“That is good news, Lieutenant. Have the away team's communications link patched through to me on the bridge. I need to speak to Colonel Sears.”
“Yes, sir, right away.”
“Alpha three two-niner, this is the Hazleton. Do you copy?” he said. After a long moment, a response finally came.
“Hazleton, this is Alpha three two-niner, it’s good to hear you Captain,” Sears’ voice boomed over the bridge loud speaker.
“Colonel, it’s good to still be here. You are clear for landing on the platform.”
“Roger, Captain; be advised that we have visitors on the Sea Knights.”
“It wouldn’t happen to be Turner, would it?” he asked.
“That’s affirmative, Captain. It’s Turner and his team.”
“I’m looking forward to shaking his hand, Colonel. Hazleton, out….” He picked up the phone again and called the radio room. “Radio shack, get me Admiral Borland at COMLANTFLT.” After a few minutes, the admiral’s voice came over the other end.
“Go ahead, Mac. What have you got?”
“Be advised, Admiral, there’s a tsunami headed your way. We just barely survived the front end of it here off the coast of La Palma.”
“Can you give me a height estimate, Captain?”
“I’d say between one hundred fifty and two hundred feet, sir.” There was silence from the other end of the line. “Admiral…are you there?”
“I got that, Captain. I’ll report this to the President,” he said. “You are to continue your mission of offering aid and assistance to La Palma. They’re most likely going to need it. The State Department will be contacting the local government there, and I'm sure they will be grateful for the help.”
“What about the east coast of the United States, Admiral?” Mac asked, somewhat apprehensively. “They’re gonna get the full brunt of this tsunami.”
“Evacuation and relief efforts have already been implemented back home, Mac,” Borland said. “All we can do is wait and see what transpires.”
“God help them,” Mac said. “I’ve seen tsunamis in my life, but nothing the likes of this.”
“My people will keep you posted, Mac. Just do what you can there for now.” Borland finished, ending the conversation.
“Commander Ewell,” McKnight said to his first officer as he hung up the phone. “Once we’ve retrieved the away teams, set course for the western coast of La Palma. Have the well stand by to dispatch the LCM-8s with relief supplies,” he ordered as he looked out at the crimson sky that announced the coming night. “It’s been one hell of a day,” he said to no one in particular, “one hell of a day.”
The massive surface wave generated by the La Palma landslide quickly subsided from its original height as it moved into the deeper waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Fortunately, the Hazleton and her escort ships were spared the initial wave coming off shore towered at almost four hundred feet. Its height rapidly diminished to nothing more significant than a one meter hump as it traversed the vast, deeper regions of the Atlantic Ocean. It was almost imperceptible to the many ocean-going vessels and container ships traveling its surface.
The tsunami pressed onward, relentlessly reaching out for anything in its path as it moved closer and closer to the shoreline of the eastern seaboard. Ultimately, the massive pressure wave traveled up the continental rise to the shallower waters of the mainland, unstoppable in its quest for landfall. It seemed to sense the cities lying in its path and, with relentless fury, bore down on their hapless inhabitants.
38
At noon that day, President Alan Clark announced the initial threat of the tsunami to the nation. He spoke of the impending danger and issued a coastal evacuation warning for the entire eastern seaboard. Though not mandatory at that time, the warning served to place the populace on a standby alert. The announcement coincided with the emergency broadcast system interruption of all media outlets, such as television and radio.
To handle the immense traffic flow expected, state and local emergency management bureaus were dispatched to coordinate evacuation routes from the coast in conjunction with police and National Guard units.
Many citizens decided not to wait for the mandatory evacuation. They fled well beyond the fifteen-mile safety zone prescribed in the warning broadcasts by the U.S. Geological Survey and FEMA.
Massive traffic jams ensued along the coastline as people packed the few belongings they could carry and fled to points inland. Some found respite with friends and family. Others, not knowing where to go, crowded the streets in panic and confusion, which worsened the situation for law enforcement.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, under the direction of Stephen Boyle, had been mobilized well in advance. In his mindset, the confusion and lack of planning that transpired after Hurricane Katrina would not happen on his watch. Relief teams with supplies, mobile emergency rooms, and medical units were deployed all along the coast.
By 1:45 Eastern Standard Time, the FEMA mobilization began to fan out just as the partial landslide on La Palma occurred. It was then that the President issued a mandatory evacuation and also reluctantly ordered the Tomahawk strike on Bishamon complex.
President Clark sat pensively, having just received word of the approaching tsunami from Admiral Borland. He closed his eyes and endeavored to imagine the devastation that was about to befall his country. His mind whirled as he tried to contemplate all that would transpire in the aftermath of this catastrophe.
Clark had been hesitant at first in using the Tomahawk missile. He received the report that progress of the initial landslide had been halted, but had no confirmation from the Turners of their success in halting the Scalar weapon. He had been advised by the Senate Majority Leader, Speaker of the House, and others on Capitol Hill that failing to take action would be irresponsible to the American people.
The conference call debating the issue was heated at times. When the fiendish plot was linked to Robert Pencor, Senate Majority Leader Dobson suddenly became quite agitated, and insisted that swift action be taken.
A senator for twenty-five years, Leader Dobson had served in the Senate hearings during the investigations into Pencor and held little compassion for the former oil tycoon.
Clark was second-guessing himself. He wondered if the natural course of events, or his actions with the release of the Tomahawk, had unleashed the hideous nightmare presently headed for the east coast. Turner warned him of the risks of taking such measures, even though his scientific adviser could not confirm nor dismiss the results.
“Mr. President,” FEMA Director Stephen Boyle said, interrupting his reverie, “all disaster teams have been mobilized, and are standing by. Our evacuation teams report the process is going as well as can be expected. Major coastal cities are reporting total gridlock. All exits out of New York City are at a standstill, even with all access roads and tunnels designated one way out. The smaller coastal cities and towns are proceeding in an orderly fashion, but law enforcement officers making last minute checks are finding bands of armed looters all along the coast. In some coastal cities, total anarchy has erupted and law enforcement is being fired upon.”
“It’s like the roaming gangs in New Orleans after Katrina, but on a much grander scale,” Homeland Security Director Tim Byrd said in disgust.