My colleague Eduard Reinhardt and I were mapping coastline change in areas adjacent to the epicenter. One of those locations was a large military base, and we could see from satellite photos that the had been some subsidence on the base meaning part of the land slipped under water. We were there about 14 days after the quake, and the area was of course still in chaos.
The military was also spontaneously occupied with rescue and relief efforts in an area largely unreachable by other agencies. To our surprise, we were able to talk our way onto the base to examine the coastline. Reinhardt waded out into the oil and debris filled water to take samples along a transect. My more pleasant job was to survey in the sample locations, which I did with a laser rangefinder. That easy duty gave me time to chat with our military escort.
He asked how we knew there had been a coastline change, and I told him I would show him. I suppose I was overconfident given our success in getting on the base, so I pulled out the laptop, pulled up the satellite image taken a few days after the quake and showed him how we could see sunken coastline on the base.
Put that away right now! In a way, I suppose, my freedom is another tribute to the excellent judgment and response of the military after a horrible event. Natural Hazards 31 1 View all posts by rothausrm.
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