Small Tsunami Hits US East Coast

A picture of a large ocean wave.

A small tsunami hit the US East Coast June 13, 2013

Few people noticed that on June 13, 2013,  a small tsunami hit the East Coast of the US from Massachusetts to North Carolina to the Caribbean.

NOAA used 30 different tide-measuring gauges to pick up the tsunami tides that were 1 to 6 feet above normal along the coast – plus, they wanted to confirm that this was really happening.

Tsunami Or Storm Surge?

When you see a sudden 6 foot wave sweeping people off the beach, you know you have a problem. A tsunami is any unexpected series of destructive and fast-moving waves coming on shore, and this is what happened June 13.

NOAA doesn’t know for sure if the tsunami was caused by a shift in the continental crust at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, or if it was caused by a storm surge, even though no major storms occurred in the Atlantic at the time. They are definitely researching to see if the sea floor shifted in the Atlantic.

Earthquakes And Super Moon

Something else no one is paying much attention to is the fact that the Atlantic Ocean IS experiencing an increase in earthquakes, and a few days after this small tsunami, a 6.6 magnitude quake hit on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (later downgraded to a 6.4 magnitude). So, the bottom of the Atlantic is active and it is shifting.

And don’t forget that the Super Moon is still influencing the Earth, but it peaked the same week as the tsunami and the Atlantic 6.6 quake. Three more large quakes occurred at the equator during this once-a-year full-moon event, with the largest quake in the Atlantic Ocean.

Increase In Global EQS And Tsunamis

The USGS small globe showing the 5.9 Earthquake off the Azores Islands, Portugal on April 30, 2013.

Earthquakes in the Atlantic Ocean can send tsunami waves onto the east coast of the US and into the Caribbean.

Any and all coastlines are susceptible to tsunami waves, and as the Earth’s axis continues to sway and vibrate, don’t be surprised to hear of more tsunamis occurring.

Tsunamis are normally generated by offshore earthquakes, sub-marine landslides, and undersea volcanic activity. One of the largest tsunami threats to America’s east coast is likely to begin on the Canary Islands off the coast of North Africa.

Both volcanoes and sub-marine landslides are occurring here, and this can cause a wall of water to race across the Atlantic Ocean at the speed of a jet airliner, which can devastate the east coast and the Caribbean.

My guess is more small tsunamis will be hitting the US in the days to come because as the Atlantic sea floor moves, shakes, and uplifts, the water has to go somewhere. 

 

 

Two Earthquakes Shake Atlantic Ocean

The USGS small globe showing the 5.9 Earthquake off the Azores Islands, Portugal on April 30, 2013.

5.9 earthquake off the Azores Islands, Portugal on April 30, 2013 – USGS

Tuesday morning on April 30, 2013, two earthquakes just 30 minutes apart shook the Atlantic. The quakes were on opposite sides of the ocean, and surprisingly, neither rumbler created tsunami waves. The Azores Island 5.9 magnitude quake occurred 18 miles off the coast of Portugal 6.2 miles under the sea. (I consider this a 6.0 quake, but similar to gasoline prices advertised at $3.99 a gallon as opposed to $4.00 a gallon, many public posts try to make people think that “things” are not as bad as they could be.)

The USGS small globe showing the Caribbean earthquake April 30, 2013.

5.3 earthquake in the Caribbean Sea on April 30, 2013 – USGS

Thirty-one minutes later and 31 miles offshore Saint John’s, Antigua and Barbuda, a 5.3 quake rocked the Caribbean Sea 31 miles below the water.

Keep An Eye On Iceland

It would be unusual if the weaker parts of the Atlantic Ocean around Iceland and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge did not respond to these two Atlantic quakes occurring just 31 minutes apart on opposite sides of this vast ocean. Over the next week, keep an eye on the volcanoes around Iceland and on the volcanic Canary Islands, south of the Azores. And, monitor the Caribbean for more earthquake swarms.

As if upcoming hurricane season in the Atlantic isn’t enough to keep islanders on their toes, now they are experiencing large rumblers….