Waterfront views from the Medina?

Now, while it is true that many weird and wonderful rumours sweep through the Medina (the price of brass will double because of international oil prices - hence your brass lamp MUST be bought today to save!) the latest is simply wonderful. A tsunami will be caused by pieces of a comet that will hit the Atlantic Ocean!!! Not only did this story gain some believers, the story was so widespread that the Moroccan Meteorological office has gone as far as proclaiming an official denial.

This denial comes after the Ufological Research Center warned on its website of a tsunami danger that would affect several countries, including Morocco.

Eric Julien, author of La Science Des Extraterrestres made an alert in his website about tsunami.

He claims that he has received information psychically, which is corroborated by scientific data, according to which on May 25, 2006 a giant tsunami will occur in the Atlantic Ocean, brought about by the impact of a comet fragment which will provoke the eruption of under-sea volcanoes.

He said that waves up to 200 m high will reach coastlines located above and below the Tropic of Cancer. He added that all of the countries bordering the Atlantic will be affected to greater or lesser destructive and deadly levels.

However, the head of the Meteorological Office, Mustapha Janah, told MAP news agency "the Ufological Research Center does not have technical means" to observe this kind of phenomenon.

Citing the American space agency "NASA," the official noted that the comet will pass away from planet earth at about 10 million kilometres, excluding hence any risk of a tsunami in the Atlantic Ocean.

The last tsunami hit the Indian Ocean on Dec. 26, 2004. It was caused by a 9- magnitude earthquake which killed nearly 150,000 people throughout the region, and left more than 1.5 million homeless.

The 2004 tsunami is the worst in recorded history. Prior to 2004, the deadliest recorded tsunami in the Pacific Ocean was in 1782, when 40,000 people were killed by a tsunami in the South China Sea.

The tsunami created by the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa is thought to have resulted in 36,000 deaths.

The most deadly tsunami between 1900 and 2004 occurred in 1908 in Messina, Italy, on the Mediterranean Sea, where the earthquake and tsunami killed 70,000.

The most deadly tsunami in the Atlantic Ocean resulted from the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, which, combined with the toll from the actual earthquake and resulting fires, killed over 100,000.

So for all of you people in Fez busy building an arc with zellij floors, grand salons and extra room for the donkey... relax, and do not expect to wake up any day soon with a waterfront view!

Oh, and by the way, there is a rumour that we will have the internet on some day soon... inshallah.

Tags: Morocco Fes, Maghreb news