Tsunami Panic Sends People Fleeing From Baby Wave
By Taryn B., Navy Team

Since the horrible tsunami that devastated much of Southeast Asia a few years ago, meteorologists and other scientific experts have been fearful of a repeat occurrence. New equipment meant to better predict these natural disasters have been installed all over the Pacific and Indian Ocean to help prevent loss of life and better inform those in low-lying areas.

On November 15th, it seemed like the equipment was serving its purpose. A tsunami advisory predicted to wipe out the whole east coast of Japan was issued on that day shortly after detection equipment registered an 8.1 earth quake. People on the islands of Hokkaido and Honshu were advised to evacuate the area.

While the people on the coasts waited nervously for the enormous waves that were expected to hit them, the actual "tsunami" really hit the coast of California . The waves that hit California caused $700,000 in damage, and the residents received no warning from the government.

In the meantime, the waves that hit Japan were only 40 cm high. It seems like these meteorologists have a lot of work to do!