面對天災有備無患:揭祕海嘯逃生技巧

日本3月11日發生特大地震引發海嘯。電視畫面顯示，海嘯迅速吞沒了農田和房屋，汽車和船隻被海嘯席捲着撞上建築物，造成了極大的人員傷亡和財產損失。讓我們在哀悼災難的同時，也來看一些海嘯的求生技巧吧！

The Japanese coined the word tsunami to mean "harbor wave." ("tsu" means harbor, and the character "nami" means wave). In the wake of the Japanese tragedy, remember these tsunami survival tips:

1. A good warning sign of an approaching tsunami is "drawback,"when the ocean recedes drastically or the water level falls unusually along the shoreline.

退潮是海嘯的一個預警信號

During the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, a 10-year-old girl on vacation with her family in Thailand, Tilly Smith, saved the lives of dozens of tourists when she recognized the receding water and frothing bubbles on the surface of the water as a sign that a tsunami was on it's way. Experts believe that a receding ocean may give people as much as five minutes' warning to evacuate the area.

2. You're not out of danger after the first wave of a tsunami.

第一波海嘯結束並不意味着脫險

A tsunami occurs as a series of waves known as a "wave train," and the series of surges can be five minutes or up to an hour apart. The tsunami does not usually appear on the shoreline as a gigantic breaking wave, but rather as a rapid tide or a wall of water. The worst mistake you can make is staying near the beach out of curiosity. Find higher ground and go as far inland as you can. If you can see the waves, you're still too close.

3. A tsunami surge may be small at one point of the shore and large at another point.

趁海嘯勢頭小的時候向高處轉移

Move to higher ground as soon as you can and don't assume that because there's minimal activity in the coastal area where you are, it will be like that everywhere else.

4. Keep your ears peeled.

捂緊耳朵

Many witnesses have said that a tsunami sounds thunderous, like a freight train.