Tsunamis, Earthquakes, and Indonesia
Sadly for many, natural disasters are still the main topic of news. An earthquake in the middle of the Pacific Ocean caused a tsunami which has left at least 34 dead and many injured in the Samoan islands. The links below will give you a quick geography lesson on American Samoa, but this post is meant to explain tsunamis. After the tragic 2004 tsunami in Indonesia the day after Christmas, many of us became familiar with the term, but you may have forgotten what it actually means.
A tsunami (“soo-NA-mee”) is “a series of enormous waves created by an underwater disturbance such as an earthquake, landslide, volcanic eruption, or meteorite.”1 In most cases lately, it has been an earthquake that starts the tsunami. The waves move violently and fast enough to ravage the coast well before people have time to evacuate. Think of waves 100 feet high and speeds of more than 100 miles per hour, and you’ll get the idea.
Imagine the earthquake as an underwater explosion with the waves moving outward like a mushroom cloud. When the waves near the shoreline, the energy created by the earthquake has nowhere left to go but on land.
Read on:
WSJ.com – Tsunami Wipes Out Villages in South Pacific
WSJ.com – Powerful Quake Strikes Indonesia
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