Tsunamis By:Nupur Joshi Introduction

There are many types of extreme weather events like, hurricanes, tornadoes, sandstorms, blizzards, floods, and tsunamis. All of these events are very dangerous but the one I find interesting and extremely dangerous are tsunamis! In this report I hope to give you the most accurate information about these devastating waves.

What Is It?
A tsunami is a series of fast moving waves triggered by an underwater shock, earthquake, or a volcanic eruption. They do not create giant breaking waves on the shore instead they generate fast and strong waves which make the sea level rise quickly. The tsunami may be so big it could be more than 100 miles from wave crest to wave crest but only a few feet in height! Some people think a tsunami is just one big tall wave; the real thing is that the tsunami creates an initial wave that splits into two waves. One will move out towards the ocean and the other moves towards the shore. A tsunami can reach 100s of feet in height and up to speeds of 500 mph but the height is at its tallest when the tsunami reaches the shore. When the tsunami reaches the shore the height increases rapidly and the speed decreases suddenly. As it shows in the diagram below:

. As you can see the waves height is increasing and while that is the happening the speed is decreasing too. This process happens very rapidly. Tsunamis are often referred as tidal waves this statement is inaccurate because a tsunami does not have to do with the sun and moons pull on the water.

Causes
Tsunamis are caused by earthquakes generated in a subduction zone. There is an overriding plate and a subducting plate the friction between these plates is HUGE. This prevents the steady rate of subduction and instead the 2 plates get stuck. This is accumulated seismic energy. The stuck plate continues to descend into the mantle which causes slow distortion of the overriding plate. This accumulation of energy is similar to the energy in a compressed spring but this energy accumulates in the overriding plate for decades or even centuries. Tsunamis can also occur of other underwater disturbances, volcanic eruptions, or landslides which are all underground disruptions that come onto the earths surface.

Potential Damage

A tsunami can cause a substantial amount of damage or barely any damage at all; it all depends on how destructive the waves are. A tsunami can wipe all the sand off a beach that took hundreds of years to gather. Often a tsunami can wipe out a whole coastal village and kill lots of people if they dont evacuate in time or reach very high ground. Tsunamis can cost the government of the country that gets hit lots of money for the damage to be repaired.

How to Prepare and Protect Yourself

Since earthquakes are a number one cause of tsunamis always keep in track if someplace has experienced an earthquake which could send a tsunami your way if you live near the ocean. If you feel shaking or a tsunami is coming your way and you live near the ocean get away from falling objects and get to high ground if there is no high ground go inland. A tsunami would be on its way. Dont wait for an official warning let the ground quaking be your

warning and get to safety as soon as you can. After you are in a safe place listen to the weather radio , NOAA, or the TV for further details on what action to take next, and when it Is safe to go back home. A safe place is high ground and if the area you live near is flat or there is not any high ground go inland and far away from the water. Things to keep in handy and to remember First aid kit/Emergency kit (couple days supply of food and water for the whole family) Gauze pads Band aids (Anything that helps with first aid) Get to high ground a 4 story building or more should be good just make sure you are on the top Battery powered radio Flashlight incase the power goes out which it should Your prior knowledge Keep a phone in handy so after the waves you can call people to rescue you or inform friends and family about your situation Dont panic help will come

Real World Examples

Location Indian ocean Japan Date Dec. 26 2004 March 11,2011
1 November 1755

Killed 230,210 28,700

Missing 11,000 lost homes 9,522

Expenses $14 billion $300 billion max. N/A

Waves height 98 ft. 124 feet

Lisbon, Portugal

60,000

N/A

30 meters in some places

46 ft

Samoa
Krakatau, Indonesia Ise Bay, Japan

2009

August 27, 1883 18 8,000 January,1586

189 in all countries hit 40,000

N/A

N/A

N/A N/A

N/A N/A

37 m. 6m.

Cloud Tsunamis
A cloud tsunami is a mass of clouds coming from the seaside. These are not natural disasters and have nothing to do with the giant waves because when a tsunami wave comes in there are no clouds associated with it. A cloud tsunami only affects vision. These clouds are so low humans cannot see past them and affect people driving. This is kind of like fog only a whole lot more dense because they are clouds. Calling it a cloud tsunami is like referring it to a natural disaster when it is not; it is a mass of clouds in the shape of tsunami waves which are coming from the Oceanside. When a real tsunami happens there are no clouds because this all happens on the earths surface, because when a tsunami occurs it has no relation with the sky. Basically clouds have nothing to do with tsunami waves.

Conclusion
Now that you know so much about tsunamis you can probably tell that these waves are very dangerous and take many lives. Now that you know so much about tsunamis you can probably tell that these waves are very dangerous and take many lives. The most dangerous thing about these disasters is that they are unpredictable because they start out as tiny ripples and you cant tell if one day those ripples will become a giant tsunami wave. Tsunamis leave a lot of damage on areas that they hit and can cost millions or billions of dollars.

Glossary
Friction The resistance that one surface or object encounters when moving over another.
Inland NOAA In or toward the interior of a country or region. Abbreviation: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The plate at a subduction zone that overrides (on top of) the down going plate.

Overriding Plate Quaking

The shaking of the earth. Energy released by an earthquake

Seismic Energy

Subduction The sideways and downward movement of a plate from the earths crust into the mantle beneath another plate Subduction Zone Substantial the convergent boundaries in which subduction occur Of considerable importance, size, worth

Tide the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and the Sun and the rotation of the Earth.