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Curious About Tsunamis In New England

BOSTON (CBS) – It's hard to imagine enduring the devastation from Friday's Japan earthquake in New England.

Maria in Peabody Declared her Curiosity, asking:

Could a tsunami ever hit the shore of New England?  Are we prepared?

It's incredibly rare, but an Atlantic tsunami is possible.

One tsunami hit Newfoundland in 1929. Three giant waves 20 feet high hit the coast at a rate of 78 miles per hour, killing more than 20 people.

Watch video:

For New England, there's a warning system now in place.

The U.S. expanded its tsunami warning network after the 2004 disaster in Indonesia.

So, if a tsunami was actually going to happen, there would be warning systems, sort of like a hurricane or winter storm warning.

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