Japan tsunami debris floating toward Hawaii

Japan tsunami debris floating toward Hawaii

HONOLULU (AP) — Up to 20 million tons of tsunami debris floating from Japan could arrive on Hawaii’s shores by early 2013, before reaching the West Coast.

A Russian training ship spotted the debris in an area of the Pacific Ocean where scientists at the University of Hawaii predicted it would be. The massive amount of rubble includes a refrigerator, TV set and other appliances.

Scientist Jan Hafner told The Associated Press today the debris would reach the coasts of Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Canada around 2014.

Hafner has been assisting oceanographer Nikolai Maximenko study surface ocean currents since 2009. When the March 11 earthquake and tsunami struck, they applied their research to the debris washed into the Pacific.

Until the ship’s sighting, the duo didn’t have direct observation of the debris field.