VIOLENT NATURE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP64-00658A000100310011-2
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: November 17, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 7, 2000
• Sequence Number: 11
• Publication Date: April 3, 1946
• Content Type: NSPR

Approved For Release 2000/09/05: CIA-RDP64-00658A000100310011-2
Violent Nature
The ancient truth that the forces of
nature can be inestimably more violent
than anything man can do at his worst has
been demonstrated anew in the Pacific,,
where a series of tidal waves generated by
a disturbance in the ocean's floor have
swept coast lines from Alaska to Chile, with
heavy loss ,of life and property, and in-
fl cted on the Hawaiian islands their worst
di caster since the Jap attack on Pearl..Har-
e~,"Rorie bomb, there is no defense against
ptemplated.
. ;,Although the Pacific ocean Is,, In"-fact
,
.J {enomena. At Okinawa and elsewhere the e
iy- #vy took heavy losses from the character-
- I"4 , , en Uncific typhoon Fran more dama
in
CL!
g
g
y resent instance it is. probable that there
....d_
_r
da
d_ that ___..
rwat
la
l
ing a "wrinkle" on the surface,fromi
0 f Ziich the tidal wave spread at a speed of l
..1; from 300 to 500 miles an hour, making i'ts
orce felt within a majestically short time,
L U, shores as far away as 7000 miles.
7i o that he can at least forewarn himself.;
Om fay be' taken against the waves. For j
example, when one of the frequent shocks i
1* reported from the Aleutians area, the;
S ,scientist in the Hawaiian islands can.
;,reckon the time when danger may be ex-
pected. But to make assurance really sure,.
there should be a "permanent standby" on;
the recording instruments. The quake ini
this case was reported at 2 A. M. Honolulu,
time, when nobody was on watch. The,
waves arrived five hours later.
Preparations continue in full swing for,
the Navy's test of the atomic bomb at Bikini;
A$'oll in the Pacific. But if 'we are reallyt
going to lbg~d-our _Facific bases, we mush
take account of the eccentricities, of that l
"peaceful" 'ocean. 'It. Is conceivable., that'
under certain circumstances. they might in-
flict more damage than a hostile navy,
Approved For Release 2000/09/05: CIA-RDP64-00658A000100310011-2
 Appr 'f dDd 11tVJ08t$6MCIAFRBR&4-006&&000100310011-2
HARVARD UNIVERSITY SEISMOGRAPH STATION
i-./ 0=42?3012611 NORTH A=71?33'45"" WEST
L. DON LEET, SEISMOLOGIST IN CHARGE April 3, 1946
MARY P. COLLINS, ASSISTANT
Colonel Charles P. Nicholas
Military Intelligence Division
War Department General Staff
Pentagon Building
Washington 25, D. C.
GEOLOGICAL MUSEUM
CAMBRIDGE 38, MASSACHUSETTS
OUR Cambridge ADDRESS
Just to keep your file up-to-date on the subject of geophysical re-
search in the Pacific area, it occurs to me that there are a few
aspects of the recent tidal wave situation which are of interest.
For one thing, of course, it has been brought forcibly to the atten-
tion of the general public that forces of nature in the Pacific are
still things with which to contend in making any'long range plans
for occupancy of that area. In that connection, I am enclosing an
editorial from the Boston Herald of this morning. As you may suspect
from its content, some of the ideas were planted with the writer when
he phoned me yesterday for suggestions. _
For another thing, the Army and Navy in Hawaii have complained to the
Coast and Geodetic Survey that they should have been warned of the
approaching tidal wave. Such warnings have been issued in the past
for large earthquakes near the Aleutians, although the majority of
them do not cause tidal waves. The warning is possible when earth-
borne waves from the earthquake reach. the Hawaiian Islands after a
few minutes with enough information to permit rough location of the
quake. The tidal wave then requires around five hours to make the
trip, so that a warning of 34 hours is possible. On April 1, it
happened that these earth-borne warnings arrived at 2 a.m. and, since
even seismologists sleep once in a while, were not observed until too
late. A coordinated program for defense against the forces of nature
would have had these Hawaiian instruments and others in the area e-
quipped with alarms which would. have operated when triggered by large
displacements on the seismograph, and thereby constitute what amounts
to a 24-hour standby watch on earthquakes capable of causing tidal waves.
I have received a copy of 5.1850 presented February 21, 1946 as the
latest version of the National Science Foundation proposals. The details
seem 8 be shaping up very satisfactorily. What we need now is action
in securing passage.
Cully rs,
L. Don Leet
Approved For Release 2000/09/05: CIA-RDP64-00658A000100310011-2