Deep learning can predict tsunami impacts in less than second

Detailed predictions about how an approaching tsunami will impact the northeastern coastline in Japan can be made in fractions of a second rather than half an hour or so-buying precious time for people to take appropriate action1. This potentially life-saving technology exploits the power of machine learning. The catastrophic tsunami that struck northeast Japan on 11 March 2011 claimed the lives of about 18,500 people. Many lives might have been saved if early warning of the impending tsunami had included accurate predictions of how high the water would reach at different points along the coastline and further inland. The coast now boasts the world's largest network of sensors for monitoring movement of the ocean floor.