Facts about Tsunami
The earthquake, tsunami, and many forest fires killed between 60,000 and 100,000 of Lisbon's pre-quake population of 275,000.
Of 250 people killed as a result of the quake, 197 were victims of the series of tsunamis that hit Okushiri; the waves also caused deaths on the coast of Hokkaid?.
The quake destroyed about 5,000 homes and killed 3,068 people, the vast majority as a result of tsunami waves.
Footage of the tsunami hitting the fishing harbor of Wajima on Noto Peninsula was broadcast on TV.
Regions with a high risk of tsunami may use tsunami warning systems to detect tsunami and warn the general population before the wave reaches land.
The wave, which struck the coast of Solomon Islands (mainly Gizo), triggered region-wide tsunami warnings and watches extending from Japan to New Zealand to Hawaii and the eastern seaboard of Australia.
Tens of thousands of Portuguese who survived the Great Lisbon Earthquake on November 1 were killed by a tsunami which followed a half hour later.
Earthquakes, mass movements above or below water, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explosions, landslides, large meteorite impacts, and nuclear weapons testing at sea all have the potential to generate a tsunami.
Tsunami occur most frequently in the Pacific Ocean, but are a global phenomenon; they are possible wherever large bodies of water are found, including inland lakes, where they can be caused by landslides.
Some locations in the path of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami escaped almost unscathed as a result of the tsunami’s energy being sapped by a belt of trees such as coconut palms and mangroves.
Popular stories of the time blamed the quakes and tsunamis on giant catfish thrashing about.
Tsunami are formed as the displaced water mass moves under the influence of gravity and radiates across the ocean like ripples on a pond.
Tsunami are common throughout Japanese history; approximately 195 events in Japan have been recorded.
The initial surge was measured at a height of approximately 33 meters (108 feet), making it the largest earthquake-generated tsunami in recorded history.
The tsunami is known as the April Fools Day Tsunami in Hawai’i due to people thinking the warnings were an April Fools prank.
Up to 6,000 people died in total worldwide due to the earthquake and tsunami.
After the magnitude 8.6 "Good Friday Earthquake" tsunami struck Alaska, British Columbia, California, and coastal Pacific Northwest towns, killing 121 people.
Within minutes, the Japan Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami warning that was broadcast on NHK in English and Japanese.
The tsunami struck Higo Province on the other side of Ariake Bay before bouncing back and hitting Shimabara again.
In 2005 the same general area was hit by the 2005 Sanriku Japan Earthquake, but with no tsunami.
A devastating tsunami wave occurred along the coasts of Hokkaid? in Japan as a result of a magnitude 7.8 earthquake, 80 miles offshore, on July 12, 1993.
Tsunamis were the main cause of death for Japan's worst-ever volcanic disaster, due to an eruption of Mount Unzen in Nagasaki Prefecture, Ky?sh?, Japan.
The first tsunami arrived at Hilo approximately 14.8 hrs after it originated off the coast of South Central Chile.
Computer models can roughly predict tsunami arrival and impact based on information about the event that triggered it and the shape of the seafloor (bathymetry) and coastal land (topography).
The quake led to more than 1400 deaths, tsunami being the leading cause .
Out of the 107 fatalities, all but four were killed by the resulting tsunami, which struck communities along the coast, especially Aomori and Akita Prefectures and the east coast of Noto Peninsula.
The tsunami took just over four hours to travel over 1000 miles to Cornwall in the United Kingdom.
Environmentalists have suggested tree planting along stretches of seacoast which are prone to tsunami risks.
On 15 June, 1896, at around 19:32 local time, a magnitude 8.5 undersea earthquake off the Sanriku coast of northeastern Honsh?, Japan, triggered tsunami waves which struck the coast about half an hour later.
The resulting tsunami measured over 7 meters in height and took about 2Ѕ hours to reach the Burin Peninsula on the south coast of Newfoundland, where 29 people lost their lives in various communities.
A tsunami can have a range of effects, from unnoticeable to devastating.
Tsunami waves were observed throughout the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the American West Coast, South America, and even as far away as the English Channel.
Tsunami caused by these mechanisms, unlike the ocean-wide tsunami caused by some earthquakes, generally dissipate quickly and rarely affect coastlines distant from the source due to the small area of sea affected.
The earliest recorded disaster was the tsunami associated with the 684 C.E.
The port town of Aonae was completely surrounded by a tsunami wall, but the waves washed right over the wall and destroyed all the wood-framed structures in the area.
Taro is now protected by an enormous tsunami wall, currently 10 meters in height and over 2 kilometers long.
The original wall, constructed in 1958, saved Taro from yet another destruction from the 1960 Chilean tsunami (see below).
Very small tsunami, non-destructive and undetectable without specialized equipment, occur frequently as a result of minor earthquakes and other events.
Some scientists speculate that animals may have an ability to sense subsonic Rayleigh waves from an earthquake minutes or hours before a tsunami strikes shore).
A tsunami (IPA: /(t)s??n??mi/) is a series of waves created when a body of water, such as an ocean, is rapidly displaced.
On July 17, 1998, a Papua New Guinea tsunami killed approximately 2200 people .
A tsunami has a much smaller amplitude (wave height) offshore, and a very long wavelength (often hundreds of kilometers long).
Suruga Bay and Izu Peninsula experienced great tsunamis in 1096, followed by Shikoku and Kii Peninsula great tsunami of 1099.
A tsunami can also be known to come when the water leaves an ocean or large body of water, and then the water in it causes a large series of waves to approach land.
The tsunami put an abrupt stop to population growth on the islands, and was followed by malaria epidemics and crop failures which decreased the population further.
More likely, though, is that the certain large animals (e.g., elephants) heard the sounds of the tsunami as it approached the coast.
According to one common taxonomic scheme, presented below, the millions of insect species in the class Insecta are divided into two subclasses; Apterygota (wingless insects) and Pterygota (flying insects, including those that are secondarily wingless).
The wall may have succeeded in slowing down and moderating the height of the tsunami, but it did not prevent major destruction and loss of life.
Tsunami cannot be prevented or precisely predicted, but there are some warning signs of an impending tsunami, and there are many systems being developed and in use to reduce the damage from tsunami.
The number of tsunami in Japan totals 195 over a 1,313 year period, averaging one event every 6.7 years, the highest rate of occurrence in the world.
The explosion caused a tsunami, and a pressure wave of air.
A tsunami can be generated when the plate boundaries abruptly deform and vertically displace the overlying water.
Six hours later, tsunami waves up to nearly 5 feet high caused by the quake crashed into Crescent City, California and Santa Cruz, California causing considerable damage.
A series of large tsunami waves was generated from the collapse, some reaching a height of over 40 meters above sea level.
Other localities have built floodgates and channels to redirect the water from incoming tsunami.
Japan has implemented an extensive programme of building tsunami walls of up to 4.5 m (13.5 ft) high in front of populated coastal areas.
The geological record tells us that there have been massive tsunami in Earth's past.
The earthquake and the resulting tsunami caused the destruction of at least six fishing villages and the death of hundreds of people in the Colombian province of Nariсo.
Officials estimate that the tsunami displaced more than 5000 residents all over the archipelago.
The effects of a tsunami can be mitigated by natural factors such as tree cover on the shoreline.
That earthquake sparked only a few small tsunamis, growing to be no more than about 20 cm (8 inches) tall.
Tsunami waves 2.6 meters tall were reported even in places such as Mexico, nearly 13,000 km away from the epicenter.
A tsunami is a series of large waves generated by an abrupt movement on the ocean floor that can result from an earthquake, an underwater landslide, a volcanic eruption or - very rarely - a large meteorite strike. However, powerful undersea earthquakes are responsible for most tsunamis.Mar 10, 2011
The following are guidelines for what you should do if a tsunami is likely in your area:Turn on your radio to learn if there is a tsunami warning if an earthquake occurs and you are in a coastal area.Move inland to higher ground immediately and stay there.Stay away from the beach.More items...
Stay away from coastal areas until officials announce that it is safe to return. Evacuation should not be automatic. Before evacuating you should determine if you are in a hazard zone and consider possible hazards that may exist along your evacuation route. Know if you live, work, or play in a tsunami hazard zone.
History of the Tsunami. According to the National Geophysical Data Centre, the first recorded tsunami occurred off the coast of Syria over four thousand years ago. When the island volcano of Krakatoa, Indonesia, exploded in 1883, tsunamis swept as far away as the English Channel.
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. 15 to 30 metres (50 to 100 ft) with maximum runup of 51 m (167.3 ft) at Lhoknga. The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on 26 December with the epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia.
Word Origins. The term "Tsunami" comes from the Japanese word for harbor (tsu) and wave (nami). The origins of the word are not surprising given that the majority of tsunamis occur within the Pacific Ocean and vicinity of Japan.Apr 1, 2005
“It still affects me most days,” Dec. 26, 2004, Indian Ocean Tsunami survivor Dwayne Meadows said. The 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami is the deadliest tsunami in recorded history, and it caused an estimated $14 billion in damages at the time.Dec 27, 2014
Tsunamis are giant waves caused by earthquakes or volcanic eruptions under the sea. Out in the depths of the ocean, tsunami waves do not dramatically increase in height. But as the waves travel inland, they build up to higher and higher heights as the depth of the ocean decreases.
A tsunami is a series of very long ocean waves created when a large body of water is displaced. ... It's often incorrectly called a tidal wave, which is a periodic movement of water produced by the gravitational pull of the sun and moon. Tsunamis are not connected with the weather or tides.Sep 29, 2009
Tsunami are actually waves caused by sudden movement of the ocean due to earthquakes, landslides on the sea floor, land slumping into the ocean, major volcanic eruptions or large meteorite impacts. ... the top of an underwater volcano may collapse downwards, so that the overlying water also drops.
What happens when a tsunami encounters land? ... Just like other water waves, tsunamis begin to lose energy as they rush onshore - part of the wave energy is reflected offshore, while the shoreward-propagating wave energy is dissipated through bottom friction and turbulence.
As a tsunami approaches shorelines, water may recede from the coast, exposing the ocean floor, reefs and fish. 3. Abnormal ocean activity, a wall of water, and an approaching tsunami create a loud "roaring" sound similar to that of a train or jet aircraft.
Plan an evacuation route that leads to higher ground. Know the warning signs of a tsunami: rapidly rising or falling coastal waters and rumblings of an offshore earthquake.
The tsunami wave may come gently ashore or may increase in height to become a fast moving wall of turbulent water several meters high. Although a tsunami cannot be prevented, the impact of a tsunami can be mitigated through community preparedness, timely warnings, and effective response.
Cover yourself and stay protected during the earthquake. 2. If authorities warn or you have reason to believe a tsunami is imminent,climb to higher ground or higher floors, at least 30 meters above sea level. If there is no higher ground available, a forest could offer protection.Jan 7, 2005
A tsunami is a series of waves generated in an ocean or other body of water by a disturbance such as an earthquake, landslide, volcanic eruption, or meteorite impact. ... Undersea landslides, which can be caused by large earthquakes, can also cause tsunami waves to form as water attempts to find a stable position.Apr 28, 2016