tsunami+threat+passes+after+strong+earthquake+off+Central+America

http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/09/americas/earthquake-honduras-tsunami/index.html SriPallavi Yendamuri __Tsunami threat passes after strong earthquake off central America. CNN. January 10, 2018__

__Summary:__ This article talks about how there was a tsunami threat for the people of Honduras. Immediate action was taken "not to scare the people but to simply inform them". There was an earthquake as well that struck the city with a magnitude of 7.6 on the Richter scale. We learn that an often affect of an earthquake is a tsunami. There are 4 main steps to how a tsunami forms 1. Tectonic plates shift causing an earthquake and displacing water 2. The waves travel at high speeds in the ocean often unnoticed 3. When they get close to shore they gain height and slow down a bit 4. These waves can be up to 100 feet tall and wipe out everything in their path.

__Relation to class:__ This article relates to our course because in this unit we talked about earthquakes and tsunamis which as mentioned before were an affect of an earthquake. An earthquake is defined as " The faulting or a later abrupt movement on an existing fault". An earthquake as 2 main "parts":The focus and epicenter. 2 after affects of an earthquake are aftershocks and foreshocks which are both shocks that result from the earthquake. (miller 444-445). Tsunamis are also defined as "water waves that travel as fast as 950 kilometers per hour. (Miller 445).On the same page were also ways to prevent earthquake hazards which was implemented in this scenario as the police had warned the people that they were in an area where the ground conditions are more subject to shaking and therefore are deemed high risk areas.

__Opinion:__ My opinion on this is that the officials did the right job in not delaying the information to the people so they can get to safety as needed. I can definitely understand that people would panic with the news that they had just received since it is a life or death scenario. The main thing to prioritize here is definitely safety. Since the tsunami had not come they were very lucky that the devastating after affect did not come along with the already very high ranking earthquake.

__Enviromenal Law:__
 * Coastal Barrier Resources Act of 1982** - This Act designated various undeveloped coastal barrier islands, depicted by specific maps, for inclusion in the Coastal Barrier Resources System (System). Areas so designated were made ineligible for direct or indirect Federal financial assistance that might support development (including flood insurance) except for emergency life-saving activities. Exceptions for certain activities, such as fish and wildlife research, are provided, and National Wildlife Refuges and other, otherwise protected areas are excluded from the System.