HAGÅTÑA — The director of the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration’s Center for Tsunami Research, Dr. Vasily V. Titov, swept away any false sense of security island residents might have had during a presentation on Thursday afternoon to Guam’s community of first responders and security officials.
That the Marianas Trench would prevent any tsunami from devastating Guam’s east coast is a misconception, a myth, the director said.
“That the Marianas Trench can protect against a tsunami is a misconception. What the trench does is just accelerates [a tsunami],” he said.
He explained it has to do with the force of the pressure coming from within the deep waters of the trench that forces the energy of the tsunami, which makes it go straight toward the coast of Guam.
He also reminded his audience that Guam faced tsunamis in the late 1950s and the early 1960s.
During the meeting, Titov gave a power point presentation on a study he and a group of researchers have put together on a tsunami hazard assessment for Guam.
The assessment, which is scheduled for publication by the end of the year, shows what areas would be affected as tsunami waves possibly reach into Apra Harbor, Agana Bay and Tumon.
For Agana Bay, he pointed out red areas where the Agana Boat Basin was located and what sites the water would flow into.
In Hagåtña, the force of a tsunami could go as far inland as the Agana Swamp or even close to the Agana Springs.
He also explained that while the island’s reef could break the impact of a tsunami, the waves would still come onto shore.
Chip Guard of the National Weather Services said the waves would likely be between 20 and 30 minutes apart.
A 1993 tsunami was triggered by an 8.1-earthquake that struck the island. That temblor lasted about one minute and affected the entire island.
The tsunami created was around four feet high and was blamed for sweeping away a pickup truck parked along the shoreline of Ylig Bay.
