Elleda Wilson: Eight waves

Elleda Wilson, The Daily Astorian, Ore.
·1 min read

Aug. 25—The story "Eight of the Biggest Tsunamis in History" was an eye-catcher, especially because of the Oregon Coast's proximity to the Cascadia Subduction Zone.

The 2017 Karrat Fjord, Greenland, tsunami reached a height of 295 feet, and was caused by a landslide. It wiped out a remote, tiny fishing village. Next in line is a tsunami that hit Ambon Island, Indonesia, that was 328 feet high. Caused by an earthquake on Feb. 17, 1674, it killed over 2,000 people.

A Lituya Bay, Alaska, megatsunami in 1853 or 1854, probably caused by a landslide, was 394 feet high; another in Lituya Bay on Oct. 27, 1936, rose to 490 feet, probably caused by an underwater rock slide. Icy Bay, Alaska, also has landslide issues, and one caused a 633-foot wave on Oct. 17, 2015.

A megatsunami after the Vajont Dam in Italy crumbled created a wave 771 feet high on Oct. 9, 1963, and killed over 2,000 people. This time, the catastrophe was caused by a poorly built dam.

The earthquake that caused Mount St. Helens in Washington to erupt on May 18, 1980, also caused an 820-foot high wave when the north side of the volcano fell into Spirit Lake.

And, the biggest, baddest wave, in Lituya Bay (again), hit a whopping 1,720 feet on July 9, 1958. Again, an earthquake and landslide were the culprits. Conclusion: stay away from Lituya Bay.