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Ireland could be hit by a tsunami, claims expert

By
DONAL THORNTON,
IrishCentral.com

Published Wednesday, November 11, 2009, 8:58 AM
Updated Wednesday, November 11, 2009, 9:42 AM

 

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The Sumatra- Andaman earthquake on December 26, 2004 caused a huge tsunami to hit coastal areas of South and Southeast Asia

Ireland has the potential to be hit by a tsunami, according to NUI Galway Professor Mike Williams. And it wouldn't be the first time it has happened, either!

"Yes we do have the potential for a tsunami because we have been hit in the past," he says.

Williams first noticed Ireland's tsunami history when researching huge boulders on Ireland's West coast. He noticed that many boulders had been lodged on top of cliffs and other unlikely places.

Some boulders are perched as high as 25 meters on top of a cliff. They were previously believed to be a result of glacial erratics, but the professor has come to the conclusion that they owe their origin to tidal waves and devastating storms, which have the power to hurl boulders onto cliffs and high land.

During the "Night of the Big Wind" in 1839, many boulders were hurled onto the cliffs of Aran Island. A large wave was also recorded off Ireland's West coast on the March 11, 1861. A wave measuring over 50 meters high smashed into a lighthouse on Eagle Island and damaged it beyond repair.

There have also been recordings of people being washed off cliff edges by massive freak waves. The Lisbon Earthquake on November 1, 1775 also sent a wave to Finland, England, North Africa and Ireland. A large tsunami resulting from the earthquake partially destroyed Galway's Spanish arch and carried many people away with it. 

However, Williams says that only a massive earthquake or underwater landslide of Biblical proportions could trigger a wave that could engulf Ireland's West coast.

He also points out an unlikely cause of destructive tidal wave would be an astroid. Fortunately, Ireland does not lie close to the fringes of a tectonic plate, so the chances of the Emerald Isle Isle being hit by a tsunami are rather slim.

It is most likely that another "Lisbon Earthquake" would be our greatest chance of being hit by another tsunami.

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5 Comments

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Posted by jacersisityourself on Nov 13, 2009, 02:25 PM EST
Watching a TV documentary recently on tsunamis and earthquakes, I was amazed to hear that the USA’s east coast is in grave danger of a tsunami arising from the not-known-when-but-definitely-expected collapse of the western side of the Island of Gran Canaria (off the coast of Africa) into the Atlantic Ocean. This would also affect the western coasts of Europe, including Ireland. It would be of the same massive scale as what happened when half of the Greek island of Santorini fell into the sea thousands of years ago following a massive earthquake. Interestingly, experts now believe that this created a tsunami that hit the coast of northern Egypt. As we know from the recent terrible Asian tsunami, sea water is drawn way out to sea before returning to crash destructively back onshore. Historians now believe that Santorini’s tsunami sucked water away from where the Red Sea used to meet the Meditteranean Sea, allowing Moses to lead his people to safety while the chasing Egyptian army was destroyed when the waves hit shore again.
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Posted by belfastdanny on Nov 11, 2009, 07:56 PM EST
Ireland like most countries do not have a warning system to tell the public about a disaster like a tsunami, but they have a system that tells the warning centre and then they send the message out by TV and radio, if a disaster happens at night not many would know , best system the public is the "Simptel" system
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Posted by OldBull on Nov 11, 2009, 12:57 PM EST
Hear, Hear, JoeCashin! The Earth might be hit by a giant meteor, California might fall into the Pacific (one can dream), and Christ might make his third appearance as well. Reasonable people won't lose any sleep over this "what if."
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Posted by JoeCashin on Nov 11, 2009, 10:52 AM EST
Typical scare mongering. Everyone knows that a tsunami can happen any place. .............. maybe your own words should be the heading..... "so the chances of the Emerald Isle being hit by a tsunami are rather slim"
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Posted by Borderboy on Nov 11, 2009, 10:20 AM EST
We've had that much rain this year and last I don't think we'd even notice a tsunami!
 


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