Do you enjoy watching movies and television shows about tsunamis?
If yes, then you're probably aware that they usually strike without warning.
They can be as high as multi-story buildings.
Their waves are so strong that they can destroy anything in their path, including thousands
of people.
However, what you see in movies and television shows happens in real life.
In this video, we’ll talk about ordinary seawater that suddenly became a massive killer
wave, and how the ocean creates such a wave.
It may not bother you right now, but you never know what the future holds, so you might as
well listen to me because you might learn how to save lives.
The first thing you need to know is how to detect if the approaching wave is a tsunami.
However, because tsunamis are noted for their suddenness, detecting them will most likely
be extremely difficult.
This could be why a tsunami in Japanese refers to a wave in the harbor.
The tsunami's suddenness was proven by a group of fishermen returning home with their catch
and discovering that their port had been wrecked by a powerful wave that they hadn't even noticed.
Tsunamis in the open ocean rarely exceed a meter or 3.3 feet in height.
Their length or the distance between ridges, on the other hand, can range from 100 to 200
kilometers or about 60 to 120 miles.
It’s also worth noting that tsunamis are at least a thousand times larger than typical
waves, with a speed that is similar to how a jet plane travels.
Also, tsunamis only occur in big sizes around coastlines.
So, what could be the explanation for the occurrence of tsunamis?
Let's have a look at the many aspects that make up the environment.
You might be thinking that the wind is the one to be blamed for this, but no, the wind
has no bearing on it, as it does in the case of ordinary waves.
Tsunamis happen due to a short but violent impulse from beneath the ocean, which literally
pushes the mass of water, causing a large-scale sudden shift in the ocean.
The violent impulses from beneath are usually caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions,
landslides, blasts, the collapse of rocks and glaciers, or asteroids colliding with
the water.
However, out of all of these potential causes, seismic activity is the most recorded cause
of this disaster in 88 occurrences of tsunamis.
A tsunami's pushing energy, unlike that of a regular wave, flows through the water rather
than on top of it.
As a result, it’s difficult for people to notice almost 95 percent of a tsunami's creation
process since it is always invisible to the naked eye.
They could only notice this killer wave at the end of its process, the moment it reaches
the surface.
When earthquakes in lithospheric plates of the Earth happen, the shake is nearly eight
times stronger, and in this case, a tsunami is unavoidable.
This means there would always be a portion of the seafloor that rises due to the violent
impulse, while the other portion falls.
The next thing that will happen is that the ocean begins to vibrate vertically, causing
a sequence of waves to form, which would be about half a meter or 1.64 feet high.
Everything in the ocean's depth is trembling from the bottom to the surface.
A massive quantity of water would rush to the coast at speeds ranging from 400 to 880
kilometers per hour or about 249 to 547 miles per hour.
This, however, can reach a thousand kilometers per hour or 621 miles per hour in extreme
situations.
You might not be prepared if you encountered tsunamis in real life.
You will almost unknowingly die because you were so enthralled by the strange behavior
of the water.
This is because what you see from the coast might not look like a deadly wave is coming.
For instance, because the earthquake often causes the tsunami to retreat, exposing the
coast, you might be fascinated by the different shells and creatures that you’re now seeing
on the seabed.
You might even start collecting these materials, rather than save yourself.
Well, this is what most people do when confronted with a tsunami for the first time.
But do you know what happens on the water that seems to gather?
Due to the congestion, a portion of the wave slows to 50 kilometers or about 31 miles per
hour, and the rest of the water mass begins to rise.
Keep in mind that how high the wave of the tsunami will be will depend on how deep the
ocean is.
The tsunami will become even more powerful as the water recedes.
So, if the water in the ocean, beach, or sea appears to be moving away from the coast,
it could be preparing to hit the coast with a large, deadly wave.
Now, you know that the strange behavior of the ocean, exposing its seabed, isn't something
we should celebrate, but rather prepare for a coming disaster.
This is what Tilly Smith, an English schoolgirl, did in 2004 on the Indian Ocean's coast.
Tilly learned about the behavior of the water that quickly retreats from the shore before
a tsunami in geography class, so when she saw it firsthand, she encouraged her parents
and everyone else in the area to leave the area and save themselves.
This small girl's deed aided over a hundred individuals in the region to be saved.
When faced with a situation like this, you must respond immediately.
Even if the wave slows as it retreats, the wave's speed when it hits the coast is still
in the tens of kilometers or miles per hour range.
This implies you only have around 20 minutes to get 10 kilometers or 6.2 miles inland,
or at the very least, climb up onto a roof or a strong tree.
If you happen to be hit by the water, remove your heavy shoes and clothing since it will
be incredibly difficult to move in such attire.
Keep in mind that once the water has receded, you should not return to the danger zone.
This is the mistake done by residents of the Soviet city of Severo-Kurilsk in 1952 when
a tsunami hit them.
Those who were able to survive in the first wave were swept away half an hour later by
the second, which was around 15 to 18 meters or 49 to 59 feet tall.
It's normal for a tsunami's first wave to be the weakest.
Occasionally, the first wave’s job is to clear the path, carrying cars, trees, and
property with it, while the second wave sweeps everything back, destroying structures and
anything in its path.
In Severo-Kurilsk, this is exactly what happened.
The shaking began at four in the morning, and when the morning fog cleared, residents
were confronted by some debris of the city floating in the water.
On top of this, residents weren’t able to relax until three to four hours following
the final attack.
It's not enough to rely on water's unusual behavior because it doesn't always retreat
before a tsunami.
To get the most up-to-date information regarding the tsunami, it’s important to listen to
tsunami warning centers.
Seismic waves travel far faster than normal waves, therefore a warning from such a center
can save residents a few minutes, and if the earthquake's source is far from the coast,
it can give the residents hours to prepare.
The warning from these centers must arrive no later than the wave itself to be able to
let residents find a way to save themselves.
Apart from earthquakes, the collapse of ice and rocks can also result in tsunamis, such
as the world's largest tsunami, which occurred in Alaska.
About 90 million tons of rock and ice slid into the bay from the mountains.
The water soared 524 meters or about 1720 feet up into the sky.
A wave surged across the water, uprooting trees and tossing one ship across the island,
which was 10 kilometers or 6.2 miles from the epicenter.
There are also tsunamis that have occurred as a result of volcanic eruptions.
Thousands of ships were destroyed and tens of thousands of people were killed when the
Indonesian volcano Krakatoa erupted in the 19th century.
Another, mankind is capable of unleashing such a killer tsunami.
This occurred in the mid-twentieth century when people exploded an undersea atomic weapon.
The explosion caused a wave that reached a height of 29 meters or 95 feet.
Fortunately, there were no casualties because the wave calmed down after reaching 300 meters
or 984 feet tall.
Asteroids crashing into the water are the rarest cause of tsunamis.
The Chicxulub asteroid, which had a diameter of 11 to 81 kilometers or 6.8 to 50.3 miles,
carved a 20-kilometer-deep crater and caused a tsunami that was 14 meters to 1.5 kilometers
or about 46 feet to 0.93 miles high.
The tsunami that occurred near the island of Sumatra in 2004 was considered to be the
deadliest.
It afflicted 14 countries and claimed the lives of about two hundred thousand people.
It was triggered by an earthquake, and the energy released was equivalent to twenty thousand
atomic bombs, similar to the one launched on Hiroshima.
Even with all of this in mind, don't be frightened to go on water or participate in water adventures.
The pacific ocean area known as the ring of fire poses the greatest threat of tsunamis,
yet even there, tiny waves occur just four times a year, and tsunamis in a height of
10 meters or approximately 30 feet once per decade.
Have you ever been in the area when a tsunami occurred?
What exactly did you do?
Share with us your experience in the comments section.
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