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Tsunami Hit New York City Region In 300 BC

Hugh Pickens writes "Scientists say that sedimentary deposits from more than 20 cores in New York and New Jersey indicate a huge wave crashed into the New York City region 2,300 years ago, dumping sediment and shells across Long Island and New Jersey and casting wood debris far up the Hudson River. Steven Goodbred, an Earth scientist at Vanderbilt University, says that size and distribution of material would require a high velocity wave and strong currents to move it, and it is unlikely that short bursts produced in a storm would suffice. 'If we're wrong, it was one heck of a storm,' says Goodbred. An Atlantic tsunami is rare but not inconceivable, says Neal Driscoll, a geologist from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, who is not associated with the research. The 1929 Grand Banks tsunami in Newfoundland killed more than two dozen people and snapped many transatlantic cables, and was set in motion by a submarine landslide set off by an earthquake."

4 of 147 comments (clear)

  1. Fools, the fools! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    The 1929 Grand Banks tsunami in Newfoundland killed more than two-dozen people and snapped many transatlantic cables, and was set in motion by a submarine landslide set off by an earthquake

    This is exactly why you shouldn't stack submarines. The fools!

  2. Yeah, but it was okay... by gyrogeerloose · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...because Rudy Giuliani was mayor at the time and handled it well. And never passed up an opportunity to mention that he did so, either.

    --
    This ain't rocket surgery.
  3. News for nerds by WARM3CH · · Score: 5, Funny

    300 years BC and you call it news? Good job Slashdot!

  4. This isn't a new worry by JoshuaZ · · Score: 5, Interesting

    A few years ago I had a relative who was involved in a lot of the disaster planning for New Haven. Some scenarios were so bad that he more or less concluded that there wasn't any point in trying to make any substantial preparations because there wouldn't be anything they could do that would help. A large tsunami hitting New England was one of the situations. Either you get a warning on time or you don't. Not much local governments can do about it.