And some have occurred even in the less seismically active Atlantic Ocean. In 1929 a giant wave roared ashore in Newfoundland , Canada. Scientists around the world are working on a variety of methods to provide real-time warnings when a tsunami is headed for land. Eventually, it will consist of 60 seismic-sensing sites in the U.S. Pacific states. When the instruments detect seismic activity that could generate a tsunami, the data will be flashed to tsunami-warning centers.
Japan has a similar project under way.
Hill and his colleagues are all in favor of the tsunami warning system, but they believe it does not go far enough. They advocate a similar system to track asteroids and set up missiles carrying nuclear warheads to destroy or deflect them before they endanger Earth. Although we can't do much about the restless motions of our planet, Hill believes we can fend off interlopers from the cosmos .