Unique Japan tsunami footage boon to scientists Sydney (AFP)
March 16, 2011 Vision of the disastrous tsunami rolling onto
Japan after last week's massive 9.0-magnitude earthquake will
provide valuable data to scientists for years to come,
Australian experts said Wednesday. Compelling images of the
monster wave crashing onto low-lying farmland in Japan's
northeast, sweeping all in its path into a surging waterway, was
played live by television stations as helicopter-borne crews
recorded the event. "I think the impact of the waves going
across and spreading well inland on relatively flat terrain was
something that we've never seen before," Australian tsunami
expert Ray Canterford told AFP, adding it was a tragedy for
Japan. "This is quite a unique event." Canterford said while
scientists had made progress on predicting tsunamis since the
devastating 2004 Indian Ocean disaster in which some 220,000
people died, there was still work to be done. "There has been
progress but it's very unfortunate for the Japanese,