Author's Note- Hey everyone, last week's chapter focused on the earthquake damage. Today's post focused on the tsunami and tidal wave damage that occurred. Hopefully you all will enjoy it. But before we get to the post I would like to give a shout out to Upsilon Forty-Two, Juniper Laurel, Missnoodlechan, KaiDreavus213, and Mofalle. And as always a very special thanks to Pruhana for betaing this chapter.
Disclaimer- I still do not own Hetalia, though I have found this very entertaining Hetalia app…
Chapter 9- Lost to the Sea
Hawaii stared out the window of the seaplane at the hauntingly familiar sight below him. Living in the middle of the north Pacific, tsunamis were a fact of life. Unfortunately, the callousness that came hundreds of encounters had deadly results. Just four years ago, he had been flying over the ruins of Hilo after a tsunami had wiped out the beachfront. Sixty-one Hawaiians had died when they ignored the warning about the coming killer wave.
As Hawaii looked down on the blank sandy shore that once held a native village, he had to wonder if the villagers had had any warning before the ocean overtook them. Every report seemed to say they didn't. The eye witness accounts said that the tsunami hit the communities around the Prince Edward Sound before the ground had stopped shaking.
At Bethesda hospital the situation was getting better. Alaska was coherent, though the state was asleep most of the time. With Alaska doing better, America's mood greatly improved. He had even started to joke with Canada and England. Everything was running smoothly…at least until California had passed out in the hospital hallway.
The small group of nations and states had been heading down the cafeteria, when California made a quiet comment about not feeling well. The next moment he was on the floor. Once Canada had determined that the state was breathing, America carried him to Alaska's room, leaving England and Virginia to reassure concerned medical personal in his wake.
The reasons that California fainted turned out to be relatively minor. The doctor's chalked it up to a combination of exhaustion and low blood sugar, though they were planning on keeping California under observation at least overnight. Now he was set up in a hospital bed next to Alaska, an IV in one arm, and the entire group was standing around the foot of the bed glaring at him.
"What?"
"You could have told us." Colorado scolded.
"About what?" California's voice attempted to sound innocent.
"Where do we start?" Virginia asked in exasperation.
"Perhaps the fact that almost a quarter of Crescent City was washed away might be a good place, or possibly the multimillion dollar damage to ports like San Francisco and Los Angeles." America added flatly.
"Um," California tried to come up with a suitable defense. "I forgot…"
"Really...Well you better remember to tell everything to the medical staff. Because if I find out that you are hiding anything, you are going to live to regret it." America gave his state a glacial look, and then he turned his attention to the other personifications in the room. "Well, I think that we should probably let California and Alaska rest. We have a lot to discuss, and we need to pick up additional reinforcements. Oh," he turned back to California with a scowl, continuing, "and Virginia will be staying, just to make sure that you don't do anything stupid."
It turned out when America said that 'we need to pick up additional reinforcements,' he really meant that Canada needed to go pick up Japan at the airport while he made a McDonald's run. Luckily, America allowed Canada to use his car to drive to the airport. Otherwise, he wouldn't have made it the tarmac in time to meet Japan's flight.
"Kiku!" Canada waved the small nation over as he saw him exit the plane.
"Hello William-san." Japan greeted Canada tiredly as he made his way through the crowd.
"Kiku, thank you so much for coming." Canada said as he grabbed Japan's carryon and directed him towards the luggage carousel. "I assume that Alfred has been keeping you up to date with the situation."
"Yes, Alfred-kun has. The information he gave me solved many questions."
"Like what?" Canada looked at the other nation with curiosity.
"The data seems to indicate that tsunamis are directional." Japan replied simply.
"What?"
"Tsunamis are such rare events we have struggled for centuries trying to understand them, but in this recent tsunami, you were severely impacted, while I was not. In the past, tsunamis produced in Russia and other areas in Alaska produced the opposite result. The only possible explanation is that tsunamis act similar to sound waves. When they hit a barrier, such as the Aleutians, they bounce off."
"You mean the Aleutian Island chain has been protecting most of British Columbia and the Gulf of Alaska from tsunami's produced in Russia and Japan?" Canada said, understanding sinking in.
"And in turn the Aleutian Islands protected Japan from the full force of this most recent tsunami." Japan nodded. "It is regrettable that so many people had to die due to this tsunami, but I believe that this information will save many thousands of lives in the future."
"How?" Canada asked, stopping at the carousel.
"The information that was collected from this tsunami will drastically increase our ability to predict the paths of tsunami in the future. With better forecasting, there will be more time to evacuate people to high ground." Japan shrugged and grabbed for his bag. He missed but Canada managed to get the luggage instead. "This information is so valuable that my government has already organized a team of my best seismic scientists to aid the USGS in analyzes of this event."
"I am sure that Alfred will be glad to hear that. I think he needs all of the help he can get."
Valdez was a testament to the human ability to adapt. Less than a week ago the town had been practically destroyed, and already people were joking about the eating military rations. The seismographs were picking up over 100 tremors a day, but most people no longer paused when the ground began to rock beneath them. The streets were still a broken mess, but they were now clear of debris and the soldiers were filling in the cracks so vehicles could drive over them. With the roads prepared, the people of Valdez would be able to return to town later that week and salvage what little they could from their old lives.
Still, the most beautiful sight Massachusetts had seen so far was when the USCG ship, the Sedge, sailing into bay. The boxy black ship with the red, white and blue painted stripes brought life into the broken community. Slowly, 'the Workhorse of the Black Fleet' removed the floating flotsam that was choking the harbor. Soon the Sedge would clear enough of the harbor to allow shipping to return with the cargo that was the lifeblood of Valdez.
"England, can you stop pacing. It's giving me a headache." America sighed as he set down the report Japan brought him. The real reason he had a headache was due to exhaustion, the dim lighting in the hospital room, and the fact that the report was in Japanese…not that he was going to let England know that.
"Why don't you get some sleep?" England's comment was not what America wanted to hear at the moment. "After California collapsed you made sure that everyone got a nap and a meal, but you forgot to allow yourself to catch some shuteye."
"There is too much to do."
"Then delegate. For goodness sakes America, you are one of the world's two superpowers and you have fifty states to take care of…" England practically begged.
"The reason that I am still sitting here is because I am a superpower." As America spoke stiffly, his fists clenched in frustration. "England…Arthur have you forgotten that I have one militarized border with the other superpower? If I flinch now who knows what will happen? Only four years ago we lived through the Cuban Missile Crisis, if Ivan detects weakness now…well I don't know if I can back him down from nuclear war again and if fail this time we will not be the only countries destroyed. Canada will die in the crossfire."
"This natural disaster isn't your fault." England comforted softly.
"I know that, but that still doesn't change the fact hundreds if not thousands of people are homeless and North America's defenses are crippled." America countered harshly.
"What is the damage so far?" England tried a different tactic.
"The current estimate is 40 million dollars of damages, but that only includes the damage to the states of Oregon, Washington, and California, as well as, Alaskan military bases in Anchorage and Kodiak."
"But you have already deployed states to the affected areas?"
"Yeah, states and provinces." America said thoughtfully as he let his head rest on the wall behind him. "Nevada and Idaho are currently in California. Massachusetts and Hawaii are trying to sort things out in Alaska. I am pretty sure that Canada has already deployed Newfoundland and Yukon to the south of Alaska, and Montana should arrive in Anchorage later today."
"Why don't you trust them to take care of the situation for a few hours?"
"I don't know. As long as Alaska and California are in such bad shape, I don't think I can sleep. If I am not sleeping I might as well work." America reasoned.
"Then leave." England said flatly. "Go home for a few hours. Sleep, eat, take a shower."
"You know I can't do that…" America started, but England wasn't going to hear him out.
"Well you can either leave by your own choice, or I can tell the hospital staff to kick you out for the night."
America still didn't leave the hospital voluntarily. A half-hour later, America, Canada, and Japan piled into a car and started the drive to America's Virginia home. It was a good thing that Canada was at the wheel because America was asleep in the back seat before they made it to the interstate.
"These towns are doomed."
Newfoundland voice was flat as the Canadian province surveyed the coast from the cockpit of the small plane. From the air the remnants of the small communities of Gridwood and Portage could be made out against the broken ice and snow. As far as Yukon could tell, there was only one building standing in Portage, though only half of Gridwood had slid into the water. Perhaps some parts of the ski town could be saved.
"You sure? I mean, a lot of Gridwood is still standing." Yukon could hear the pleading in his voice, but he no longer had the energy to be embarrassed about it. After all, he hadn't gotten much sleep the past few days. Yukon had been too worried about the wellbeing of Alaska to keep his eyes closed for long.
When Canada announced that he wanted a team of provinces to help the tsunami affected areas, Yukon had instantly volunteered. Though the territory was still sore from the previous week's earthquake, he had to help his geographical and historical twin. Yukon was determined to get Alaska back on her feet, while Newfoundland was there for a very different reason. Canada had sent Newfoundland to determine what harbors and communities had been lost to the sea, and Newfoundland's frown told Yukon that Gridwood couldn't be saved.
"Yes, I am very sure." Newfoundland sighed heavily as he pointed towards the ruined community below. "See, if you look over there you can see evidence of tidal bore right up to some of the remaining houses. It is a miracle that the entire town hasn't already washed away."
Yukon squinted through the window and looked back at Newfoundland. "Can't we build a wall or do something…anything to protect it?"
The suggestion got a harsh laugh from the wind worn province, but Yukon could see small tears forming at the edges of Newfoundland's eyes as he pressed his head against the plane window. It took few moments for the province to calm down enough to speak and when he did, he spoke with a quiet but powerful voice.
"I am sorry son…there are few forces that are as strong as a tidal bore. It isn't as big as the Bay of Fundy, but it is close, very close, and every time the tide comes more of the town will be eaten away…I am sorry Yukon, but in this case the sea has won."
Canada awoke in a strange bed the middle of the night. It took him a few moments to identify the room as one of America's many guest bedrooms and that a sound outside his door had woken him up. Canada sighed heavily and rolled out of bed. He knew that America could sleep through nearly anything, even if it was a fire alarm, or a robber running off half the silverware.
Silently, Canada slowly swung open the bedroom door. He quietly padded down the hallway carpet, until he saw a light coming from the crack below the dining room door. The sound crinkling and crunching from inside the dining room told Canada that there was definitely someone inside. He hadn't thought to bring a weapon with him and he didn't know where America kept his, so Canada used the best thing he could find: an umbrella from around the corner. He took a few quick breaths to calm his nerves, then he threw open the door brandishing the umbrella like a sword. He was completely unprepared for the sight that greeted him.
"Oh, hi Bro." America said in surprised, a potato chip halfway to his mouth. When Canada reacted in slack jawed shock, the superpower held out the bag of salty snacks in his direction. "Um, want a one?"
"You know that the hospital sent you home so you could get some sleep."
"It is not that late." America commented after glancing at the clock.
"America, it is 2:00 am in the morning!" Canada said exasperated. "And Japan, I thought that you would be reasonable enough to sleep."
"I am still on Tokyo time." Japan said calmly as though looking through more photos of the disaster and sipping green tea, as if doing both in the middle of the night was perfectly reasonable.
"See," America beamed "no one is being inconvenienced, and now that you are up we can get your opinion on something."
America ushered Canada to the table, and started to walk through data that Japan had helped him piece together. America spoke about estimated heights of waves, and the numbers of building destroyed. He talked about the numbers of confirmed deaths and host of missing individuals, but most of all he spoke about the damage to Alaska's infrastructure. By the time America finished his explanation, it was nearly 3:30 am and Japan and America were looking at Canada expectantly.
"So you have determined that at least five communities were completely destroyed and that another fifteen were severely damaged. What are you going to do next?" Canada asked as he stifled a yawn. America replied with a huge smile plastered on his face.
"I am going to rebuild Alaska."
Historical Note- Some of you may have noticed that I have been using the terms 'tidal wave' and 'tsunami' interchangeably. While that isn't scientifically correct it is time period correct. This is because at the time of the Good Friday Earthquake most people, including many scientists, didn't really understand the difference. Alaska's unique geography helped to change that, because South Central Alaska was not only devastated by tsunamis but by the relentless forces of tidal bore, at type of tidal wave. The fact that both forces of nature were acting within such a small area forced scientists to start using the terms correctly.
End Note- Hey end of another chapter and I would love to hear from you. So if you liked the chapter, or caught a mistake, or have something that you would like to see in a future chapter, let me know.
Next Chapter- Out of Rubble- The Good Friday Earthquake and Tsunami may have left the western coast of North America in ruins and exposed the crippled state of Alaska to attack from the Soviet Union, but America was determined to use this disaster to improve his standings in the Cold War. America does this by making a speech at an emergency U.N. meeting called shortly after the earthquake.