Weather Whys; Hurricanes and Earthquakes

This is weather-wise. When a hurricane or typhoon moves on shore, it can create a very dangerous situation. The huge waves and high sea levels generated by the storm can inundate coastal communities. Of course, the winds and lightning pose a threat as well. And as if that weren't enough, hurricanes moving on shore often produce tornadoes. The combined effect of all of that is more than enough for anyone, so what could be worse? Well how about a hurricane and an earthquake at the same time? On September 1, 1923, the island of Japan was hit by a strong typhoon, and at the same time a massive earthquake struck Tokyo. The quake was strong enough to destroy buildings, and just as in the San Francisco quake of 17 years before, many fires raged through the city. The year also produced a tsunami or a huge wave generated by the heaving ocean floor. When that wave combined with the storm surge from the typhoon, the ocean was a devastating

force. The city of Tokyo, as well as the communities within 40 miles, were almost completely destroyed, and 100,000 people lost their lives as a result of that one-two punch. Most likely, the combination of typhoon and earthquake was just a very unfortunate coincidence, but some scientists wonder if the typhoon could actually have triggered the quake. In a tremor-prone area like Japan, the sea floor is always under great stress, so there's a question whether the extra stress created by the typhoon's high seas and pounding waves might have led to the earthquake. Whether wise is produced with the assistance of the Cooperative Institute from Mesoscale Meteorological Studies, the Oklahoma Climateological Survey, and the School of Meteorology, all at the University of Oklahoma. Whether wise is made possible by a grant from the National Science Foundation. For whether wise, I'm Drew Barlow.