Tsunamis, formerly known as tidal waves, raz-de-marée in France or maremoti in Italy, are among the most destructive natural phenomena. Triggered by earthquakes, underwater landslides or volcanic eruptions, they spread rapidly over long distances before releasing their energy near the coast in the form of sudden submersion and extremely powerful currents.

From several centimeters to several meters, this flooding is generally characterized by several waves, and the first waves are not necessarily the largest. The speed of the current is such that the pressure exerted on coastal infrastructure can reach several tons per square metre

Since 1970, tsunamis have claimed more than 250,000 lives worldwide, notably the Boxing day tsunami in 2004 in the Indian ocean and the tsunami on March 11 2011 in Japan, for instance.

A risk that is not so farfetched after all

In the collective imagination, tsunamis have long been associated with the Pacific and the Indian ocean. The risk of an offshore tsunami in the Mediterranean has often been considered marginal, and this in itself could be misleading. In June 2022, UNESCO, which is committed to increasing global tsunami risk awareness among coastal communities, declared:

“Statistics show that there is a 100% chance of a tsunami of at least one metre high in the Mediterranean Sea in the next 30 years.”

After the Pacific, the Mediterranean basin holds the highest number of historical tsunamis recorded, of which several have impacted France’s Côte d’Azur coastline.

According to available data, around twenty incidences were reported in the maritime area along the French Riviera between the 16th century and the early 2000s with waves often exceeding two meters.

Evacuation times that are often very short

The sources of Mediterranean tsunamis can be local or distant. In some scenarios, run-up time for the first waves can be under ten minutes, particularly in the event of an underwater landslide or earthquake close to the coast, such as in the Ligurian sea between Corsica and the Italian coast. Conversely, tsunamis generated further away from France, for example off the northern coast of North Africa, can reach the French Riviera in less than 90 minutes.

The Boumerdès earthquake (Algeria) on May 21, 2003 caused havoc along the entire French Mediterranean coastline. A field enquiry showed that eight marinas on the French Riviera experienced significant sea level drops (from 50 cm to 1.5 m), basin purges, strong eddies and currents, and damaged boats, consistent with harbour resonance phenomena. The effects were observed on the French Riviera coastline an hour and a quarter after the earthquake.

Of more local origin, the tsunami in Nice on October 16 1979, triggered by the underwater collapse of part of the construction site for the new commercial port in Nice (Alpes-Maritimes), adjacent to the airport, caused the deaths of eight people and significant damage in Antibes, Cannes and Nice. The phenomenon was observed in Antibes for around thirty minutes.

Another scenario that could occur closer to the coast is that of the seismic tsunami that struck the Ligurian Sea on February 23, 1887], following an underwater earthquake measuring between 6.5 and 6.8 on the Richter scale. Contemporary accounts describe a sudden retreat of the sea by about one metre in Antibes and Cannes, leaving fishing boats high and dry, before the arrival of a wave reaching nearly two metres, which covered the beaches.

These events are a reminder of how we are completely taken by surprise, and how such short spaces of time show the limits of traditional warning systems. Coastal communities’ ability to evacuate quickly becomes crucial.

An operational warning system for France

France has had a national tsunami alert system that has been part of the Centre d’alerte aux tsunamis (Cenalt) since July 2012, in conjunction with the international system coordinated by UNESCO in the Mediterranean. This system makes it possible to rapidly detect potentially tsunami-generating earthquakes and transmit an alert in less than fifteen minutes to the interdepartmental crisis management operational centre (Cogic) and foreign alert centers.

It is then up to the authorities to disseminate alert messages to the population, in particular via the FR-Alert platform, which allows notifications to be sent to the mobile phones of people located in the danger zone.

However, this global system only covers tsunamis caused by distant earthquakes and is not very effective in the case of local tsunamis or those caused by underwater landslides, where the time it takes for the tsunami to reach the coast may be less than the warning time. This is why it is important to raise awareness among coastal populations about detecting warning signs: felt earthquakes, abnormal sea movements, most often seawater retreats preceding the run-up of the tsunami, but not always.

Nice – Côte d’Azur coastline is highly at risk

Along the entire French Mediterranean coastline, an evacuation zone has been defined by government agencies and the University of Montpellier, based on altitude, distance from the sea and historical data. It corresponds to coastal areas with an altitude of less than 5 meters that are less than 200 metres from the sea. Along river mouths, this distance is extended to 500 metres with respect to the estuary.

Including Corsica, 1,700 km of coastline, 187 towns along the French Mediterranean coast, and at least 164,000 residents would be affected. At the height of the summer, an estimated 835,000 beach users would also need to be taken into consideration in the event of a tsunami.

The Nice – Côte d’Azur metropolitan area is vulnerable for a number of reasons: dense urbanization, strong tourist appeal, and very busy beaches. Our photo analysis and modelling work have enabled us to estimate that tens of thousands of people are present in the area to be evacuated during periods of high visitor numbers (between 10,000 and 87,000 people on the beaches, depending on the season and time of day).

Evacuating ahead of a tsunami: the plan for Nice and surrounding coastal areas

When faced with a tsunami, evacuation is the only effective means of ensuring civilian safety. International experience shows that rapid and well-prepared evacuation procedures can save the vast majority of exposed populations. Reactive evacuation measures, for example, saved 96% of Japanese inhabitants when the major tsunami struck the Tōhoku coast on March 11 2011.

In Nice – Côte d’Azur, a comprehensive evacuation strategy has been developed and supported by scientific research led by the University of Montpellier’s Laboratory of Geography and Land Planning. It is based on optimized walking routes, taking into account slopes, obstacles, travel speeds and congestion points. Refuge sites located out of “waves’ reach” were identified and validated by local authorities, and evacuation routes were devised using algorithms to find the fastest routes.

In total, nearly a hundred refuge sites have been mapped out and incorporated into operational evacuation plans designed to quickly guide people to safe places.

From science to action: preparing the population

Raising tsunami awareness should go beyond evacuation mapping: safety drills such as evacuation exercises, particularly in schools or gradually introducing public warning signage; contribute to encouraging responsible behavior. Several initiatives like these have been implemented in Nice via a project with students in Montpellier.

In Nice, a publicly accessible information platform with interactive maps also allows users to find evacuation zones, routes and instructions to follow in the event of an alert. These tools contribute to the development of a genuine tsunami risk culture.

Becoming ‘Tsunami Ready’ territory

Beyond France’s Côte d’Azur coastal area, the information portal can be applied to other coastlines elsewhere in France and Europe, both in the Mediterranean and overseas, where tsunami run-up times can be just as short.

The initiatives that are being implemented in Nice are in keeping with UNESCO’s Tsunami Ready international recognition program (TRRP). This 12-point program aims to certify territories that are capable of anticipating a tsunami risk, prepare their populations and coordinate an appropriate response.

The first towns to be awarded the label and that have benefited from our team’s scientific and technical support were Deshaies in Guadeloupe and Cannes, with Nice set to join the program in the near future.

When facing a wave that can arrive in a matter of minutes, being prepared to evacuate undoubtedly makes all the difference.

This article was written with the help of Louis Monnier, Monique Gherardi, Matthieu Péroche and Noé Carles, Université de Montpellier Paul-Valéry.

The Gilbert’s potoroo, a critically endangered species found only in Western Australia, has fewer than 150 animals left in the wild. Scientists from ECU and the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) are working together to better understand what the small marsupials eat so conservation teams can identify suitable new habitats and help secure the species’ future.

“We are looking to recover the species through translocations, which is moving organisms from one location to another to create an insurance population in case anything was to happen in their existing populations,” School of Science PhD student Rebecca Quah explains.

“In doing that, one of the challenges was trying to determine what they are eating and where those resources can be found. Mycophagus — or fungi-eating mammal diets are quite hard to study because a lot of fungi remain undescribed.”

Using DNA From Scat To Study Diets

To investigate the potoroo’s diet, researchers used environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding on scat (faeces) samples. The technique is becoming increasingly popular in wildlife research because it allows scientists to study animals without disturbing them.

“Traditionally, researchers would go through undigested material in scats to study animal diets, but trying to identify fungal spores remained a challenge,” Ms. Quah said.

“This research used a molecular technique, known as eDNA metabarcoding to decipher what animals are eating. It’s a non-invasive way of studying diet and all you need are fresh scats from the environment.”

The team also examined whether the diets of more common fungi-eating mammals overlapped with the Gilbert’s potoroo. Researchers focused on species that historically shared the same habitats.

“We examined quokka, quenda and bush rat scats and found that there was some overlap in the diet of the four mammals, and that habitat use between the quokka and potoroo were also really similar,” Ms. Quah said.

“Based on our results, we recommend focusing on areas where all three species persist together as an indicator of suitable food, or habitat, for future potoroo translocation sites.”

Rediscovered After Being Thought Extinct

Gilbert’s potoroo was once believed to have disappeared entirely before being rediscovered in 1994. Since then, conservation teams have tried several approaches to increase the population.

“Soon after their rediscovery, breeding them in captivity was tried, but that didn’t work out, particularly because of how picky they are with their food resources,” she said.

“This is why wild-to-wild translocations are so important. In 2015, a bushfire destroyed 90 per cent of core potoroo habitat in Two Peoples Bay, which is home to the only natural population of Gilbert’s potoroo. Fortunately, insurance populations had been established on Bald Island and in a fenced enclosure at Waychinicup National Park by DBCA.”

DBCA Research Associate Dr. Tony Friend said researchers are now searching for another suitable mainland site to establish an additional population. The species is currently spread across four locations, including two islands off the coast of Western Australia.

“The search for new translocation sites is an important next step in the recovery of Gilbert’s potoroo from near extinction. This publication shows that examining the fungal diet of mammals that occur with the potoroo can help in deciding where to establish new populations,” Dr. Friend said.

Why Fungi-Eating Mammals Matter

Ms. Quah’s broader PhD research focuses on the conservation and relocation of fungi-eating mammals, which play an important role in maintaining healthy ecosystems.

“Fungi-eating mammals are ecosystem engineers — they dig for fungi which helps in soil turnover, and they act as vectors for fungal spore dispersal.

“Fungi have several ecological functions, including having mutually beneficial relationships with plants, so mycophagous mammals are really important in maintaining healthy ecosystems.

“Unfortunately, many of Australia’s mammals are threatened because of predation from introduced cats and foxes. That is why it is vital that we do everything we can to help protect our native wildlife, and translocations are one important way to accomplish that goal.”

The research, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, examined 82 species of theropods, a group of mostly carnivorous, two legged dinosaurs. The scientists found that reduced forelimbs evolved independently in at least five dinosaur lineages, including tyrannosaurids, the group that included T. rex.

Rather than simply being a side effect of growing larger bodies, the study suggests that shrinking arms were closely connected to the evolution of massive, powerful skulls and jaws.

Giant Skulls Took Over the Hunt

The researchers discovered that dinosaurs with shorter arms tended to have especially robust skulls. That connection was stronger than the link between tiny arms and overall body size.

According to the team, this may reflect a major evolutionary shift in hunting strategy. As giant plant eating dinosaurs such as sauropods became more common, predators may have relied less on grasping prey with claws and more on delivering devastating bites.

Lead author Charlie Roger Scherer, a PhD student at UCL Earth Sciences, said: “Everyone knows the T. rex had tiny arms but other giant theropod dinosaurs also evolved relatively small forelimbs. The Carnotaurus had ridiculously tiny arms, smaller than the T. rex.

“We sought to understand what was driving this change and found a strong relationship between short arms and large, powerfully built heads. The head took over from the arms as the method of attack. It’s a case of ‘use it or lose it’ — the arms are no longer useful and reduce in size over time.

“These adaptations often occurred in areas with gigantic prey. Trying to pull and grab at a 100ft-long sauropod with your claws is not ideal. Attacking and holding on with the jaws might have been more effective.”

Scherer added that the evidence points to skulls becoming stronger before the arms began shrinking.

“While our study identifies correlations and so cannot establish cause and effect, it is highly likely that strongly built skulls came before shorter forelimbs. It would not make evolutionary sense for it to occur the other way round, and for these predators to give up their attack mechanism without having a back-up.”

Measuring Dinosaur Skull Strength

To investigate the relationship between arm size and skull power, the researchers developed a new method for measuring skull robustness. Their approach considered several factors, including bite force, skull shape, and how tightly the bones of the skull were connected. Compact skulls were considered stronger than longer, narrower ones.

Using this system, T. rex ranked as the most robust skull in the study. Close behind was Tyrannotitan, another enormous theropod that lived in what is now Argentina more than 30 million years before T. rex during the Early Cretaceous period.

The team believes giant prey animals may have triggered an “evolutionary arms race” in which predators evolved stronger jaws and skulls to overpower increasingly massive herbivores. In many cases, these hunters also grew to enormous sizes themselves.

Multiple Dinosaur Groups Evolved Tiny Arms

The researchers compared forelimb length with skull length and identified five dinosaur groups with notably reduced forelimbs. These included tyrannosaurids, abelisaurids, carcharodontosaurids (which included Tyrannotitan), megalosaurids, and ceratosaurids.

Their analysis showed that tiny arms were more strongly associated with skull robustness than with either skull size or total body size.

The study also highlighted that not all of these predators were gigantic. Majungasaurus, for example, had a heavily built skull and extremely small arms despite weighing only about 1.6 tons, roughly one fifth the weight of T. rex. The dinosaur lived in Madagascar around 70 million years ago and was still considered an apex predator.

Different Paths to the Same Result

The scientists also found that dinosaur groups reduced their forelimbs in different ways over time.

Among abelisaurids, the hands and lower sections of the arms beyond the elbow became dramatically smaller, with later species such as Majungasaurus developing exceptionally tiny hands. Tyrannosaurids, however, showed a more balanced reduction across the entire forelimb.

The researchers concluded that separate dinosaur lineages likely reached the same outcome through different evolutionary and developmental pathways.

The study was carried out by a broader research group focused on dinosaur evolution at UCL, working closely with the Natural History Museum. The group includes research fellows, postdoctoral scientists, and more than 10 PhD students studying dinosaurs and other vertebrates such as crocodiles and birds.

The findings suggest that breast cancer patients with vitamin D deficiency (below 30 nmol/L) might benefit from taking vitamin D supplements before undergoing a radical mastectomy.

Researchers say growing evidence points to vitamin D playing an important role in how the body senses and regulates pain. Scientists believe this may be connected to the vitamin’s anti inflammatory properties and its effects on the immune system. Vitamin D deficiency is also frequently seen in people with breast cancer.

Study Examined Pain After Breast Cancer Surgery

To explore the connection, researchers carried out a prospective observational study at Fayoum University Hospital in Egypt between September 2024 and April 2025.

The study included 184 women with breast cancer who were preparing to have surgery to remove one breast. Half of the participants had vitamin D deficiency (below 30 nmol/L), while the other half had vitamin D levels above 30 nmol/L. The two groups were otherwise similar, with average ages of 44 and 42.

Doctors and nurses caring for the patients did not know their vitamin D status. All participants received the hospital’s standard treatment before, during, and after surgery.

During the operation, patients were given fentanyl to control acute pain. After surgery, everyone received intravenous paracetamol every eight hours. Patients were also able to self administer tramadol, another opioid pain medication, by pressing a control button.

Patients With Low Vitamin D Needed More Opioids

Pain levels were recorded immediately after surgery and again at 6, 12, 18, and 24 hours later. Researchers also tracked nausea, vomiting, sedation levels, and length of hospital stay.

Patients with vitamin D deficiency were three times more likely to experience moderate to severe pain during the first 24 hours after surgery compared with patients who had adequate vitamin D levels.

Researchers noted that none of the patients in either group reported severe pain of 7 or higher on the standard 0 to 10 pain scale. The difference was entirely related to a higher number of patients experiencing moderate pain levels between 4 and 6.

The vitamin D deficient group also required more opioid medication. On average, these patients received 8 μg more fentanyl during surgery, which researchers described as a modest increase.

However, after surgery, the difference became much larger. Patients with low vitamin D used an average of 112mg more tramadol than those with sufficient vitamin D levels. The medication was patient controlled, with doses capped at 50mg per hour.

Vitamin D and Recovery Complications

Opioid medications can lead to side effects such as nausea, vomiting, drowsiness, and confusion. They also carry risks of dependence and addiction.

The study found postoperative nausea occurred more often among patients with vitamin D deficiency. Vomiting was only reported in the deficient group, although researchers said the difference was too small to be considered statistically significant.

The researchers acknowledged several limitations. Because the study was observational and conducted at a single medical center, it cannot prove that low vitamin D directly caused the increase in pain. The team also did not measure inflammatory markers that might explain how vitamin D influences pain. In addition, information about anxiety, depression, cancer stage, previous treatments, and sleep problems before surgery was not collected.

Even with those limitations, the researchers concluded, “Vitamin D deficiency is associated with a higher occurrence of moderate to severe postoperative pain and increased opioid consumption in patients undergoing unilateral modified radical mastectomy.”

They added, “Preoperative vitamin D supplementation in breast cancer patients with vitamin D levels below 30 nmol/L may have a role in modulating postoperative pain.”