A tsunami, this word comes from Japan, 'tsu' means harbor and 'nami' means waves. Tsunamis are giant, powerful waves most often caused by earthquakes or volcanic eruptions under the sea. When a tsunami occurs a number of waves move in all direction and can reach places that are hundreds of miles away. The waves of a tsunami move at very high speeds, but can hardly be seem in the open ocean. When the waves are near move shallow waters, they get taller, sometimes even up to a hundred feet. These waves are extremely powerful and pretty much destroy anything that gets in their way.
How tsunamis work? Tsunami is not just a single wave, but a series that behave much like the waves rippling out from a stone dropped in a pond. Each wave can last five to 15 minutes, and the danger can last for hours after the initial wave arrives.
How tsunamis are form? A tsunami is formed when an earthquake occurs under the sea. The crust of the Earth contains many plates that always move. In some cases, one plate moves on top of another plate. When this happens, the plate that moves upward pushes the water above. This results in massive waves and a tsunami is born.
Why tsunamis are dangerous? Tsunamis cause the water level and currents to rise rapidly, sometimes high enough to drown or injury people who have not escaped away from the shore to high ground. Dangerous waves can follow the first tsunami wave, trapping people who returned to the danger area because they thought the tsunami was over. Also, people can be caught unaware if they don't know the natural tsunami signs (earthquake shaking, water receding rapidly from the beach, a loud noise like a freight train coming from the ocean) or they are places where there are no tsunami warning systems. Strong tsunamis damage ports and harbors, as well as tourist areas, thereby damaging relief efforts and the economy of the communities.
How tsunami effects on environment? One of the biggest and worst effects of a tsunami is the cost to human life because unfortunately escaping a tsunami is nearly impossible. Hundreds and thousands of people are killed by tsunamis. Since 1850 alone, tsunamis have been responsible for the loss of more than 430,000 lives. Tsunamis not only destroy human life, but have a devastating effect on insects, animals, plants, and natural resources. A tsunami changes the landscape. It uproots trees and plants and destroys animal habitats such as nesting sites for birds. Land animals are killed by drowning and sea animals are killed by pollution if dangerous chemicals are washed away into the sea, thus poisoning the marine life.
Where do tsunami occurs? Tsunami often occurs in the Pacific Ocean and around the Indonesia these because of the Pacific Rim bordering the Ocean has a large number of active submarine earthquake zone. And usually occurs, If there are Coastline or island. When you look at the map, you can know that high risk tsunami zones are near to ocean, coastline or islands.
How are tsunami measured? Tsunamis are measured by their runup,which is the difference between an observed sea level and the distance the tsunami waters reach on shore. This is generally measured once the danger has passed, so debris and destruction of plant life are often used as gauges of runup
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Created with images by NeuPaddy - "wave atlantic pacific"