Hawaii Expecting Tsunami Debris in Latest Update

Hawaii may soon see tsunami debris similar to that found off the coast of Washington and Oregon earlier this summer. The latest update from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration has added Hawaii and borders on the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands to the area of uncertainty for potential "high windage objects."

NOAA's modeling team is also exploring potential long-term trends in the debris' movement, which may show scientists when and where the debris will land next.

The latest bi-monthly update from NOAA says they are also working with NASA to provide faster responses to imaging requests when debris is spotted nearing the coast.

Since July 15, there have been three reports of a cylinder barge-like object with similar characteristics off of the Washington and Oregon coasts. The first sighting was reported by a research vessel ~55 miles west of Westport, Washington on 7/18/12. The second sighting was reported by a fishing vessel ~38 miles northwest of Tillamook Bay, Oregon on 7/25/12. The most recent sighting was reported by a USCG helicopter ~ 25 miles west of Yaquina Head, Oregon on 7/29/12. In each case, the object was reported as two long cylinders joined together, roughly 30 ft x 10 ft. Based on positions, the NOAA ERD modeling team judges it possible that all three sightings could be of the same object.