Scientists learn a lesson from Asia tsunami

Researchers studying December's devastating tsunami want to understand the science behind it, so Atlantic Canada can be prepared if one hits here.

Halifax-based scientist John Shaw and three colleagues were commissioned by the United Nations to study the effects of the Dec. 26 disaster on Seychelles, a group of islands off Africa in the Indian Ocean.

• CBC backgrounder - Disaster in Asia

"It's important to know what a tsunami wave will do when it approaches your part of the world," said Shaw.

At its height, the tsunami waves in Seychelles were more than four metres high. Many of the islands' luxury hotels that dot the shoreline were severely damaged. A major bridge was wiped out.

But since the waves struck at low tide, the damage wasn't as severe as it could've been.

"[The tsunami] struck in the middle of the day at low tide. If it had struck six hours later at high tide, the death rate would have been very, very high indeed," Shaw said.

In addition to interviewing locals to hear about the impact of the tsunami, Shaw looked at photographs. He noticed one wave actually wrapped around Seychelles.

All the information Shaw and his team gathered will help scientists in Atlantic Canada predict how a tsunami might affect the region. For example, the level of shoreline damage in Seychelles raises questions about where it's appropriate to build on coastlines.

"Just say there's a major earthquake out in the Atlantic, tsunami waves are approaching. They are going to have different effects in different places," he said, "so clearly some areas are going to be impacted more than others."

But tsunamis are still rare events, Shaw noted. About 90 per cent of them occur in the Pacific Ocean.

Residents on the East Coast did experience a major tsunami in 1929. An earthquake off the Grand Banks produced a tsunami that killed 29 people, mostly in Newfoundland, and left 10,000 homeless.

• From March 11, 2005 - U.S. expands tsunami warning net