definitely need to worry about, much more than the improbable one meter sea level rise over 100 years due to global warming in a dubious climate model. The Japanese report goes on to say that even earthquakes of 7.0 under certain conditions would be enough wreak havoc for Tokyo, an area that is home to 33 million people.

So what should the government do? Should coastal areas be closed and everyone moved to higher ground? The answer is of course no. The benefits of residing along the coast are immense. People should be made aware of the risks and plans need to be drawn up that allow for an effective response in the event of such a disaster. The best we can hope for is to find effective ways to minimize the damage.

Is this all just irresponsible fear-mongering? Der Spiegel writes:

A powerful earthquake in the area is long overdue. In the event of a catastrophe, a power outage of more than one week has to be expected and the water supply could be knocked out for a mionth.

The report states that most people are not stocked up with enough supplies to carry them over for these periods.