The sea came inland beyond the usual limits and damaged huts and fishing boats on shore.!!!

Supermoon high tide causes damage, panic

March 21, 2011, 10:13 pm


High tide, created by the Supermoon effect, damaged some boats and huts in Talaimannar yesterday afternoon and spread panic among area residents.



One fisherman in the area, Sudharshan, speaking to News Now.lk said that the sea came inland beyond the usual limits and damaged huts and fishing boats on shore.



The fisherman said that navy officers had later advised people near the sea to move away till the tide settled. However, he said that they needed urgent assistance as their huts were damaged.



The Disaster Management office in Mannar said that the high tide was caused by the Super-moon effect and that a few huts were damaged after the sea came some 50 feet inland.



The ‘super-moon’ is a natural phenomenon when the moon is closer to Earth, during which there is increased gravitational pull, creating higher tides.



On Saturday night, the moon was closer to Earth than at any time since 1992 - just 221,567 miles away. It meant it was around 14 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter than typical full moons.



The reason for this was a phenomenon called the ‘lunar perigee’. The moon’s orbit around Earth is not a circle, but an eclipse.



At its closest approach - the perigee - the moon appears brighter and larger in the sky. When it is furthest away - the apogee - it is smaller and dimmer.



A lunar perigee occurs once a month. However, next week’s perigee coincides with a full moon - a combination of events that happen just once every two or three years. (News Now.lk)