Tsunami experts gather in Wilmington

Tsunamis are not a threat we think of often here on the Atlantic coast. Even so, two of the world’s leading experts on tsunami waves visited the Port City today to educate emergency officials on threats posed to our coast.

Though it’s not typical, an earthquake in the Atlantic Ocean or even the Caribbean could send tsunami waves to our shores. Waves like this past week in the Pacific were only three to six feet high, but are much different than typical wind-driven waves.

“Apples and oranges. They’re always different,” Brian Yanagi of the International Tsunami Center in Hawaii said. “Tsunami waves have much more energy behind them and can be much more destructive even at small wave heights.”

These shorter tsunami waves churn up all the water in the ocean and can badly injure or even kill swimmers and boaters on the shore. Experts say in the event of a tsunami warning make sure to get 15 feet above sea level.