Real Tsunami, Wrong Ocean
A few days ago the Calgary Herald ran on its front page this dramatic photo of a tsunami wave crashing over a surprised group of people, along with the headline 'Tsunami death toll could pass 100,000'. The photo soon appeared elsewhere, such as on the start-up page of AOL. The problem is not that the photo itself is fake. It's not. It really does show a real tsunami wave. The problem is that it doesn't have anything to do with the recent Indian Ocean tsunami. As Nicole Bogdas of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel discovered: This is a two-year-old Reuters photo of a tsunami in China. You might remember the event: a bunch of people went to watch the waves and it turned out to be bigger than they thought. Anyway, the doctor gave the photo to the mayor of Calgary--he'd saved it for fundraising purposes. The Mayor showed it during a presentation on tsunami aid and the herald asked if they could have it thinking it was from this tsunami.
The Herald apologized once it realized the error.
Update: Tamandua points out in the comments that this is a wave produced by a tidal bore, not a tsunami.
Listed in chronological order. Newest comments at the end.
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Two hoaxes don't make a right. 
It's neither the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami nor a 2002 Chinese tsumani. It's a "tidal bore". I believe it's the Qiantang River in China.
Posted by Tamandua on Mon Jan 03, 2005 at 11:08 PM
It's neither the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami nor a 2002 Chinese tsumani. It's a "tidal bore". I believe it's the Qiantang River in China.
Ooh... That is one dramatic looking picture... Doesn't matter where it's from...
Posted by Fay-Fay on Mon Jan 03, 2005 at 11:23 PM
Yeah, that doesn't look like sea-water.
Posted by Maegan in Tampa, FL - USA on Tue Jan 04, 2005 at 07:22 AM
What's a tidal bore?
Posted by Ralph on Sat Jan 08, 2005 at 11:56 AM
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