Brazilian tsunami?

Just came across a bit about a tsunami on the Amazon at Costa Da Agoia, Brazil. Reported at 30 ft waves, there was extensive damage to the local villages. The cause is still under investigation, but my first guess is mud slides. Just wondering how much mud it would take on this large of a river to make 30' waves and is this a case of deforestation causing mudslides and tsunamis?

Only reference I could find at this point is at this link:
hisz.rsoe.hu...

From the link you provided.

A giant Amazon River wave hurled alligators, boats and fish into a village, destroying two houses and leaving one man missing, officials and local news reports said Tuesday. A mudslide sent a wall of water rushing across the river, local media said, casting river creatures ashore in the village of Costa da Aguia,

Wow, it's bad enough to have a great big wave coming at you, but to have the wave hurl alligators at you at the same time. :shk:

It's not a tsunami, which is something that's a series of waves caused by the sea getting displaced. But it IS a big splash.

I think the size of the wave is to the topmost point but I'm not sure how they measured it. Since it's in a non-English speaking country and hit only very poor villages, I don't think we'll see much followup.

Caiman, not alligators. A smaller cousin. They are quite tasty and not as dangerous, but still something to be concerned about as they would be very agitated after being tossed about.

I imagine it was one single wave and drained rapidly. The Amazon floods yearly and the people there are the hardy sort. Once the water drained off I bet they did fine.

I checked the major news portals in Brasil and found nothing on this story even in their native Portuguese.

Now if it were orinoco crocs the river was throwin' atcha, that would be something to be really worried about. Those have got to be the toughest, meanest, and most cool looking crocs out there.

Basically, this is the definition of the Brazilian Tsunami (here is called Pororoca):

The pororoca is a tidal bore up to 4 meters high that travels upstream the Amazon River. Its name comes from the indigenous Tupi language, where it translates into "great destructive noise". It occurs at the mouth of the river where river water meets the Atlantic Ocean. The phenomenon is best seen in February and March, where waves up to 4 meters rolling for up to 35 minutes have been observed.

I'm not sure about it, but it seems it went out if control, that's why it caused so much destruction.

BTW, there are many definitions and explanations about Pororoca out there, just give a try.

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Thanks for that info. I'm off to learn about Amazonian tsunamis now. That's the great thing about ATS: ask a question and someone out there will have some insight for you.

[edit on 7-3-2007 by rollinoffset]

I am not certain that this was a case of Pororoca, or the tidal bore, getting out of hand. It was described as a great wave caused by a collapsing river bank. I was unable to pinpoint the exact location on the map so it is difficult to determine if it was in an area that a tidal bore could effect. The tidal bore only occurs near the mouth of the Amazon river where it meets the Atlantic ocean.

The Amazon tidal bore is fairly well understood and they occur in several other places around the globe under certain conditions. In either case, this is not a Tsunami which is caused by an undersea earthquake.

As for the Orinoco Crock, I lived just slightly south of their habitat across the border in Brasil and never saw one. They are highly endangered and are not known to be found in Brasil. I did see many other Caimen and ate several while living with the native Yanomami indians.