Strong Earthquake Sparks Tsunami Panic Along America's West Coast
Cops in Kodiak, Alaska, posted a dramatic warning on Facebook after the 7.9-magnitude quake.
A massive earthquake triggered fears of a tsunami after police posted a dramatic message on Facebook.
It all started Tuesday, after the 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck 180 miles off the coast of Kodiak, Alaska.
The entire West Coast was placed under a tsunami watch. For three hours, before it was called off, people braced for the worst.
The world saw the power of a deadly tsunami after one hit Japan following a 2011 earthquake. In that tsunami, sidewalks turned into rivers and buildings were smashed to pieces.
At one area, water breached a sea wall, and cars were tossed as the torrent surged forward.
Even light poles toppled as water raged through the town.
The Fukushima nuclear power plant in Okuma was destroyed and for the next six days, there was a high radiation alert. It took two weeks for three reactors to stabilize and months passed before they could be treated fully.
No deaths were reported by the 100,000 people who were forced to evacuate the area.
In 2004, a tsunami roared ashore in Thailand and other nations in Asia on the day after Christmas. An estimated 230,000 people lost their lives in one of the worst natural disasters in history.
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