Tsunami
A tsunami is a large water wave that is generated by sesmic activity in or underlying layers known as faults. These enormous wave have historically affected many ways of life and still lie as a major factor for destruction in our coastal communities throughout the world.
A tsunami is a wave chain or series of waves that is generated in a body of water by sea disturbance that vertically displaces the water. Earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity and even cosmic materials can generate tsunamis and or tidal waves. Tsunamis can drastically affect marine life and coastal areas that will drastically alter ways of life and even loss of life in many ways.
The word tsunami is a Japanese word meaning, "Harbor wave." Represented by two prefixes "tsu," meaning harbor, while the following prefix "nami" means wave. In many instances the word tsunami is referred to as a type of, "tidal wave" or "seismic sea wave" which has the same devistating effect that these horrible storms can create. The term "tidal wave" is misnamed, even though a tsunami's impact on a coastline is devistating it has little to do with the actual tidal phase. A tide results from an imbalance in the sun, moon and planets. Also the term "seismic" meaning earthquake related action can have little impact on how a tsunami is derivered from the seismic activity that is going on in the under lying layers of the earth.
Tsunamis are unlike wind-generated waves, with long periods and long wave lengths. You may have observed a type of wind-generated wave on a local lake or beach. Tsunamis or tidal waves are shallow water waves, with long periods and wave lengths similar to a wind generated waves but have various factors affecting there swell. A tsunami or tidal wave can have a wavelength of 3,300ft/hr and can travel at speeds up to 100mi/hr. As a result of their long wave lengths, tsunamis act as a shallow water wave meaning that a waves ratio is (under 1:7).
Tsunamis and tidal waves can be generated when the sea floor changes and vertically displaces the overlying sea.
Tsunamis caused by the Earthquake leads to flooding along the coastal environment. This damages any homes. Flooding caused new lakes or sag ponds on the land. Increasing groundwater flow from springs and displacing stream channel. ("Flood Consequences")
The tsunami in Thailand that occurred on December 26, 2004, was by far the largest tsunami catastrophe in human history. It was triggered by a magnitude 9.1-9.3 earthquake along the Indian-Australian subduction zone off the northern coast of Sumatra. The tsunami waves traveled primarily in the east to west direction and caused major damage along the coasts of southern Thailand. Unpredictably, it was a violent earthquake beneath the sea that initiated the massive waves and struck more than a dozen countries in Southern Asia. It also destroyed thousands of miles of coastline and even submerged entire islands permanently. Throughout the region, the tsunami killed more than 150,000 people, and a million more were hurt, homeless, and without food or drinkable water, making it perhaps the most destructive tsunami in the modern history. In spite of peninsular Thailand's location facing the northern part of this subduction zone, the lack of any written historical records, together with the lack of any major local seismic activity, the tsunami caused thousands of fatalities and huge economic losses in the popular tourist regions in Thailand. Immediately after the disaster, numerous organizations and individual citizens have helped out and contributed to this devastating tsunami. Indeed, the tsunami in Thailand was a worldwide event, with significant wave action felt around the world. In this context, I am focusing more on the key features of the tsunami’s natural causes, the psychological effects on citizens, the perspective of socio-economic impacts and the consequences of the tsunami calamity.
TOHOKU, Japan, Friday, Mar. 11 -Yesterday, a 9.0 magnitude Earthquake struck the east of Tohoku, Japan. The epicentre of the earthquake was located approximately 72 km east of Tohoku (38.3 degrees North latitude and 142.4 degrees East longitude), or 130 km east of Sendai as shown by the X in figure 3 below. The focus of the earthquake was 24.4 km under the epicentre. The earthquake therefore caused a tsunami due to the displacing of water above the Pacific Plate. The earthquake and tsunami together have caused approximately 20,000 deaths, 6152 injuries and 2500 people missing. Approximately 90% of these deaths were by drowning. Approximately 140,000 people have been displaced and over 500,000 buildings and structures have been destroyed or damaged. The early warning system of Japan stopped many bullet trains, and many residents received texted warnings of the earthquake and tsunami on their mobile phones giving them time to evacuate. Figures 1 and 2 show exactly how destructive the tsunami caused by the Tohoku Earthquake was.
An earthquake is the shaking of the ground caused by sudden release of energy inside the earth's crust. It's the breaking and moving of tectonic plates along a fault line. Earthquakes can range in size from weak where we don't feel them to extremely violent where they actually thow people around and destroy cities. They may be a result of geological faults or other activites such as volcanoes, landslides, mine blasts and nuclear tests. An earthquake is not always naturally caused.
The change in climate also affect the ocean currents and heat up the land under the water causing tsunamis. For example, The Japan earthquake and tsunami which took place on march 11, 2011.
The National Geographic Society is good source of information, and no person can argue the artistry of its presentation, however, the magazine, and its television and internet productions are directed toward a curious, but mostly naive audience. If searching for an overview, a middle man one may say, National Geographic does provide a history and account of the event in “The Deadliest Tsunami in History” (National Geographic News, Jan 7, 2005). Organized and succinct, the article begins with a few simple facts about the wave making process and tsunami characteristics, even dispelling myths that a tsunami is a single destructive tidal wave, but actually a series of wave building processes resulting from the shifting of the earth undersea due to seismic activity. The article goes on to include human interest stories, not overlooking an account where an Indian man after remembering a National Geographic program, saves the li8ves of more than 1,500 of his fellow villagers. Lastly, the article discusses potential residual hazards of the event, presenting issues such as famine and disease epidemics due to the lack of clean water and food supplies diminished from the disaster.
Tsunamis (pronounciation: soo-ná-mees), are a progression or series of huge and gigantic waves formed by underwater disturbances such as
Japan had been labelled as developed country and has the world's third-largest economy and the world's fourth-largest economy buying power. However, this developed country had faced numerous number of catastrophic event mainly tsunami. Tsunami is derived from the word ‘Tsu’ means harbor and ‘nami’ means wave. It was first known in 1897. Tsunami is a great sea wave produced cause by the submarine earth movement or volcanic eruption (NEAMTIC-North-Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Tsunami Information Centre). This terrifying event had taken away the lives of almost 200,000 innocent citizens around the world. On 10 February 2014, in Japan, it is
A tsunami is a series of waves “created by an underwater disturbance such as an earthquake, landslide, volcanic eruption, or meteorite” (ready.gov). Tsunami waves are quite different from normal waves. Once a tsunami is set in motion there is no way to really “prevent” it fully, or to stop such an event. Precautionary steps can be taken, such as in Japan where a sea wall was built to protect people and property. However, this was a futile attempt since in 2011 a tsunami was able to surge over the wall, with the water building up and rushing over the top. The lesson learned is that one should not
Additionally, this earthquake occurred on a thrust fault. This fault was a subduction zone slip which occurred primarily beneath the ocean were the Pacific plate plunges underneath the North American plate. This sudden upward movement of the sea floor along the rupturing fault generated a massive tsunami. This vertical deformation
“Explainer: After an Earthquake, How Does a Tsunami Happen?” Stuff.co.nz, Fairfax New Zealand Limited, 11 Sept. 2017,
Large waves crash against the shore while people run for high ground. But many, just stare in wonder. What actually was going on was a tsunami. A earthquake had just struck in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Soon the waves got larger and larger before they wiped out the whole village. Tsunamis are large waves reaching over 300 ft. that wipe out it ire villages, city's, homes, and stores. Many tsunamis leave the area flooded , destroyed, and filled with sea animals such as whales, dolphins, sharks, and other things. Then, the tsunamipulls back pulling all of the debris it destroyed back into the ocean polluting the whole sea environment. Tsunamis don't just cause short term effects, they cause long term also the Japan tsunami broke a nuclear power plant releasing thousands of gallons of contamination into the Pacific Ocean killing sea life and contaminating nature. (Walker, 29) Many may know about tsunamis but not all know how they are made, and some only assume one way but there are multiple.
At first, tsunami, also known as seismic sea waves, are a series of enormous waves created by an underwater disturbance such as earthquake, landslide, volcanic eruption, or meteorite. A tsunami can move hundreds of miles per hour in the open ocean and smash into land with waves as high as 100 feet or more.
There was a multitude of causes of the disaster in Japan. The first cause was a 9.0 magnitude earthquake that occurred off the coast of Japan. Japan is located in “The Ring of Fire,” an area in the Pacific Ocean that has multiple faults and earthquakes (Pedersen 13). Tectonic plates shifted off the North Pacific coast of Japan and created a massive earthquake. The next cause was a thirty-three foot wall of water that swept over cities and farmland in Japan (Branigan 2). Martin Fackler, a journalist, stated, “The quake churned up a devastating tsunami” (Fackler 3). The tsunami reached speeds of 497 miles per hour while approaching Japan (Fackler 3). The third and final reason of the disaster was that the cooling systems at multiple nuclear power plants failed. At Fukushima, a nuclear power plant in Sendai, Japan, the radioactive rods began to overheat due to the absence of water, which cools it. Explosions occurred at three of the reactors, which spewed radiation into the air (“Comparing nuclear power plant crises”). In conclusion, the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear power plant issues were the causes of the disaster in Japan, but they also had a myriad of effects.