On Tue, 01 Jun 2004 00:25:59 GMT, "startum"
<startum@mail.anonymizer.com> wrote:

Does anyone know anything about
this alleged Azores phenomenon?

It's not in the Azores, but in the Canaries:
La Palma in the Canaries.
HTH.
C.



http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2000/mega_tsunami.shtml
Mega-tsunami: Wave of Destruction
 The growing concern is that the ideal conditions for just such a
landslide - and consequent mega-tsunami - now exist on the island of La
Palma in the Canaries. In 1949 the southern volcano on the island
erupted. During the eruption an enormous crack appeared across one side
of the volcano, as the western half slipped a few metres towards the
Atlantic before stopping in its tracks. Although the volcano presents no
danger while it is quiescent, scientists believe the western flank will
give way completely during some future eruption on the summit of the
volcano. In other words, any time in the next few thousand years a huge
section of southern La Palma, weighing 500 thousand million tonnes, will
fall into the Atlantic ocean.

What will happen when the volcano on La Palma collapses? Scientists
predict that it will generate a wave that will be almost inconceivably
destructive, far bigger than anything ever witnessed in modern times. It
will surge across the entire Atlantic in a matter of hours, engulfing
the whole US east coast, sweeping away everything in its path up to 20km
inland. Boston would be hit first, followed by New York, then all the
way down the coast to Miami and the Caribbean.


stolen from: http://armageddononline.tripod.com/tsunamis.htm

Where have mega tsunamis occurred in the past?
Scientists hunted that world for sites that could potentially cause a
mega tsunami. They discovered that at least eleven mega tsunamis had
happened in the last 200,000 years, caused by island collapses in the
Hawaiian and Canary islands. 

Where is one likely to occur in the future?
The island of La Palma, in the Canary Islands off the coast of North
Africa, was discovered to be in great danger of collapsing. The island
is volcanic and during an eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano in 1949
part of the island slipped a few metres into the sea before stopping.
Another eruption could cause the western flank of the island to collapse
in the Atlantic Ocean. 

When will it happen?
No one knows. It will happen during an eruption of Cumbre Vieja. It is
an active volcano, last erupting in 1949. However the next eruption may
not destroy the island, the next 10 may not. Only on thing is certain -
one-day an incredible force will surge through the Atlantic Ocean. 

How big would it be?
It would be far bigger than any wave ever seen for thousands of years.
500 billion tonnes of rock are waiting to collapse into the ocean at
terrific speed. The collapse would create nearly 5,000,000,000,000,000
(5 thousand trillion) joules of kinetic energy, which would be converted
into a colossal wave 900 metres high with awesome speed - within ten
minutes it would have moved 250 kilometres. The landslide would continue
to move underwater, powering the wave as it goes. 

What damage would it cause?
No coastline in the North Atlantic would be spared. Britain, France,
Spain and Portugal would all be badly hit North Africa would be hit by
100 metre waves, but the main wave would travel west. It would storm
across the Atlantic in hours, hitting the Caribbean and Brazil badly.
However, the real damage would be to the East coast of the USA. 

By the time it had travelled the 4000 miles to America the wave would be
lower and wider. It would now be just 50 metres high but many kilometres
long, allowing it to sweep up to 20 miles in land, destroying everything
in its path. Boston, New York and Miami would virtually be wiped off the
map. Skyscrapers would be bulldozed as if they weren't there. Bridges
would be ripped from their foundations. And virtually every human in
these cities would be killed. 

There would be indirect consequences around the world. The events of the
11 September wiped millions off stock markets around the world. What
would be the effects of the destruction of not only the rest of New
York, but also the rest of the East Coast on the world's economies? 

How can we stop it?
Put simply, we can't. We have no technology that can stop a volcano
erupting, no support that can hold 500 billion tonnes of rock and no
barrier that can stop a wave moving at 500 miles per hour. All we can do
is evacuate. 

But can we evacuate tens of millions of people with just a few hours
notice? Unless evacuation plans were incredibly well thought out, no.
Imagine New York's grid locked streets trying to cope with every person
in the city on them. The alternative is evacuating when the volcano
starts to erupt, possibly giving a few weeks warning. However, the
island may not collapse on the next eruption, or even the next ten.
Would we risk evacuating millions of people on the off chance? Could we
risk not to?