Mik: [00:00:03] You are now listening to.

Jenn: [00:00:05] Chakras and shotguns. Welcome to Chakras and Shotguns, the podcast that guides you on a journey of spiritual development and personal preparedness. I'm Jenn, a former lawyer, a newly certified yoga teacher and a Human Design lover.

Mik: [00:00:33] And I Mik a marketer, shamanic healer and prepper. As weather patterns change all over the country, we're seeing more and more weather-related emergency situations unfolding. One weather event that we haven't experienced in the US recently is the tsunami. Now, recently I've been seeing ads from the city of Los Angeles asking residents to sign up for the tsunami alert messaging system. And that got me thinking. So today we'll get into what causes tsunamis, the places in the US and around the world that are most susceptible and what you can do to be prepared.

Jenn: [00:01:07] Before we get into that, we do want to remind you all to sign up for our mailing list. We are giving away a free copy of Rashida Thomas's book, Faith and Finances to One Lucky Person that signs up for our mailing list between now and June 28th. Rashida was on episode 71 and it was an amazing episode about healing money wounds. Use the link in the show description to sign up.

Mik: [00:01:34] All right. Before we get into the episode, we'll start, as we always do with a little breathwork to get us into a mindful place.

Jenn: [00:01:40] So the main topic is tsunamis. And that made me think of. The devastation of water and being swept away. And I really wanted us to be as grounded as possible. And so we're going to do a little exercise to really ground you. And hopefully get you a little bit more present because I find this one to be really helpful when my mind is kind of all over the place and I'm thinking about this and that and what I got to do next and what I should have done, what I haven't done. And it really helps me feel a little bit more centered. So find a comfortable seat. You can always lie down. Or even if you're. In the middle of doing something and you're just listening to us While you clean the kitchen, just find a moment of stillness. You can put your hands somewhere on your body, preferably palms down. And really just connect with your energy. Feel the weight of your palms. And allow yourself to come into this moment. Inhale in through your nose. Feeling your belly, your rib cage, your chest holding at the top. And as you exhale, exhale a third of your breath out of your chest. Hold. Exhale another third of your breath out of your ribcage. Hold. And then exhale that last little bit of air that's in your belly and hold at the bottom. Inhale in through your nose. Again, feeling yourself expand. Let your belly push against your hand if you have a hand on your belly.

Jenn: [00:04:04] And once you're at the top, hold. Exhale the top third of air Hold. Exhale. Another third. Hold. Then exhale the last third of air in your belly, allowing yourself to completely empty of all air. Let's do that one more time. Inhale. Feeling yourself expand. Hold at the top. Exhale. One-third hold. Exhale. Another third hold. And then fully let that breath go. Feeling yourself sink a little deeper into your seat or wherever you are lying down or really just even if you're standing, feeling yourself really come into your body. You can continue doing that breath or just let yourself breathe naturally. And just allow yourself to ground in this moment. Feeling wherever you might be, meeting the earth or your seat. Not thinking about the past. Not worrying about the future. Just focus on my voice. And find stillness. Maybe you feel your breath getting a little deeper. Any tightness in your chest or in your hands in your legs, letting all of that melt away? Release your jaw. If your tongue is on the roof of your mouth. Release your tongue. And just allow yourself to get a little bit more slack. There is no reason to brace. You're just here in this moment. When you're ready to proceed with the rest of the episode, maybe. Find a soft gaze as you come back into the room. Slowly allow yourself to. Feel back into your body. And come back into awareness. And we'll get into the main topic.

Mik: [00:07:35] Thanks for that, Jenn.

Jenn: [00:07:38] You know, I've been practicing.

Mik: [00:07:41] I can see it.

Mik: [00:07:43] All right. So let's get into our main topic. We're talking tsunamis.

Jenn: [00:07:47] Tsunami relief.

Mik: [00:07:50] So, yeah, we named this episode for one of our favorite comedians, Lavell Crawford. You might know him from Breaking Bad. He had a joke back in the day about a lady outside of a store collecting money for tsunami relief. So that's what we're talking about on a serious note. We want to talk about tsunamis, how they're formed, how we can better prepare for them. So let's start with how they're formed.

Jenn: [00:08:15] Contrary to popular belief, I don't know if I was part of the popular I didn't really didn't know the answer. But apparently, a lot of people think tsunamis are tidal waves that are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon or the sun. And that is wrong. That is false fake news. Instead, tsunamis are generated by large scale disturbances in the ocean, most commonly earthquakes occurring beneath the ocean floor. So they shaking the table under the sea.

Mik: [00:08:47] Yeah. So basically earthquake happens and if it's strong enough, it can trigger this sudden movement of the sea floor. Right. You just vertical movement happens. And that displacement of the ocean floor basically creates a big wave that can move really far from the center of that earthquake. And these waves can travel all the way across an ocean, sometimes going thousands of miles until they eventually reach coastal areas. The force of the waves, they can reach up to 500mph. So we're talking fast moving water. And if they approach some of these shallow coastal areas, their, you know, speed decreases, but their height can kind of increase dramatically. And that leads to massive floods that we've, you know, seen in the past.

Jenn: [00:09:40] For our folks in the UK, because we've got some listeners in the UK that's 805km. Kilometres an hour. See, that's why Ariel was talking about she wanted to be part of that world. It's very ghetto under there. They don't there's too much going on. She was trying to be like in Montana, somewhere landlocked. There was like, part of that world anyway. So you're probably thinking that in the US we haven't had to worry about tsunamis. But Mik mentioned we have changing weather patterns all over the United States.

Mik: [00:10:14] It's been hoodie season in LA for like literally eight months.

Jenn: [00:10:19] Uh, yeah, We were, like, so grateful for, like, a little sunlight today. It was like, Oh, the sun came out. We can go to the beach anyways. Let's run down a few areas that are susceptible for tsunamis, and some of these places may not have had one in our recent memory. But if you live on a coast or if you do a lot of traveling, you like to be, you know, by a beach, it's probably a good idea to know if you're going to be somewhere that's at risk.

Mik: [00:10:48] All right, so first up, we have what's called the Pacific Ring of Fire. That doesn't sound foreboding. So the Pacific Ocean is home to what is known as the ring of Fire. This region encircles the Pacific plate. So it's one of the, like tectonic plates of the earth's crust. If you know anything about earthquakes, that's what it's talking about. And it has a lot of activity on these fault lines. And so there's frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, which is where the name ring of Fire comes from. Countries like Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines and Chile, among others, are located along this active zone where tons of earthquakes are happening. And they are because they're on the coast, they are highly vulnerable to tsunamis. There's even a chance that areas on the west coast of the United States could be affected. So as far north as Washington, all the way down to LA, which is why LA is asking us to sign up for these alerts.

Jenn: [00:11:49] Mm hmm. So the coasts surrounding the Indian Ocean are also prone to tsunamis. The devastating Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, which claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, serves as a tragic reminder of the region's vulnerability. There was this movie that came out. It was called Like The Impossible. And I mean, it's an American movie. So it was following an American family who was on vacation in Thailand and. I mean, it's based on a true story. But, you know, I don't know if you remember that movie from like 2012.

Mik: [00:12:24] Interesting.

Jenn: [00:12:24] But countries like Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and India are among the most susceptible to tsunamis in this area.

Mik: [00:12:34] Next up, we have the Mediterranean Sea. Although tsunamis are relatively rare in the Mediterranean Sea compared to the Pacific and Indian Oceans, this region has experienced significant events in the past. They do have some tectonic boundaries there, such as the Hellenic arc, which does increase the risk of tsunamis in countries like Greece, Italy and Turkey. So if you're trying to get your Santorini pics on, you might want to make sure you're aware of what's going on in the Mediterranean.

Jenn: [00:13:05] I don't know why that freaking song just popped in my head where she's like, Oh, shit. You know what I mean?

Mik: [00:13:10] I do not.

Jenn: [00:13:11] You don't know the song.

Mik: [00:13:12] Baby. You know my musical tastes and its limitations.

Jenn: [00:13:16] It's bipoc only.

Mik: [00:13:18] Pretty much.

Jenn: [00:13:19] It starts. I was like, Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Just thinking about somebody trying to take their pictures of them little white and blue houses. And it's like.

Mik: [00:13:26] It was on our honeymoon out there. I know. And no idea because I got hit with a tsunami vibes.

Jenn: [00:13:32] No swimming skills. And honestly, I don't think it matters if tsunami hits the eastern coast of the United States. Interestingly enough, while less frequent, they're not entirely immune to tsunamis on the East Coast. The most significant historical event in this region occurred in 1929. Way back. That was almost 100 years ago.

Jenn: [00:13:56] Damn, that was almost 100 years ago when an undersea landslide like they'd just be doing a lot of shit under the seas like you would think that it's, like, very calm, cool and collected over there. But they haven't. Landslides, earthquakes, protests. Like, what are we doing? It's not.

Mik: [00:14:11] Just Nemo and Sebastian down there, You know what I mean?

Jenn: [00:14:14] Father daughter conflicts. Yeah. This episode is not sponsored by Disney. I don't know why I'm doing it, but Ariel just came out. This undersea landslide triggered a tsunami that affected parts of Newfoundland, Canada and the northeastern United States. Some Marine landslides. And I'm not talking about the boats. I'm talking about I don't know what's the Latin breakdown of that beneath the Marine, but undersea landslides and potential future volcanic activity in the Caribbean. So we're going all the way down the eastern coast could pose a localized risk to this area.

Mik: [00:14:52] Yeah. So speaking of the Caribbean Sea, the rest of the regions are not just like the part near the eastern United States is also at risk potentially. So there are what are called subduction zones in seismic activity around the Caribbean tectonic plate. And that area includes Puerto Rico, the Lesser Antilles and the northern coast of South America. And so basically activity in the area can generate tsunamis that impact the Venezuela and Puerto Rico.

Jenn: [00:15:23] Puerto Rico. Shout out to Madison. Bidi Bidi. Bidi. Bidi. Bidi. Bidi. Bidi. Bidi. Bidi. Bidi bom bom. If you know. You know. So what could a tsunami look like in one of these places? There have been some big tsunamis in the last 20 years. I know. Were talking about stuff they have been like a hundred years ago. But Indian Ocean tsunami 2004, that that movie I was telling you about, the Indian Ocean tsunami is also known as the Boxing Day tsunami. So it happened the day after Christmas. It was triggered by a massive undersea earthquake with a magnitude of 9.1 to 9.3 off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. And what's that scale? Does it go up to ten?

Mik: [00:16:05] I think so. But it's like not linear, it's logarithmic. So, like, the difference between a nine and a eight is not the same as the difference between a eight and a seven.

Jenn: [00:16:17] Y'all should see, how I'm looking at Mik right now. Cool. Cool story, bro. This devastating tsunami. Let me not laugh because this was terrible. Be serious. This devastating tsunami affected several countries, including Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India and many others. And the death toll was estimated at over 230,000 people, making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history. The Tohoku tsunami in 2011 struck the east coast of Japan on March 11th, 2011. It was caused by a powerful undersea earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 off the coast of Honshu Island. The tsunami hit extensive coastal areas, resulting in widespread destruction and the Fukushima nuclear disaster. So I don't really remember the tsunami that well, but I do remember the nuclear plant being hit and everybody being like, Oh, yeah. Oh, shit. The death toll exceeded 15,000 people and it had far reaching consequences in terms of infrastructure damage and environmental impact. And then most recently, a very large tsunami happened in September 2018, which struck an island of Indonesia called Sulawesi. It was triggered by a series of strong earthquakes, including a magnitude 7.5 earthquake. The tsunami swept through coastal cities, particularly palu and Donggala, causing extensive damage again and resulting in thousands of casualties. Unfortunately, they don't even know how many people died because of the region was very remote and densely populated, but they estimate that several thousand lives were lost.

Mik: [00:18:07] So yeah, the point of Jenn running through those kind of recent massive tsunamis is to really just point out that these things ain't nothing to mess with just because we haven't really seen one hit the US in a major way like this. We should be paying attention to these things. So let's talk a little bit about tsunami detection. There are several organizations around the world that basically their whole job is to monitor seismic activity and send out alerts. So you have organizations like the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System and the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center. So, yeah.

Jenn: [00:18:53] Yeah. Those organizations collect data from seismic sensors located on the ocean floor, as well as buoys equipped with pressure sensors that can detect changes in water levels. And when an earthquake is detected, these systems analyze the data real fast and issue warnings based on the magnitude, location and potential threat of a tsunami. And I would hope that all of these systems are sophisticated enough to like ping phones. Like.

Mik: [00:19:23] We're going to get to that in a second.

Jenn: [00:19:24] Oh, my bad. Good point.

Mik: [00:19:26] So. What can we do on an individual level to prepare for a tsunami? First up is get informed. So sign up for the alerts in your area. If you're in the LA area, there's a system called Notify LA. Now, when I was reading about notify LA, what I found out is. They have a system in place where if you have a landline that's in this area, they would automatically give you a call. But it's 2023, it's 2023. If you're under the age of 60, you probably do not have a landline.

Jenn: [00:20:00] Because the spammers are calling nonstop.

Mik: [00:20:03] And so what they're doing is they're trying to invite people to sign up for this tech system. Like they have to know like, I mean, I have a Houston area code number, right? They wouldn't know, per se that like I happen to be living here.

Jenn: [00:20:16] Also, people visit like.

Mik: [00:20:18] Exactly.

Jenn: [00:20:18] People want to come to the beach.

Mik: [00:20:20] Exactly.

Mik: [00:20:21] So this system, basically, if you opt into it, they will send you alerts when the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center gets a ping that a big earthquake is happened.

Jenn: [00:20:35] So basically, you have to pray that you're on the beach because this is an earthquake event. So it's not going to be like, oh, it's a really bad storm. I wouldn't be at the beach. So you have to pray that like while you're at the beach kicking it, somebody is like, Yo, I live here and I have signed up for Notify LA and there's a tsunami coming and we got to get our shit and get out of here.

Mik: [00:20:54] I would imagine the lifeguards are on the system, so they would probably know.

Jenn: [00:20:58] Baby, I've been living here for almost a year. I ain't seen a lifeguard yet. It ain't no Baywatch around here. I see the little huts and nobody's home.

Mik: [00:21:07] So anyway, if you live on the West Coast or even the East Coast, I'm sure there's some system that your local government has set up that you can get on their notification system. For folks in LA, there's also a Twitter handle that you can follow and you can like set up alerts on there. So it's at Notify LA and that's like just the emergency alert. So like they're not going to be tweeting random stuff about like what's going on in the ocean on that. It's just like if there's something that you need to know, that's when the tweets go out. So, you know, click the little alert me when tweets come from this account and you'll get those updates. Second thing you want to do to prepare for tsunami? You got to have a plan. So the number one thing you got to do is get away from the coast. Now, I was trying to do some research on like, how many miles in the water could come. Yeah, but it's all like depends on like, how far away from the coast the earthquake occurred and how strong it was. And, you know, if there's any other things that are potentially disrupting the path of the water. Right. So they can't really tell you.

Jenn: [00:22:08] Okay, cool.

Mik: [00:22:11] So yeah, I would just say if you were in a coastal city like just planning to move away from the coast if you get any type of alert. So know where you're going.

Jenn: [00:22:20] Okay.

Mik: [00:22:23] The last thing you want to do. Make sure you have some supplies. So we had a whole episode on bugout bags, food, water, flashlights, medical stuff. Have it ready to go. All your emergency documents so you can quickly get away from the area. This is not one of those situations where you can bug in. You can.

Mik: [00:22:43] You can't.

Jenn: [00:22:43] No.

Mik: [00:22:44] So like at 500mph.

Mik: [00:22:49] The water.

Mik: [00:22:50] Is.

Mik: [00:22:50] Rushing.

Jenn: [00:22:51] Its running through your house like the Tomb Raider.

Mik: [00:22:54] I know. Like growing up, like hurricanes. You know, there were a lot of people who, no matter what category the hurricane was, they're like, are we going to stay? We going we going, we going to ride it out. This is not a ride it out situation. The tsunami is not a ride it out situation. You can ride.

Jenn: [00:23:08] It out back into that ocean.

Mik: [00:23:09] So the point is. Get informed, have a plan, make sure you have supplies. That's what you need to do.

Jenn: [00:23:16] I think that. And if you're still here. Thank you. Because tsunamis, you know, like if we were still living in Texas, I was like, dang, that sounds like a problem that somebody else should worry about. But I love a beach vacay and I love to be by the sea. And just even. It's a good idea to have a few first aid supplies in your bag. It's a good idea to always have some food, you know, regardless or something.

Jenn: [00:23:49] Regardless, because. I have been in Ghana hungry, trying to eat, trying to save and ration out my last little bag of chips because there's nowhere else to eat. So it's a good idea to have a little food, a little water with you, a little snack, a little peanut butter cracker, a little orange, a little clementine. Have something on you just in case. And then just have a plan. It's just it's getting to the point where if it's natural or if it's manmade disasters in the US, unfortunately, that it's just good to have an exit strategy. And so hopefully there was some good insights of just like, yeah, we aren't going to be by the beach. Is there something we could sign up for? Or I am going to LA this summer, you know.

Mik: [00:24:30] Yeah, no, because it can happen anytime. Like the one we talked about, Boxing Day, right? Like people were probably on holiday hanging out at the beach.

Jenn: [00:24:36] That's exactly what they were doing.

Mik: [00:24:37] You know what I mean? And so. And they're not gonna wait for you to get back from your vacation. Listen, I'm not gonna wait.

Jenn: [00:24:43] Oh, Mik and Ginger here on vacation. Oh, we couldn't possibly go to the shore today, so. Yeah.

Mik: [00:24:50] All right, guys. So we're going to wrap it up. Hopefully. That gives you guys just some insight around tsunamis. It was definitely something that I had not even thought about to be prepared for, so it was helpful for me to even research some of this stuff. And hopefully the knowledge is helpful for you guys to sign up for the alerts in your local area. Yeah.

Jenn: [00:25:07] Before we go, we do want to remind you again to sign up for our mailing list using the link in the show notes. We got a giveaway coming up, so you don't want to miss out on that.

Mik: [00:25:17] And finally, guys, if you're loving the show, please subscribe and give us five stars wherever you listen.

Jenn: [00:25:22] Namaste.