Why Didn’t the Tsunami Hit Singapore & Australia?
The 26th Dec 2004 tsunami had no effect here in Singapore - we didn’t feel the earthquake, either.
Singapore is at the south-eastern end of the Strait of Melaka. This narrow body of water would funnel the energy of a tsunami and increase the wave’s speed and force. But lucky for us, this didn’t happen.
Similarly, considering that Australia is closer to Aceh than India or Africa, it is surprising that the effects of the tsunami were not felt in Western Australia.
The simulation in the New York Times interactive showed the waves going West, East and North, but losing power to the south. This was because the fault line was in a roughly north-west/south-east direction and most of the energy was dissipated at right angles to the fault line, as can be seen in this screen shot from the simulation:
The tsunami did not affect the Strait of Melaka or Singapore because the epicentre was on the southern side of Sumatra.
However, there has been disturbing news from Thai seismologist, Dr Smith Dharmasaroja, that the epicentre for future earthquakes is likely to be further north than before. If the next epicentre is near the Nicobar Islands, then we will need to batten down the hatches here in Singapore…
Book-mark this post
Book-mark this post in Del.icio.us, Furl, Digg, Stumble Upon, whatever...
Mouse-over the image and choose your bookmark:
Tang Kim Seng said,
January 4, 2005 at 5:37 pm
I may sound a bit out of context when I say this, but this whole incident jotted me to bring up a question which was discussed during my religious studies. The question was “Are people born into different parts of this world by coincidence ?” I mean, how does one explain why fortunate people are born in blessed countries like Singapore or Australia, protected from natural disasters, etc. but the not so fortunate ones are born in countries with many disasters ? Of course, let’s discount those who happened to be at the wrong place and at the wrong time. Is it therefore a chance game or some mysterious forces working behind the scene ? Thought provoking, eh ?
ggd said,
November 18, 2007 at 9:10 pm
i think that the fact that the tsunami was a natural disaster determines where the water actually went.
zac said,
November 19, 2007 at 5:21 pm
?? What does that mean, ggd?
David said,
November 5, 2008 at 2:21 pm
look at http://davidprakash.blogspot.com/