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Nature Geoscience: Haiti strike-slip earthquake generated tsunami.

17.10.2010, Age: 3051 days

The 12 January 2010 Mw 7.0 Haiti earthquake exhibited primarily strike-slip motion but unusually generated a tsunami. An extensive field survey reveals that coastal strike-slip fault systems produce relief conducive to rapid sedimentation, erosion and slope failure, so that even modest predominantly strike-slip earthquakes can cause potentially catastrophic slide-generated tsunamis.

High tsunami frequency as a result of combined strike-slip faulting and coastal landslides

Matthew J. Hornbach, Nicole Braudy, Richard W. Briggs, Marie-Helene Cormier, Marcy B. Davis, John B. Diebold, Nicole Dieudonne, Roby Douilly, Cliff Frohlich, Sean P. S. Gulick, Harold E. Johnson III, Paul Mann, Cecilia McHugh, Katherine Ryan-Mishkin, Carol S. Prentice, Leonardo Seeber, Christopher C. Sorlien, Michael S. Steckler, Steeve Julien Symithe, Frederick W. Taylor & John Templeton

Published online: 10 October 2010 | doi:10.1038/ngeo975