Japan: New warning - 100-foot tsunami

According to new calculations released by a government panel, the town of Kuroshio on the eastern coast of Shikoku island could be at the mercy of a tsunami towering as tall as 34 meters – about 110 feet — the highest waves estimated to crash into Japan if a severe earthquake strikes offshore, as reported by Yoree Koh for the Wall Street Journal. The revised assessment also indicates that the town is unprepared should the big one hit tomorrow, as the disaster measures are in place for a tsunami with a maximum height of eight meters, according to the town’s disaster prevention plan.

The new government report, which now includes the lessons learned from last year’s March 11 disasters, warns 23 cities, towns and villages across six prefectures for being at risk of a tsunami topping 20 meters. "The scars of 2011 are forcing the government panel to rewrite disaster prevention plans from scratch. Part of that first step is to introduce a new way of assessing potential risks," writes Yoree Koh.