By: Joann Bally CSCS
Most of us will never see a tsunami, but it’s good to know something about it, just in case. If you live in Omaha or Wichita, you may not be interested at all, but you may some time vacation on a tropical island. (Yes, you may.) Or you may find yourself in the Pacific Northwest, where you will see tsunami escape routes marked by signs on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, as well as in California near Crescent City where 11 people were killed by a tsunami in 1964.
Eighty percent of tsunamis occur in the Pacific, though the monster in 2004 was in the Indian Ocean. That one killed 250,000 people.
Tsunamis are generally caused by earthquakes, though they may be caused by landslides, undersea volcanoes, or anything else that causes major water displacement. A tsunami originating near Asia can cross the ocean at near the speed of sound. Still, you would have warning of one of those. If it originates nearby, it can be there before there is time for warnings.
If you are surfing, swimming, or sunning on the beach and there is an earthquake, get off the beach immediately. If the ocean starts to recede, run for the hills. Don’t even take time to get a photo with your cell phone. Don’t go back after the first wave. There will probably be another, bigger one. Wait for an all clear from authorities.
Learn more at www.tsunami.noaa.gov.
Related using the H&F.com Search:
LIPOSUCTION DEATHS POSSIBLE
HEALTHandFITNESS.com 
