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A man on the social platform X shared a strange viral video of his cruise ship en route to Alaska after warnings were issued on tsunamis in the Pacific Ocean.
Eric Spracklen, an Ohio -based digital strategist, tweeted an an alert on the 8.0 earthquake – which was then improved towards an 8.8 – about the Côte de la Russia which caused Tsunami alerts to Japan, Hawaii, Russia, Guam and Alaska.
“I am in a royal caribbean cruise in Alaska literally at the moment,” wrote Spracklen.
“Should I worry?”
The strange video of Spracklen accompanying its message showed a foggy gray ocean with low visibility, but no apparent swell.
Scott Strazzante / San Francisco Chronicle / AP Photos
Risk cruise ships?
The answer to Spracklen’s question was actually “no” – Cruise ships in the height are generally at risk of tsunamis.
The main danger of a tsunami is its wall of water and massive strength as the shallow coastal areas approaches. In the deep ocean, however, a tsunami generally has only a few feet high and can go under large vessels without being noticed.
The wavelength of a tsunami can extend hundreds of kilometers, so that a cruise ship which rolls it at sea feels only a slight climb and a drop, similar to ordinary swells.
‘My advice to you’
Social media commentators quickly stressed that Spracken was relatively safe where he was.
“A ship of this size is the safest place you could be,” reassured a person.
“In the open ocean, it will be barely noticeable,” proposed another user, “in shallow water, it will accumulate against the bottom and will be considerably higher.”
Finally, a contributor has circumvented friendly words: “My advice is to start drinking a lot.”
The real danger
In a message to Newsweek, Spracklen said it felt nothing more than normal.
“The crew was not too worried about this subject, so it was as usual,” he added, “felt definitively safe with Royal Caribbean!”
The real risk occurs when the ships are close to the shores or in the ports, where the energy of the wave is concentrated as the water is exceeded. For this reason, when tsunami warnings are issued, ships in the port may be invited to move to deeper waters where they are much safer.
On earth, tsunamis are much more threatening. A woman in Hawaii shared another strange video from Tsunami Sirens that is triggered, in addition to a certain number of iphones in its building warning owners of the entering risk.
Later, she has shared another video saying: “Until now, everything and everyone is safe.”
Waves of tsunami going up to 3.6 feet reached California, while Hawai saw the water back up to 30 feet, although no significant damage has been reported.
The US Geological Survey considered that the damage caused by tsunamis could reach billions.
