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Using Googlemaps To Simulate Tsunamis

Posted by timothy on from the you're-all-wet dept.

flemster writes "Tsunami mapper is a new site which uses the googlemaps elevation service and the flood fill algorithm to predict which areas near a coast are likely to be affected by a tsunami. You can search for your local beach, set a wave heading and height and then double click the tsunami starting point off the coast, after which the tsunami range will be drawn. Naturally, predicting a tsunami is far more complicated than this and this application is a general guide and not a true predictor. However the simulations of the recent Japanese simulation are interesting. Compare the tsunami mapper simulation with this aerial photo of Ishinomaki after the March tsunami."

5 of 40 comments (clear)

  1. Didn't work... by SIGBUS · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "Elevation of starting location is 158.171 meters. A tsunami must start in the ocean."

    Then again, I was trying to create a tsunami on Lake Michigan.

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    Oh, no! You have walked into the slavering fangs of a lurking grue!
    1. Re:Didn't work... by Ol+Biscuitbarrel · · Score: 3, Informative

      I also like "It's best to start the tsunami a few kilometers from the shore." This in reference to the tsunami not reaching Aberdeen Washington, no matter where I start them from. Maybe the coders are into Nirvana?

      Would help to add a scale so we can figure how much map covers those few kms, too...

      OK, after looking at the Gallery I think they meant meters, not kilometers - you doubleclick right offshore to mark where, uh, the news crews will congregate? Wave fronts are a bit more diffuse than that, I believe.

    2. Re:Didn't work... by camperdave · · Score: 3, Informative

      They only simulate it for about 10 km, regardless of how high the wave is. I am severely disappointed in this simulation.

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      When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
    3. Re:Didn't work... by LordKronos · · Score: 2

      I agree. I was hoping to see the result of a 1km wave purely for amusement (or maybe to prepare for a future meteor impact in the ocean). I was severely disappointed. Also, it seems that 1000 meters is some strange cutoff point, as that actually shows less flooding than 999 meters.

    4. Re:Didn't work... by camperdave · · Score: 2

      Here's how it works. Pick a point of 0 elevation. Check the surrounding ten by ten km square (adjusting for "wave direction"). For each 1km by 1 km square in the area, if the elevation is less than the wave height, paint it blue.

      --
      When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!