National Weather Service Forecast Office - Philadelphia/Mount Holly

Welcome to Tsunami (?) along the eastern seaboard of North America. The (?) does not question whether they occur in Atlantic waters as in the Pacific and other waters, for they occur in all waters around the world. The (?) refers to questions such as what was the initial cause that sent large and sudden waves crashing into North American shores, often with deadly results. Why have these events remained hidden from view until uncovered by much research in local histories and newspapers? Not knowing of the events helps to perpetuate the fiction that such waves do not occur along the North American shores and beaches. As events are uncovered, it becomes apparent that this is just not true! The primary objective of the Tsunami section on the homepage of the National Weather Service in Mt Holly, NJ, is AWARENESS, awareness that past events have occurred, even in the Mt Holly area of responsibility. This section will be dynamic, with additions being made as new information is uncovered with time.

The set-up for these tsunami pages is in response to questions submitted by Steve Horvath, a student at Timberlane School of Hopewell Valley in Pennington, New Jersey. He asked very good questions for his independent study project on tsunami. Answering his questions here will lead to links for further study and information, and to known events which have impacted the shores from Newfoundland to Florida. Besides these known events, others have occurred, but exact dates have not been determined yet. A fellow NWS employee, Bill Christ, came across the after effects of a wave that hit Manasquan, New Jersey, during the pre-dawn hours in the early or mid 1970s. An older gentleman previously questioned by Bill remembered a wave in the 1930s that went ½ mile inland, also in Manasquan. This could be one of the two 1930s waves which will be discussed here, or, another one as yet unknown. A lady wrote to James F. Landers, leading tsunami expert, asking if he knew anything about a giant wave that suddenly came ashore as she and her family were on the beach in Coney Island during the mid 1940s, forcing everybody to run for their lives. A Skywarn member's father remembers that in the early 1940s, a sudden large wave played havoc with the Queen Mary as she was docking. Skywarn is a very important volunteer network that reports severe weather events to the NWS, giving us rapid and often the first known reports of severe weather, allowing us to issue warnings earlier and to quickly update forecasts if necessary.

Whatever the cause of these events, they might never be discovered, since exact dates are not known, making research very difficult. The events might not have even been reported! YOU CAN HELP!! Have you ever seen any sudden onslaught of large waves, especially in fair weather? Have you always had an interest in "tidal waves", and snipped articles from your local newspaper when you ran across them? NWS would like to know! We can tell you what they are. Maybe you can tell us WHEN they happened. If you didn't know before who to contact to report these waves, the contact is US. Verified reports will be added to the Mt Holly pages, with acknowledgment given to the person submitting the report.

A . Why do tsunami occur? Where do they occur? Where do the most frequent tsunami occur?

H . Where are there tsunami research centers?
A . Steve asks: Why do tsunami occur? Where do they occur? Where do the most frequent tsunami occur?

Tsunami occur anywhere there is water. Frequent is a relative term, because they are actually a rare event. They are more "common" where the earth's plates are grinding against each other, especially where one is pushing under the other, called a subduction zone. Such a zone is located in the Caribbean and another off Portugal. Tsunami can be generated by volcanic activity, such as when Krakatoa volcano in present day Indonesia, exploded to bits in 1883. Earthquakes can cause landslides into inland lakes, causing a push of water hundreds of feet up the opposing shore. Landslides in the offshore canyons off the East Coast of the USA can generate tsunami, whether earthquake induced or not. Some of the sudden and brief onslaught of waves along the northeast USA coast, some with fatalities, could be the result of these landslides. Seiches, a sloshing of water in an enclosed body of water, can produce tsunami-type waves. The Good Friday 1964 Alaska earthquake produced a local tsunami of 100'. It also caused seiches in the Louisiana Delta that damaged fishing boats. On a smaller scale, it sloshed the water in swimming pools in northern New Jersey. Weather can produce tsunami-type waves, some deadly.

Lines of thunderstorms producing strong winds can push the water in a lake in one direction. When the wind stops, the pushed-up water rushes back, sometimes hitting the coast. Such a wave 10-15' high struck the Chicago region, killing 4 people. The September 21, 1938, hurricane raced north off the New Jersey coast at 55 to over 70 mph. After the hurricane had moved into New England, a series of 3 waves, 30-50' high, the first wave being the highest, moved into the New Jersey shore. One possibility as a cause for these waves is that northwest gales, hurricane force over the ocean, were keeping back a Spring Tide. When the winds stopped on a dime, the ocean came in to where it had wanted to be. Another possibility is an offshore canyon landslide set up by a series of earthquakes in the region during the previous two months, the hurricane wave action along the shore, with perhaps the low pressure of the racing hurricane being the straw that broke the camel's back. Should this be the case, this event would be a classic-in-every-sense-of-the-word tsunami that hit New Jersey.

Comet/asteroid strikes in the ocean produce some of the largest tsunami, destroying everything in their path, which can extend inland for hundreds of miles. Two impacts occurred very near New Jersey about 25 to 35 million years ago. Others worldwide are now being discovered. Why do tsunami occur? They are the result of natural processes of a living earth and universe.

Here is a list of countries and bodies of water that have been affected by tsunami. The year given is the first mention of a tsunami in that country. It does not mean that was the only wave ever to hit that particular country.

DATE	COUNTRY/SEA	DATE	COUNTRY/SEA	DATE	COUNTRY/SEA
2000 BC	SYRIA	1706	CANARY ISL.	1860	PERU
760 BC	ISRAEL	1737	INDIA	1866	TASMAN SEA
760 BC	LEBANON	1737	RUSSIA	1866	MIRTOON SEA
479 BC	MACEDONIA	1750	BURMA	1866	OREGON
476 BC	GREECE	1750	ADRIATIC SEA	1872	BONIN ISLAND
373 BC	CORINTH GULF	1751	HISPANIOLA	1872	NEW ENGLAND
173 BC	YELLOW SEA	1755	CUBA	1872	WASHINGTON ST
58 BC	ALBANIA	1755	NEWFOUNDLAND	1873	NEW GUINEA
26 BC	CYPRUS	1760	GERMANY	1875	NEW HEBRIDES
23 BC	EGYPT	1760	DENMARK	1878	TATAR STRAIT
47 AD	CHINA	1762	NORWAY	1881	FIJI
262	TURKEY	1767	IRELAND	1882	SRI LANKA
315	DEAD SEA	1773	GUATAMALA	1884	URUGUAY
416	INDONESIA	1773	NICARAGUA	1885	AUSTRALIA
447	SEA OF MARMORA	1777	SWEDEN	1899	COOK ISLAND
551	MALIAKOS GULF	1778	BALTIC SEA	1911	GHANA
684	JAPAN	1788	IRISH SEA	1912	YAP ISLAND
792	VERONA	1788	ALASKA	1922	PUERTO RICO
803	GULF OF ISKENDERIN	1798	COSTA RICA	1924	MACQUARIE ISL
824	CHANNEL ISLANDS	1802	ANTIGUA	1924	CHATHAM ISL
957	CASPIAN SEA	1805	GULF OF PATRAS	1925	TEXAS
1099	ENGLAND	1806	CALIFORNIA	1926	SOLOMON ISL
1106	LAGOON OF VENICE	1809	SOUTH AFRICA	1928	BR COLUMBIA
1106	ITALY	1813	HAWAII	1929	NOVA SCOTIA
1303	LYBIAN SEA	1814	TIMOR SEA	1945	ARABIAN SEA
1498	VENEZUELA	1815	FLORES SEA	1954	GREENLAND
1525	PERU	1817	GULF OF CORINTH	1960	MOROCCO
1531	PORTUGAL	1819	MARIANA ISLANDS	1962	LINE ISL
1537	MEXICO	1823	DALMATIAN COAST	1964	MALAY PEN
1539	HONDURAS	1823	MARTINIQUE	1967	SHETLANDS
1562	CHILE	1824	GUADELOUPE	1974	PAKISTAN
1571	HOLLAND	1825	(BRITISH) GUIANA	1977	ADMIRALTIES
1580	ENGLISH CHANNEL	1827	COLUMBIA	1979	FR RIVIERA
1591	AZORES	1827	ECUADOR	1981	BENGAL BAY
1627	PHILIPPINES	1831	TRINIDAD	1983	KOREA
1648	BANDA SEA/JAVASEA	1831	ST. CHRISTOPHER	1985	WINDWARDS
1648	INDONESIA	1840	EAST USA	1987	VANUATU
1652	ICELAND	1843	NEW ZEALAND	1995	LOYALTY ISL
1653	SULU SEA (S CHINA)	1844	SOCIETY ISLANDS	1995	ANDREANOF
1661	S CHINA SEA	1848	TAHITI	1995	EASTER ISL
1688	JAMAICA	1853	TONGA ISLANDS	1995	MONTSERRAT
1690	LEEWARD/VIRGINISL.	1854	PANAMA

B . Steve asks: Why can't we stop tsunamis from happening?

This is impossible. Tsunami, earthquakes, tornadoes, volcanic eruptions and asteroid strikes will always happen. For the earth, these things are necessary to regulate itself, such as heat exchange and relief of built-up pressure. The only thing available to do for preventing the loss of life in tsunami is to know what to look for, then get out of their way.

C. Steve asks: Does the jet stream have any effect on tsunami?

In general, no. However, the location and strength of the jet stream could be an important factor for a meteorologically induced wave event. The hurricane of 1938 can be used as an example. Upper level steering currents forced the hurricane straight north and at an exceptionally high forward speed. If the steering currents were more typical for the end of September, the hurricane would probably have recurved out to sea. If the giant waves along the New Jersey shore were caused by the hurricane, this event might not have happened with a normal September jet stream current.

D . Steve asks: Does the rotation of the earth have any effect on tsunami?

Probably not, since this is a constant force. Local forces that produce a tsunami are much more important. It would be interesting to find out if it is easier for an ocean crossing wave to hold together better when traveling in the direction of the earth's rotation, than one traveling the other way. An interesting fact to consider is that a 20,000 ton ship traveling east at 20 knots along the equator weighs 3 tons less than it would if it was traveling west! (1)
Ripley's Believe It Or Not: Sunday - 4/9/00, Sunday Comics.

E . Steve asks: Does the position of the moon have any effect on tsunami?

Sometimes the moon is closer to the earth than at other times, and exerts a greater pull. Also, a New and Full Moon (points in the moon's orbit about the earth called syzygy) exerts a greater force than the Quarter Moons. The New and Full Moons sometimes produce tides that are higher than at other times of New and Full Moon. These are called Spring Tides, when ranges between high water and low water are the greatest. During Spring Tides, coastal flooding can occur even when there is no storm. Conversely, strong WNW winds at time of low tide can cause what is known at a Blowout Tide. If a tsunami occurs at the time of a Spring high tide, they could be higher and go further inland. If you are going to be hit by a tsunami, it would be better if they came in at the time of a Spring low tide, or at least a low tide at Quarter Moons. As with all disasters, the more things come together the wrong way, the greater the disaster.

F . Steve asks: What are some of the most famous and fatal/dangerous tsunami in history?

All tsunami are dangerous! When a warning is issued, there is really no way to know what the size of the waves will be, so these potential waves must be considered dangerous. The most famous are waves which had a large amount of fatalities, were exceptionally high, or caused a great amount of damage. Here are some examples of tsunami that produced great loss of life.

YEAR	LOCATION	DEATHS	REMARKS

1500 BC	CRETE	100000	Great damage

1707 AD	JAPAN	30000	29000 houses destroyed

1737	INDIA	300000	Death toll not really known

1782	TAIWAN	40000	Town inundated

1868	CHILE	25000	Town destroyed by earthquake and washed away by Tsunami

1883	INDONESIA	36500	Krakatoa volcano explosion. Effects felt world-wide

1896	JAPAN	26360	10617 houses destroyed

1905	INDIA	20000	Death toll not really known

1934	INDIA	10700	Death toll not really known

1935	INDIA	30000	Death toll not really known

Source: Tsunami Data Base

G . Steve asks: Why haven't tsunami ever hit the East Coast of the USA?

They have!! Some waves have been caused by earthquakes in other countries then crossed the Atlantic ocean. Others have been locally generated. Still others are waiting to be found by researchers. Here are some known or possible tsunami.

DATE / SOURCE / REMARKS

1. Nov 1, 1755/ Lisbon, Portugal/ Tsunami in Newfoundland and the Caribbean.
Computer models suggest 10' waves along the East Coast of the USA.

2. Oct 11, 1918/ Puerto Rico/ Waves recorded on Atlantic City, NJ, tidal gage.

3. Nov 18, 1929/ Grand Banks/ Tsunami in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.
Newfoundland Waves recorded on Atlantic City, NJ / Ocean City, Maryland / and Charleston, South Carolina tidal gages.

4. Aug 4, 1946/ Dominican Republic/ Waves recorded on Atlantic City, NJ, Daytona Beach, FL, and Bermuda tidal gages.

5. Aug 8, 1946/ Dominican Republic / Waves recorded on Atlantic City, NJ, tidal gage.

Tsunami From Locally Generated Earthquakes

6. Nov 14, 1840/ Mid Atlantic Region / Tsunami in the Delaware River.

7. Nov 17, 1872 / Maine/ Maine

8. Jan 9, 1926/ Maine/ Maine

9. May 19, 1964/ Northeast USA/ Northeast USA

1. November 1, 1755 - Lisbon, Portugal

Philip Tocque (1878) reports that during the Lisbon earthquake of 1755, Cape Bonavista, Newfoundland, was subject to exceptionally high seas. This event was accompanied by an unusual phenomenon which drained the basin of Bonavista harbor. After a ten-minute period the harbor water returned, overflowing parts of the community. The event was stated by the below reference to become the subject of the popular Newfoundland folk song "A Great Big Sea Hove in Long Beach." However, Mr. Alan Ruffman, Canadian tsunami expert, states this song was based on a more recent event, perhaps as late as 1921.

Reference: Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, Vol 1, Smallwood, J. R.

This event is very important in that it shows beyond doubt that an earthquake which occurs in the eastern Atlantic Ocean can create a tsunami which can cross the Atlantic and move into the shores of eastern North American. This tsunami also went through the islands in the Caribbean, with 21 foot waves being reported. An ocean crossing wave, or wave that travels a long distance from its source, is called a teletsunamic event. http://nisee.berkeley.edu/lisbon/

(Note: Links will be used to take readers elsewhere for more information. However, URLs are sometimes changed, or taken off the web. If links becomes unavailable, use Search to supplement the discussed material.)

2. October 11, 1918 - Atlantic City, New Jersey

The cause of the small tsunamis at Atlantic City, and most likely the entire shoreline of New Jersey, was a magnitude 7.5 earthquake off the northwest coast of Puerto Rico. Quoting from seismologists Harry Fielding Reid and Stephen Taber:

The sea waves had an unobstructed sweep across the deep waters of the North Atlantic and were registered on the tide gage at Atlantic City, New Jersey, about 2,200 km north of the origin. The disturbance appears to have begun at 2:00 pm, 75^thmeridian or EST, with a depression (and then an elevation) of the sea...and the oscillations of water level lasted for several hours. The amplitude of the waves was between 3 and 6 cm, and the period between 10 and 15 minutes. The tide gage at Atlantic City is not in an enclosed basin, but is on the open coast where no ordinary seiche set up between the coast and the edge of the continental shelf, for the period is too short. They (the periodic movements) are more probably auxiliary waves following a short group (of waves) started by a sudden disturbance, but the matter is still obscure.

Source: Reid, Harry Fielding and Stephen Taber, "The Porto Rico Earthquakes of October-November, 1918," Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, Vol. IX, No. 4, December 1919, pp. 94-127.

3. November 18, 1929 - Grand Banks

On this day, a 7.2 mag earthquake struck the Grand Banks, setting off a landslide in the offshore canyons, and which sent a huge tsunami into Newfoundland. The effects of the tsunami was also felt in Nova Scotia. The death toll estimates range between 29 and 51, depending on sources. Alan Ruffman, eminent Halifax, Nova Scotia Historian and active tsunami hunter, is the expert on this event. He has given much of his time lecturing on the waves to promote AWARENESS that this has occurred, and others could in the future. This event, like so many others, had slipped from memory for decades before Mr. Ruffman brushed the historical dusts of the wave. The following is an excerpt from his Community Lecture Tour to Commemorate the 65^th Anniversary of the 1929 Earthquake and "Tidal Wave": Canada's Most Tragic Earthquake.

The November 18, 1929, "Grand Banks" Earthquake was a world class event. The Ms = 7.2 event was felt from Labrador to New York City and it triggered what was recognized in 1952 as the first documented turbidity current (underwater landslide). The underwater slump of about 200 cubic kilometers of material moved at speeds of up to 70 km/hr; it cut 12 trans Atlantic telegraph cables and triggered a devastating tsunami, or "tidal wave". Material in the slump moved some 1,100 kilometers and was redistributed over an area of 150,000 square kilometers on the Sohm Abyssal Plain in the deep ocean; an area 30% greater than the Island of Newfoundland itself. The tsunami, or "tidal wave", created moved at 400 km/hr south and east to Bermuda and Portugal, and impinged at 140 km/hr on southern Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. It did minor damage in Bermuda and was seen only on tide gauges down the east coast of the United States, in the Azores and in Portugal.

It was Canada's worst earthquake with very significant coastal community damage along the south coast of the Burin peninsula, in St. Pierre et Miquelon and in Cape Breton Island; it caused months of repair on the telegraph cables that went from North America to Europe, and 29 persons lost their lives. (One person died in a minor tsunami on the west coast in 1946). 28 persons died in Newfoundland, and one person drowned in Nova Scotia.

Yet the event is virtually undocumented onshore. It was only documented offshore briefly in 1930, it appears in the literature in 1948 and in 1952, then recently work has been done by David Piper, John Hughes Clark, Larry Mayer et al at Dalhousie University offshore on the Laurential Slope and Rise. Despite the size of the event, it received relatively little scientific attention until recent years. This fact stems from several reasons.

Newfoundland was not part of Canada in 1929; it was a colony of Britain, poor and relatively undeveloped. Population was low and scattered across the island until the mid-1960's and there was not yet a road connection from St. John's to the Burin Peninsula in 1929. Newfoundland did not yet have a university of note; there was no industrial base and its scientific establishment was virtually non-existent. There was no seismograph on the island; there was not even a tide gauge in 1929. There was not a strong written tradition in 1929; the only newspapers were in St. John's and Corner Brook. Newfoundland was virtually dependent for its scientific knowledge about itself on occasional visits of British, American or Canadian scientists.

As a result, much that is written about the 1929 "South Coast Disaster" is myth piled upon myth in the likes of the "Farmer's Almanac" (a 1989 article) and "The Downhomer Magazine" (a 1992 article). Until 1986 no attempt was made to gather and use local knowledge. That has in part changed with my work and that of a geographer at Memorial University, Michael Staveley. I first visited the Burin in 1979 and 1986, then spent some extended time in the area in 1989, and I was back in 1993 for a longer period in combination with a Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory project in searching out onshore geological evidence of the tsunami. During the 1993 project I was successful in finding what is the first known eastern North American onshore geological signature from a tsunami. Prof. Martitia Tuttle, University of Maryland, is my co-investigator on this project funded by the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Martitia Tuttle and I were back on the Burin in 1994 and we have found at least three further onshore deposits from the 1929 tsunami along the south coast of the Burin Peninsula.

Excerpted from the report of Alan Ruffman, President, Geomarine Associated Ltd, Halifax, Nova Scotia, December 20, 1994.

http://www.lostatsea.ca/tidal.htm

http://www.geosurv.gov.nf.ca/hazardweb/flooding/burin1929.html

4. August 4, 1946 - Atlantic City, New Jersey / Daytona Beach, Florida / Bermuda

A magnitude 8.1 earthquake off the northeast coast of the Dominican Republic caused small tsunami at the above mentioned locations. The travel time between the quake was 4.8 hours for Atlantic City, and 4.0 hours at Daytona Beach.

5. August 8, 1946 - Atlantic City, New Jersey / Daytona Beach, Florida / Bermuda

A magnitude 7.9 aftershock of the Dominican Republic quake caused small tsunami at the above mentioned locations. Travel time was 4.7 hours at Atlantic City, and 4.0 hours at Daytona Beach.

6. November 14, 1840 - Delaware River

An earthquake struck the Philadelphia region Saturday night, November 14, 1840, as a thunderstorm was occurring. This produced what is known as "The Great Swell on the Delaware River." Philadelphia newspaper accounts have not been obtained yet, but the following is a report from the Burlington County newspaper as received from the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Shock of an Earthquake

We were visited on Saturday night between 9 and 10 o'clock, with an extraordinary storm, accompanied by heavy thunder and vivid lightning. Shortly after 9, the buildings in various parts of our city, trembled and shock for several seconds, as if through the agency of an earthquake. We have since been informed that the waters of the Delaware were agitated by a heavy and unusual swell at the same time. - Philadelphia Inquirer.

Burlington Gazette: Friday, November 20, 1840, 2:4.

7. November 17, 1872 - Maine

Small tsunami were recorded on the tide gages at North Haven and on the Fox Islands in Penobscot Bay, Maine. The fluctuations continued from midnight until nearly 6:00 am at somewhat irregular intervals of about 17 minutes from crest to crest, with an average vertical range of about 23 cm. The largest wave at 3:00 am had a height of 50.8 cm (20 inches). Corresponding earthquake phenomena are not known, although it is possible that a shock occurred in the Atlantic Ocean.

Berninghausen, W. H., "Tsunamis and Seismic Seiches Reported from the Western North and South Atlantic and the Coastal Waters of Northwestern Europe," Informal Report, Naval Oceanographic Office, Washington, D.C. 20390, September 1968, 48 pp.

8. January 9, 1926 - Maine

The following are excerpts taken from the Associated Press Wire Service Bulletins on this event:

A "tidal wave" was reported at Bernard, Mt. Desert Island, Maine. Unexplained in its origin, the phenomenon which occurred about noon caused the sudden emptying of Bass Harbor, followed a minute later by a 10-foot rush of water, and then two smaller waves. No one was injured, but about 50 fishing boats were hurled ashore, and two men in a dory had a narrow escape from falling cakes of ice when their craft suddenly grounded. The first sign that something was wrong was a rumbling from the direction of the harbor. Townspeople ran to the piers to see their harbor emptied with a rush. William Kelly, who has a fish-packing plant on the eastern shore of the harbor told what happened next: 'It was about low tide when the first wave came," he said. 'It flowed in steadily like the even flow of a river. Then came two lesser ones, and in less than 10 minutes the whole harbor was filled to near high water mark. Great whirlpools were formed. Small boats were tossed about at their moorings, and the 70-foot fishing boat Fish Hawk broke from her lines at the Underwood Dock and crashed against the pilings. The entire harbor was a mass of foam.' The water left the harbor so rapidly that a waterfall was created at the harbor mouth. In less than 15 minutes it was all over.'" (AP, Jan 9, 1926, 8:45 am)

From the remote fishing village of Corea on the northeast coast of Maine comes news that at about the same time Saturday that the phenomenon was observed at Bass Harbor, a monster wave smashed lobster cars, tore boats adrift, and washed thousands of flounder from their winter beds in the Harbor bottom mud. These fish were gathered up in barrels by the natives. The tidal wave came in at 11:00 am and was preceded by a rushing flood tide several hours earlier. (AP, Jan 14, 1929, 8:07 am).

9. May 19, 1964 - Northeast coast, U.S.

The following is quoted from "United States Tsunamis (Including United States Possessions) 1690-1988", Pub. 41-2, US Department of Commerce, NOAA, NESDIS, NGDC,Boulder, Colorado, August, 1989: James F. Lander and Patricia A. Lockridge. (The information for events 2, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9 here are also from "Landers and Lockridge").

A disturbance that probably originated near the northeastern end of Long Island was widely recorded on tide gages in the area from Providence, Rhode Island to New Jersey. At Plum Island, New York, the record showed an impulsive beginning with an amplitude of 0.28 m and a period of 4 minutes at 5:25 pm est. The short period waves continued over 10 cycles with decreasing amplitude. Waves of about 0.11 m maximum amplitude began impulsively also at Montauk, Long Island, New York and the wave activity continued for eight or more hours. Smaller amplitudes were observed on nine other tide gage records. The source of these waves is not known, but there are no reports of recordings from local seismic stations, and the waves do not appear to be of meteorological origin. A submarine landslide or explosion are possible causes.

Waves Being Investigated As Possible Tsunami

When tsunami hunting, it doesn't take long going back in time, even using a source such as the New York Times Index, for the research to becoming more challenging. In a very short period, the word tsunami disappears. Even today, tidal wave predominates in common usage, with tsunami predominating in the scientific community. Going further back in time, you can still check subject matters such as tidal waves, earthquakes, volcanoes, weather, disasters, drownings, etc, in trying to uncover those elusive waves. Continuing back, subject matters begin to disappear, and the search becomes much more difficult. New sources do appear in this information age. The Earthquake Data Base provides a wealth of information for research, and newspaper articles of known quakes that have affected the northeast USA and eastern Canada can be checked for the possible mention of unusual ocean activity accompanying the quake. As tsunami turn into tidal waves, tidal waves turn into subjects such as "heavy tides", "the ocean acted strangely", "rogue or freak waves", or any such terminology used to describe what you are looking for. When you find an article, then the next steps begin, trying to determine if the waves are tsunami, or tsunamic-like, being meteorologically induced, or just an event due to the oddities of a mysterious ocean. The following waves are being investigated by the tsunami community:

10. Jun 9, 1913 Longport, NJ

11. Aug 6, 1923 Rockaway Park, Queens 2 Dead

Includes article on "Triplicate Waves"

12. Aug 8, 1924 Coney Island, NY

Includes article on an experience of a sailing party in 1879. (Tsunami at sea?)

13. Aug 19, 1931 Atlantic City, NJ 3 Dead

14. Sep 21, 1938 New Jersey coast Scores injured, some seriously

15. Jul 3-4, 1992 Daytona Beach, FL 75 injured

HISTORICAL TSUNAMI: Asteroid/Comet strikes

16. About 35 to 25 Million Years Ago Mouth of the Chesapeake Bay Largest impact crater in the Continental USA
About 25 Million Years Ago Toms Canyon (SE of Atlantic City)

http://sherpa.sandia.gov/planet-impact/comet/

http://www.earth.rochester.edu/ees201/Larson/larsona2.html

http://palaeo.gly.bris.ac.uk/Palaeofiles/Triassic/bolide.htm

http://impact.arc.nasa.gov/related/biblio/

Note: If you want to see a map of New Jersey that lists the shore communities for a guide, go to

http://www.virtualnjshore.com/tour.html

H . Steve asks: Where are there tsunami research centers?

There are probably numerous tsunami research centers, including the Alaska and Hawaii National Weather Service Tsunami Watch and Warning Centers. Mt Holly is currently active in trying to uncover tsunami that have occurred along the East Coast of the USA, especially in the coastal regions of our forecast region. Some good Web Sites to visit for tsunami surfing (which should never be done in real life!!):

Learn About Tsunamis

Tsunami Information

Tsunami Research Program

Access To The Tsunami and Earthquake Data Base

NOAA Press Release: "From Tornadoes To Tsunamis"

Check out other NWS Home Pages. From our page, find any NWS Forecast Office, and click on, say, Eureka, CA. A good one.

10. June 9, 1913 - Longport, New Jersey

$10,000 Damage At Longport As Bank Caves In

Bay Waters, Rushing In, Wash Out 250 Feet Along Railroad Track

Damage at Longport's Thoroughfare waterfront, noontime, when a 250 foot section of the embankment at 23^rd St was carried away. The washout extended to within 15 feet of the near rail line. The tide tore away the wharf at the Schurch chandlery store and at the same time undermined the soil from beneath the building. After the unusually high tide, the chandlery store was standing isolated at least 30 feet from dry land, and only upheld by the timber piling, that threatened to give way at any moment. Other properties were damaged.

The Lavine wharf was completely torn away, and 14 feet of water was left where there had been solid embankment further inshore, while the Henreesie house stood along on its piling but isolated 30 feet away from land. The Henreesie house was next to the chandlery store. At the following low tide, there was 12 feet of water under both the "marooned" buildings, with 8 feet in the clear. A special meeting was held that night on the disaster which had overtaken part of the town. Another meeting was to be held on repair money, which had to be furnished by the property owners. The loss to lost land and wharves, to say nothing of the inroads on the driveway, is considerable. Atlantic City Daily Press: June 10, 1913, Front Page.

Heavy tides played havoc on the thoroughfare side of Longport, washing out large sections of the bulkhead, undermining the houses occupied by Mr. And Mrs. Frederick Klein and Mr. and Mrs. Henry Hennici of Philadelphia, and carried away the foundation from beneath the store owned by William H. Church. Two women caught in the swirling tide about their homes faced the dangers pluckily, and were still smiling when a hastily constructed gangway made it possible for them to reach the shore. Church, who remained in his store trying to save his stock, had to be rescued in the same manner. The tide at 24^th St, where the Atlantic City and Shore Railroad tracks are close to the water, carried away a pole, tying up the service for a time on the line to the lower end of the island and crippling the Longport lighting service.

New York Times: Jun 10, 1913, p4.

11. Aug 6, 1923 - Rockaway Park, Queens, New York

Huge Wave Drowns Two Crippled Children Playing On Beach - Three Others Saved

A high-rolling wave swelled out of the surf and broke on the beach. It had come wholly unexpected. No such wave preceded it, and no high wave followed it. But that one was enough to engulf five little crippled children, patients at the Convalescent Home for Hebrew Children at the foot of Beach 110^th St, and two of them were drowned. Had their limbs been normal they would have escaped with ease. Had their lung resistance not been that of invalids, they would have laughed at the experience. The drowned were Pauline Higgins of Manhattan, an inmate of the school for 4 years; and, Marian Levin, an inmate for 3 years. Twenty two crippled children in all were taking their morning "water cure." They were placed on the sands where only little rippling waves could reach them, and shouting gleefully. It was customary for the children to leave their crutches at the home while taking the morning surf bath.

Then came the wave, unnoticed by the three nurses, until it broke on the shore. 5 of the 22 children were swept from their feet, with 3 grabbing a rope leading to a float. When the children were retrieved from the water, the Higgins and Levin girls were unconscious. Crews tried artificial respiration while physicians worked hard to revive them, but to no avail. New York Times: August 7, 1923.

It appears that extraordinary and large wave events occur in the local area frequently enough that the nature of these events begin to take shape in the minds of observant people. Such a person is Mr. Robert Adger Bowen, who wrote a Letter To The Editor of the New York Times, published August 9, 1923, entitled "Triplicate Waves."

Triplicate Waves

In Topics of the Times, Aug 8 issue of the NYT, there is an interesting editorial note on the occasional exceptionally large waves, the remarks having been suggested by the recent drowning of two children at Rockaway Beach by a wave of unexpected size.

"Your editorial note does not mention what frequently repeated experience through many years of familiarity with surf bathing on the Rockaway beaches has led me to accept as a curious fact - namely, the almost invariable following of an exceptionally large wave by two others in immediate succession. So usual is this phenomenon that I have spoken of it many times to fellow-bathers in the way of caution, it might be, or of a sure announcement. It may almost always be counted upon that a wave of extraordinary size and force will be followed by two others, and this whether the surf is unusually rough or not. To an exceedingly rough surf it would probably not apply. And it is notable that these large waves generally follow a relative calm.

I have never thought to count for the seventh or thirteenth wave, my belief being that a somewhat longer interval would generally elapse between these waves of exceptional size, whether single or in series of three. If there is a scientific explanation, or even a common knowledge of the fact mentioned, I am unaware of it".

Articles such as this editorial by Mr. Bower are very nice to run across. Mr. Bowen noticed a pattern to these frequent large wave events, was constantly trying to make beach bathers aware of this, and took the time to write the NYT Editor, thus passing down this knowledge to posterity. Those reading this are now aware that exceptionally large wave events in the region, from whatever cause, are frequent enough that our 1923 expert was able to assign a pattern to these events. Those reading this will also be aware on how many pre-1923 articles on large wave events along Long Island and New Jersey shores are mentioned here.

12. August 8, 1924 - Coney Island, New York

Wave From Calm Sea Hits Coney Bathers; Hundreds Felled, 4 Hurt; Crowd In Panic

There was wild excitement at the west end of the beach at Coney Island early in the evening, when a wave 15 feet high and extending more than ½ mile broke on the shore with such force that hundreds of bathers were knocked down. 4 were so badly bruised that an ambulance carrying 2 physicians from Coney Island Hospital was sent to the scene. One explanation offered of the wave was that it was caused by the churning of the screw of a liner about a mile off shore, much closer than the usual course of big ships. The water, witnesses said, was as calm as a mill pond when the sudden disturbance occurred shortly after 6 o'clock.

In the backwash several children were drawn under and life guards and other strong swimmers were kept busy rescuing them. One bather dragged 6 lads to safety after they had been swept several feet from shore.

New York Times: August 9, 1924, Front Page.

What might a tsunami look like as it's increasing in height when moving into the Continental Shelf, on its way to shore? Perhaps the following excerpts from an Aug 16, 1924, Letter to the Editor of the NYT, by a Mr. Holbrook, can be used to describe this.

Excerpts from the Experiences of a Sailing Party in 1879

The party of young men who delighted in tough sailing, and as often as possible, sought the turbulent waters where the tides meet on The Rips, off Nantucket shores. They planned to sail through the channel between Nantucket and Tuckernuck Islands out into the broad ocean to the south, where the bluefish were reported to be "running" plentifully. The current between these islands were usually dangerously strong. Sailing outward, the light breeze on the glorious Saturday afternoon gradually died down as the boat rounded into the channel and the current carried the vessel toward the ocean in a dead calm. However, all hope of fishing vanished and a miserable, hot drift ensued until the incoming tide would help them home at a late hour.

Suddenly, the Captain stiffened up into a whirl of action, lashed his helm for a second while he adjusted his sail, and flying back to his post called out in stern excitement, "Hold fast", causing the young men to jump to their feet to seek the cause of his unwonted commotion. The cause was a vast huge wave stretching "shore to shore" approaching the vessel. This huge green wave was topped by a white foaming crest, which curled and threw off white froth, and yet did not curl over frontward. The wave held countless fish, both big and small, which swam with incredible speed to and fro, like the traffic in a city avenue, glistening like silver in the sun's rays penetrating the green wall of water. The passengers were mesmorized by the marvelously beautiful sight, until the distressed tome of the Captain aroused them.

"Great God, if only we could get a little breeze it would carry us over before we are swamped. Hold fast! Hold fast! It is a blind breaker!", shouted the Captain. Then no one spoke during the tense moments, as they stared into the great green wall of water now upon them, which struck with great force, seeming to boil and seethe around them, swaying all to and fro, confusing and blinding them by the spray, which almost took their breath away. The boat seemed to twist and wriggle violently under foot. It was quickly over, leaving foam-spread, swirling water with here and there a frenzied fish leaping out of the water in search of a clear space for progress. Above and around, all nature was glorious. The descending sun, red and gold; the green shores of the islands peaceful as always; the young men in amazed silence, conscious of the great peril they had just passed through.

It took 3 hours and more to make harbor, drifting most of the way. The Captain's mouth remained closed like a clam when the men said good night and spoke fervently of their appreciation in carrying them safely through the peril.

Did this wave reach land, crashing on the shores of Nantucket and the other islands in the region? If so, finding the newspaper articles would give a good account of an event felt from the ocean to the land!

13. August 19, 1931 - Atlantic City, New Jersey

Backwash Of Waves Cause of Drowning

Two Others Missing as Sudden Drag of Towering Combers

Catches Hundreds Only Waist Deep

Life Guards Rescue Scores In Trouble

Impeded by Excited Crowds in Efforts to Save Bathers