LONDON, Dec 27: The tidal wave that swept the rim of the Indian ocean swelled up to ten metres high, travelled as fast as a moving vehicle and carried billions of tons of water, a British geologist said Monday.
The effect of a powerful earthquake in the middle of the ocean, on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, caused a massive wave to swamp the entire region, according to David Booth of the British Geological Survey in Edinburgh.
"The tsunami has travelled all round the Indian Ocean, generating a wall of water up to 10 meters high travelling at the speed of a moving vehicle," Booth told Sky television news.
"And we're talking about billions of tons of water. Nothing can withstand that pressure," he said. Booth said "it's also possible that on the same fault line another large earthquake might be generated a bit further along.
However, he added it was "impossible to predict exactly where or when that might happen. This has been "the largest" earthquake since the one in Alaska in 1964, "which also caused a devastating Tsunami," he said.
"We've had over 20 aftershocks in the same area, and some of these aftershocks have been significant earthquakes in their own right," Booth told Sky television news.
He added one aftershock measured 7.3 on the Richter scale after the original quake registered 9.0 on the Richter scale. People, especially tourists, would not have heeded the signs preceding the tidal wave.
"The first wave tends to move away from the shore and this is actually a well-known precursor to a Tsunami," Booth told Sky television. "Along the Pacific coast, there are warning signs telling tourists and bathers, if you see a current such as this, immediately head for the high ground," he said.
"In the Indian Ocean, these tsunamis occur with less frequency and affect less populated centres, so that there are no warning systems in place," he said. "The average tourist would see the tide recede, he would see rocks exposed that have never been exposed before, fish flapping on the beach," Booth said.
"And (tourists) would be attracted to the beach. They would say this is something funny going on, not realizing that they have only got a few minutes to move to high ground," he said. -AFP
