TSUNAMI

What is a Tsunami?
The term tsunami comes from the Japanese, meaning
harbor (tsu) and wave(nami). And it is also known as a
Seismic Sea Wave.
Tsunamis are sometimes referred to as Tidal waves. In recent
years, this term has fallen out of favor, especially in the
scientific community because tsunami actually have nothing
to do with tides. Tsunami and Tides both produce waves of
water that move inland but in the case of tsunami the inland
movement of water is much greater and lasts longer period
giving the impression of an incredibly high tide. Tsunami
actually have nothing to do with Tides which are produced
by the gravitational pull of the moon and sun rather than the
displacement of water.
A Tsunami is a series of traveling ocean waves of extremely
long length generated by disturbances associated primarily
with earthquakes occurring below or near the ocean floor.
Tsunamis are primarily the result of a vertical displacement
of water and rank high on the scale of natural disasters. Most
tsunamis about 80%, happen within the Pacific Oceans
Ring of Fire a geologically active area where tectonic shifts
make volcanoes and earthquakes common.
A Tsunami can travel at well over 970 kph (600 mph) in the
open ocean as fast as a jet flies. It can take only a few hours
for a tsunami to travel across an entire ocean.
Earthquakes, volcanic Eruptions and other underwater
explosions (including detonations of underwater nuclear
devices) landslides, glacier calvings, meteorite impacts and

other disturbances above or below water all have the

potential to generate and cause substantial and sudden
displacement of massive amount of water.
Since 1850, tsunamis have been responsible for the loss of
over 440,000 lives and billions of dollars of damage to
coastal structures and habitats. One very large tsunami
occurred on December 26, 2004, a extremely powerful
underwater earthquake (magnitude 9.1 on the Richter scale)
occurred just off the coast of the island of Sumatra in Indian
Ocean. This earthquake (the third largest in the world since
1900) produced a devastating tsunami (waves in excess of
100 feet/30 meters) that killed over 225,000 people.
Tied for fourth, a magnitude 9.0 (on the Richter scale)
earthquake off the coast of Japan produced a tsunami that
lead to an estimated 20,000 deaths on March 11, 2011.
Landslides (either into water or completely below the water
surface) are also capable of generating tsunamis. A tsunami,
apparently triggered by a large underwater landslide from an
earthquake, devastated the Northwestern coast of Papua,
New Guinea on July 17, 1998. Three waves, the highest
measuring more than 23 feet (7 meters) high, struck a six
mile (10 km) stretch of coastline within ten minutes of the
earthquake.
Portions of icebergs breaking or calving into the water can
cause fjord tsunamis. (Fjords are narrow inlets of the sea
with steep cliffs on their side.) But by far, earthquakes near
plate boundaries produce the most tsunamis.