National Geographic: Tsunami - Killer Wave Page #4

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But even when a tsunami alert

is issued,

not everyone will take it seriously.

When you go from one tsunami

to the next tsunami,

people don't even know

what they are.

So it's hard for them

to even consider them a threat.

First of all, you have to

convince them

that there is such a thing,

and secondly,

that it can cause destruction.

Even in Hawaii,

with its tragic history of tsunamis,

people can forget the lessons

of the past.

In 1960,

the warning center was established,

a massive earthquake

off the coast of Chile

generates a tsunami

that fans out across the Pacific.

Hawaii lies directly in its path.

Early on the evening of May 22,

the warning center issues

its prediction

...a tsunami will hit Hilo

sometime around midnight.

But with midnight long past,

and only small waves washing ashore,

many ignore the alert,

and return to the downtown bayfront.

A few even gather

at the Suisan Fish Market

to watch the waves come in.

The 35-foot wall of water

strikes like a bomb.

Once again

Hilo is brought to its knees,

with $30 million in damage

and 61 dead.

This wave will change Hilo forever.

Today, as you look at downtown Hilo,

you see the highway

along the bayfront,

which used to be the railway

before the tsunamis.

You see a big expanse

of green parkland

soccer fields and places

where people picnic

and play ball.

All of that was homes

and businesses...

very, very heavily populated

before the tsunamis.

If you go there today, you can see

the old roads which go in,

driveways, all leading to nothing.

They see that area and they think

what wonderful urban planning

we have in Hilo

to have all that parkland.

That's planning thanks to

Mother Nature

and at great expense to

the city of Hilo,

both in terms of property

and loss of life.

Tsunamis have been rare events.

There has not been a destructive

Pacific-wide tsunami

in over 30 years.

But if you look at the number

of tsunami events

over the last century

there's been on the average

one destructive tsunami

every seven years

so in many ways you would say that

we're long overdue

for the next tsunami

Walter Dudley is not

the only scientist

who's worried about the next one.

In the Seattle office

of the National Oceanic

and Atmospheric Administration,

Dr. Eddie Bernard

is spearheading efforts to alert

the public

to the dangers of tsunamis.

Most certainly they're killers.

If you look at the history of the

United States since World War II,

more people have died from tsunamis

than from earthquakes

in our country.

It's one of

the few natural disasters

that has such broad impact.

Most natural disasters

are very localized.

An earthquake, although it may be

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