1. A tsunami is a series of sea waves caused by an underwater earthquake, landslide, or volcanic
eruption. More rarely, a tsunami can be generated by a giant meteor impact with the ocean.
2. The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami could rank as the most devastating on record. More than
200,000 people lost their lives, many of them washed out to sea.
3. Tsunami is as fast as commercial Jet. Where the ocean is deep, tsunamis can travel unnoticed
on the surface at speeds up to 500 miles an hour (800 kilometers an hour)
4.In 2004, the Indian Ocean tsunami was caused by an earthquake that is thought to have had the
energy of 23,000 atomic bombs. Within hours of the earthquake in 2004, killer waves radiating
from the epicenter slammed into the coastline of 11 countries, damaging countries from east Africa
to Thailand. By the end of the day, the tsunami had already killed 150,000 people. The final death
toll was 283,000.
5.Scientists can accurately estimate the time when a tsunami will arrive almost anywhere around
the world based on calculations using the depth of the water, distances from one place to another,
and the time that the earthquake or other event occurred.
6.Tsunami waves can be as long as 60 miles and be as far as an hour apart. These waves can cross
entire oceans without losing much energy.
7. Once a tsunami reaches the shallow water near the coast, it slows down. The top of the wave
moves faster than the bottom, causing the sea to rise dramatically, as much as 100 feet at times.
8.When the ocean is deep, tsunamis may be less than a foot high on the ocean’s surface, can travel
at speeds up to 500 mph without being noticed and cross the entire ocean in less than a day.
9.A tsunami is not just one wave but a series of waves or a “wave train.”
