After the last of the tsunami wave train has receded from the coastline, survivors of the phenomenon try to assess the waves' effects. In most cases, those who have experienced a tsunami immediately try to determine if there have been any in- juries or fatalities among their community. However, in many cases, survivors are primarily concerned with the basics of staying alive until help arrives. In some cases, help arrives quickly. In other cases, it may take days.

Waiting for Help in Valdivia, Chile, 1960

In the wake of the tsunami that hit Valdivia, Chile, on May 22, 1960, residents were faced with a landscape that not only had been inundated by the tsunami but had been changed irrevocably. In most tsunami events, the waves crash onto the shore and eventually subside back into the sea. But the earthquakes that had pre- ceded the Valdivia...