Tsunamis are the largest and most powerful ocean waves that sweep away everything in their path with terrifying force. The peculiarity of such a dangerous natural disaster is the size of the moving wave, its enormous speed, and the gigantic distance between the crests, which reaches tens of kilometers. Tsunamis pose an extreme danger to the coastal zone. Approaching the shore, the wave gains enormous speed, contracts in front of the obstacle, grows significantly in size and deals a crushing and irreparable blow to the land area.
What causes this huge influx of water, which leaves even the tallest and fortified structures no chance of survival? What natural forces can create a water tornado and deprive cities and regions of the right to survive? The movement of tectonic plates and splits in the earth's crust are the worst harbingers of the collapse of a giant stream.
The largest tsunami in the world in the history of mankind
What is the known largest wave in the world? Let's look through the pages of history. The date July 9, 1958 is well remembered by Alaskans. It was this day that became fatal for the Lituya fjord, which is located in the northeastern part of the Gulf of Alaska. The harbinger of the historical event was an earthquake, the strength of which, according to measurements, was equal to 9.1 points. This is what caused the terrifying rockfall, which caused the collapse of rocks and a wave of unprecedented magnitude.
The weather was clear and sunny all day on July 9th. The water level dropped by 1.5 meters, fishermen on boats were fishing (Lituya Bay has always been a favorite place for avid fishermen). Towards evening, around 22:00 local time, a landslide that rolled into the water from a height of 910 meters, followed by huge stones and blocks of ice. The total weight of the mass was approximately 300 million cubic meters. The northern part of the Lituya Bay was completely flooded with water. At the same time, a giant pile of stones was thrown to the opposite side, as a result of which the entire green area of the Fairweather coast was destroyed.
A landslide of this magnitude provoked the appearance of a huge wave, the height of which was 524 meters! This is approximately a building of 200 floors! It was the largest and highest wave in the world. The gigantic force of the ocean water literally washed away Lituya Bay. The tidal wave picked up speed (by this time it had already accelerated to 160 km/h) and rushed towards Cenotaph Island. Terrible landslides simultaneously descended from the mountains to the water, carrying a column of dust and stones. The wave rose to such a size that the foot of the mountain disappeared under it.
Trees and greenery covering the mountain slopes were uprooted and sucked into the water column. The tsunami continually rushed from side to side inside the bay, covering the points of the shallows and sweeping away the forest covers of the high northern mountains on its way. There is no trace left of the La Gaussi spit, which separated the waters of the bay and Gilbert Bay. After everything had calmed down, on the shore one could see catastrophic cracks in the ground, severe destruction and rubble. The buildings erected by the fishermen were completely destroyed. The scale of the disaster was impossible to assess.
This wave claimed the lives of about three hundred thousand people. Only the longboat managed to escape, which by some incredible miracle was thrown out of the bay and thrown over the sandbank. Once on the other side of the mountain, the fishermen were left without a vessel, but were rescued two hours later. The bodies of the fishermen of another longboat were carried away into the abyss of water. They were never found.
Another terrible tragedy
Terrible destruction remained after the tsunami on December 26, 2004 for residents of the Indian Ocean coast. A powerful shock in the ocean caused a disastrous wave. In the depths of the Pacific Ocean, near the island of Sumatra, a fracture of the earth's crust occurred, which provoked a displacement of the bottom over a distance of more than 1000 kilometers. The largest wave that has ever covered the coast was formed from this fault. At first its height was no more than 60 centimeters. But it accelerated, and now a 20-meter shaft was rushing at an insane, unprecedented speed of 800 kilometers per hour towards the islands of Sumatra and Thailand to the east of India and Sri Lanka - to the west! In eight hours, a terrible tsunami, unprecedented in history, flew over the entire coast of the Indian Ocean, and in 24 hours, the entire World Ocean!
The greatest destruction occurred on the shores of Indonesia. The tidal wave buried cities and regions tens of kilometers deep. The islands of Thailand have become a mass grave for tens of thousands of people. Residents of coastal areas had no chance of salvation, since the water blanket held the cities under it for more than 15 minutes. Huge loss of life resulted from the natural disaster. Economic losses were also impossible to calculate. More than 5 million residents were forced to leave their homes, more than one million needed help, and two million people needed new housing. International organizations responded and helped the victims in every possible way.
Disaster in Prince William Sound
Severe, irreparable losses were caused by an earthquake on March 27, 1964 in Prince William Sound (Alaska) measuring 9.2 on the Richter scale. It covered a huge area of 800,000 square kilometers. Such a powerful push from a depth of more than 20 kilometers can be compared to the simultaneous explosion of 12 thousand atomic bombs! The western coast of the United States of America was significantly damaged, which was literally covered by a huge tsunami. The wave reached as far as Antarctica and Japan. Villages and towns, enterprises, and the city of Veldez were wiped off the face of the earth.
The wave swept away everything that came in its way: dams, concrete blocks, houses, buildings, ships in the port. The wave height reached 67 meters! This, of course, is not the largest wave in the world, but it brought a lot of destruction. Fortunately, the deadly stream claimed the lives of approximately 150 people. The number of victims could have been much higher, but due to the sparse population of these places, only 150 local residents died. Considering the area and gigantic power of the stream, they had no chance of survival.
Great East Japan Earthquake
One can only imagine what force of nature destroyed the shores of Japan and brought irreparable losses to its inhabitants. After this disaster, the consequences will be felt for many years. At the junction of the world's two largest lithospheric plates, an earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale occurred, about twice the magnitude of the tremors caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. A tragic event of enormous scale is also called the “Great East Japan Earthquake.” In just 20 minutes, a terrifying wave, the height of which exceeded 40 meters, reached the shores of Japan, where a large number of people were located.
About 25 thousand people became victims of the tsunami. This was the largest wave in the history of the Easterners. But this was only the beginning of the disaster. The scale of the tragedy grew every hour after the attack by the powerful flow of the Fokushima-1 nuclear power plant. The power plant system went out of operating mode due to tremors and shock waves. The failure was followed by a meltdown of the reactors in the power units. Today, a zone within a radius of tens of kilometers is a zone of exclusion and disaster. About 400 thousand buildings and structures were destroyed, bridges, railways, highways, airports, ports and shipping stations were destroyed. It will take years to rebuild the country after the terrible disaster brought by the highest wave.
Disaster on the coast of Papua New Guinea
Another disaster struck the coast of Papua New Guinea in July 1998. The earthquake, measuring 7.1 on the measurement scale, triggered by a massive landslide, caused a wave more than 15 meters high, which killed more than 200 thousand people, leaving thousands more homeless on the island. Before the invasion of ocean water, there was a small bay here called Varupu, the waters of which washed two islands, where the Varupu people lived, worked and traded peacefully. Two powerful and unexpected impulses from underground occurred within 30 minutes of each other.
They set in motion a huge shaft, which caused strong waves that swept away several villages along a length of 30 kilometers from the face of New Guinea. Residents of seven more settlements needed medical care and were hospitalized. The sea level in the capital of New Guinea, Rabaul, rose by 6 centimeters. A tidal wave of such magnitude has never been observed before, although in this region local residents often suffer from disasters such as tsunamis and earthquakes. A giant wave destroyed and carried under water an area of more than 100 square kilometers to a depth of 4 meters.
Tsunami in the Philippines
Exactly until August 16, 1976, the small island of Mindanao existed in the oceanic depression of Cotabato. It was the most southern, picturesque and exotic place among all the islands of the Philippines. Local residents could not at all predict that a terrible earthquake measuring 8 on the Richter scale would destroy this stunning place, washed by the seas on all sides. A huge force created a tsunami as a result of an earthquake.
The wave seemed to cut off the entire coastline of Mindanao. Not having time to escape, 5 thousand people died under the shelter of sea water. Approximately 2.5 thousand residents of the island were not found, 9.5 thousand received varying degrees of injury, more than 90 thousand lost their shelter and remained on the street. This was the strongest activity in the history of the Philippine Islands. Scientists who examined the details of the disaster found that the power of such a natural phenomenon caused movements of the water mass, which provoked a shift in the islands of Sulawesi and Borneo. It was the worst and most destructive event in the entire period of the existence of the island of Mindanao.
Tsunamis are constant companions of earthquakes, volcanoes and landslides. Giant waves destroy entire cities, taking thousands of lives. How do they arise and what are they capable of? The time has come to talk about the largest tsunami in history.
In 80% of cases, megawaves are caused by earthquakes caused by the displacement of huge layers of earth on the ocean floor. The sudden movement of the platforms causes fluctuations in millions of tons of water, which rushes from the epicenter to the shores.
This is similar to the effect of throwing a stone into water. Less commonly, tsunamis are generated by landslides and volcanic eruptions, when huge masses of earth and stones abruptly descend into the water.
Tsunami facts you might not know
The tsunami comes unnoticed. In the open ocean, waves usually reach only a few meters in height, and only near the shore the water rises and hits the land with all its might.
freehdwThe harbinger of a tsunami is a sharp ebb. Not everyone knows about this. Seeing the waters quickly recede, many people remain on the shore, observing the unusual phenomenon and collecting shells as the ocean prepares to deliver the killing blow.
sms-tsunami-warning It is widely believed that a tsunami is a wall of water as high as a high-rise building. In fact, waves can only grow up to 6–7 meters high. In a tsunami, it is not the wave itself that is scary, but what comes after it - huge masses of water that flood the shore in a continuous and rapid stream.
novilist Over the past hundred years, there have been many powerful tsunamis that shook the world.
The most violent tsunami in history
The tsunami, considered the deadliest, was recorded in the Indian Ocean on December 26, 2004. Two huge tectonic layers, which had been resting against each other for a long time, could not withstand the stress. One of the platforms rose sharply above the other and moved forward several meters. This caused a magnitude 9 earthquake, one of the strongest in recorded history. As a result, huge masses of water rushed at high speed to the shores of Asia and Africa.
The first and most devastating blow fell on Indonesia. Waves from 12 to 30 meters high destroyed cities and villages.
phototelegraf 
phototelegraf An hour after the earthquake, the tsunami reached Thailand. No one foresaw the trouble; there were many tourists on the beaches who did not immediately understand what was happening. The delay cost thousands of people their lives.
phototelegraf Three hours after the disaster began, megawaves swept the coasts of Sri Lanka and India, and a few hours later the tsunami reached Africa.
phototelegraf The disaster killed more than 230 thousand people and left 1.6 million people homeless in Asia and Africa. The video shows footage captured by eyewitnesses of the disaster.
The most powerful tsunamis resulting from earthquakes can be listed in the following chronological order:
The oldest tsunami known to mankind occurred on July 21, 365 AD. in the Mediterranean Sea after a powerful earthquake, which Chinese chronicles preserved under the name "Hung Tao". A tsunami wave destroyed the city of Alexandria in Egypt and took the lives of thousands of people.
- November 1, 1775, Portugal, the capital of the country, Lisbon, was destroyed by a strong earthquake. The Atlantic Ocean surge, caused by the earthquake, crashed in 6-meter waves onto the shores of Portugal, Spain and Morocco. Miroshnikov L.D. Man in the world of geological elements. St. Petersburg, 2013. P.43.
- 27 August 1883: Indonesia. The Krakatoa volcano erupted. A tsunami wave generated by a volcanic eruption hit the shores of Java and Sumatra with full force, killing 36,000 people. The volcanic eruption was so powerful that the skies were ablaze with the reflections of burning lava for several nights.
- December 17, 1896: USA, California - a tsunami destroyed a powerful sea wall in Santa Barbara and covered all the streets of the city.
- January 31, 1906: An ocean wave resulting from an earthquake in the Pacific Ocean hit the mainland, destroying the cities of Tumaco and Micay in Colombia, the city of Rioverde in Ecuador, destroying all houses. 1500 people died.
- April 1, 1946: US tsunami wave engulfs Alaskan lighthouse and personnel before hitting Hilo-Hawaii, killing 159 people
- May 22, 1960: An 11 meter high tsunami kills 1,000 people in Chile, 61 in Hawaii. The ocean wave was so powerful that it reached the other side of the Pacific Ocean and shook the Philippines and the Japanese island of Okinawa.
- March 28, 1964: USA, “Blessed Easter Friday” tsunami wiped out 3 villages on the country’s maps: 107 people died in Oregon, 15 people died in California.
- August 16, 1976: The Pacific tsunami kills more than 5,000 people in Moro Bay in the Philippines.
- July 17, 1998: An earthquake in northern Papua New Guinea created an ocean wave that killed 2,313 people. 7 villages were razed to the ground, thousands of people were left homeless.
The most powerful known tsunami, later named Sanriku, occurred from an underwater earthquake 240 km from the coast of Japan on June 15, 1896. Then a huge wave 30 m high hit the island. Honshu. 27,122 people died. 19,617 houses were washed into the sea. The first “seaquake” in Russia was registered in Kamchatka in 1737. It was already mentioned above. According to an eyewitness, “waves of terrible and incomparable shaking followed, then water rose up onto the shore at a height of 30 fathoms, which, without standing at all, ran into the sea. From this flood, the local residents were completely ruined, and many died miserably.” Miroshnikov L .D. Man in the world of geological elements. St. Petersburg, 2013. P.46.
In 1979, a tsunami with a wave height of 5 m hit the Pacific coast of Colombia. 125 people died.
In 1994, a 15 m high tsunami in the Philippines destroyed 500 houses and 18 bridges. More than 60 people died.
In the case of the recent catastrophe, which began on the morning of December 26, 2004 at 7 hours 58 minutes 53 seconds local time in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Indonesia and Thailand, the epicenter of the first earthquake was located near the northern tip of the island of Sumatra, at a point with coordinates 3 ° 30 "North latitude and 95°87"E longitude. Geologically, in this area there is a boundary between two lithospheric plates - large blocks of the earth's crust. In this case, the oceanic Indian plate is immersed, pushed (subduction) under the more eastern continental plate. The deep-sea trench, which runs parallel to Sumatra, is a trace of such a dive. Danilova V.S., Kozhevnikov N.N. Basic concepts of natural science. M., 2014. P.145.
The tsunami that hit the shores of South Asia on December 26, 2004 was the most catastrophic in the last 40 years, and was caused by the 5th strongest earthquake since 1900, a magnitude 9 earthquake. The tsunami killed more than 225,000 people. The more than 1,000-kilometer fault line, resulting from the earthquake and the movement of large layers of the earth's crust on the ocean floor, generated a colossal release of energy in the ocean, which, combined with the equally colossal energy arising from the displacement of continents, generated the most destructive tsunami in history peace.
Tsunami waves hit the countries of South Asia: Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh, Myanmar, the Maldives and Seychelles, and reached the African continent, hitting the shores of Somalia, located 5,000 kilometers from the epicenter of the earthquake.
The hypocenter of the first shock of the earthquake was shallow, as they say, shallow-focus and was located at a depth of about 30 km. A sharp, almost instantaneous displacement of the ocean plate by tens of meters caused deformation in the surface of the ocean floor, which triggered the occurrence of a tsunami that immediately hit the islands of Sumatra and Java. After about 10-20 minutes, the wave reached the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and then the western coast of Thailand and the resort island of Phuket. Right there.
It took the tsunami longer, almost two hours, to hit Sri Lanka (formerly the island of Ceylon), the east coast of India, Bangladesh and the Maldives. In the Maldives, the wave height did not exceed two meters, but the islands themselves rise above the ocean surface by no more than a meter and a half, so two-thirds of the territory of Male, the capital of the island state, was under water. However, in general, the Maldives did not suffer too much, since they are surrounded by coral reef structures, which absorbed the shock of the waves and absorbed their energy, thereby providing passive protection from the tsunami. Six hours later the wave reached the east coast of Africa. The tsunami caused the greatest number of casualties and destruction in Indonesia and Sri Lanka. The total death toll is estimated to be more than 280,000. Shchetnikov N. Tsunami. M., 2014. P.97,
According to seismic stations, the earthquake that caused the tsunami in the Indian Ocean, or rather, its first shock had a magnitude of 8.6-8.9 or even 9.1 on the Richter scale, that is, close to the maximum possible. Information has emerged that it contributed to a sharp shift in the Earth’s rotation axis by 3 cm, and the Earth’s day decreased by 3 microseconds. The second shock, the epicenter of which was slightly north of the first, had a magnitude of 7.3 and caused the formation of a second tsunami wave. After the first, strongest tremors on December 26, earthquakes occurred in this region almost every day for several weeks with a fairly high magnitude of about 5-6. Such earthquakes following the main seismic shock are called aftershocks. They indicate the resorption of tensions and their relaxation.
When a tsunami called the “Great Meiji” hit Japan with monstrous destructive force and killed 21,000 people.
Earthquakes of colossal power occur every 150-200 years. There is reliable historical information about this, including about tsunamis caused by earthquakes. When the Krakatoa volcano exploded in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra in 1883, a giant wave swept more than 36,000 people into the sea; in 1896 in Japan, waves 15 m high led to the death of several thousand people; in 1933, off the coast of Sanriku in Japan, where the height of tsunami waves reached 24 m, 3,000 residents died. In 1952, an 18 m high tsunami destroyed the city of Severo-Kurilsk, located on the island of Paramushir, the northernmost island of the Kuril island arc, killing several thousand residents, as there were three waves. The list of such disasters can be continued. Avakyan A.B., Polyushkin A.A. Floods. M., 2014. P.75.
The question arises: is it possible to foresee a tsunami and warn residents of the regions about the impending wave? It is basically impossible to predict the day and hour of an earthquake, since this is a nonlinear process. But it is possible to identify areas where the risk of an earthquake is high and determine its probable strength, that is, to carry out seismic zoning of territories of varying detail.
The main places where tsunamis occur is the Pacific Ocean, the periphery of which accounts for more than 80% of tsunamis. The famous "ring of fire" of the Pacific Ocean is characterized not only by a large number of active volcanoes, but also by frequent strong earthquakes, mountainous terrain and a chain of deep-sea trenches. In these places, called active continental margins, heavy, cold oceanic plates are subducted under lighter, higher continental plates. The processes of interaction between plates lead to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis in the ocean.
Whether a huge wave will hit the shore after an earthquake in the ocean or not is unknown. Residents of coasts located in a dangerous seismic zone, having felt an earthquake, should immediately flee away from the coastal zone. This way you can escape from a tsunami that forms near the coast, when the arrival time of the wave is 15-30 minutes. If a tsunami occurs far away and the waves move along the surface of the ocean for several hours, then there is enough time to prepare for the impact of the elements and bring people to safe places. But for this, a huge amount of work needs to be done: install automatic seismographs in earthquake-prone areas of the oceans or seas, develop a public warning system so that the panic that is inevitable in such cases does not arise. It is necessary for tourists who come to relax in seismic zones to know about this and have a clear idea of what to do in the event of an alarm, which can be announced by sirens, howlers, radio and any other means. Unfortunately, in the area of the earthquake that occurred on December 26, 2004, the observation network simply did not exist, and the earthquake and tsunami warning system was not organized.
In Russia, back in the late 50s - early 60s of the last century, a tsunami warning service was created in the Far East, covering Kamchatka, the Kuril Islands, Sakhalin and Primorye. In the Hawaiian Islands, which have been repeatedly affected by tsunamis, there is a warning center named after Richard Hagimeier. Now in the Indian Ocean, near Indonesia, it is planned to organize an observation network, and in the future there are intentions to create a global tsunami warning network and equip it with the latest seismographs, special sensors and buoys on which recording equipment will be placed, and all this will be combined with a satellite system. Gorokhov V.G. The concept of modern natural science and technology. M., 2013. P.425.
It turned out, however, that in the history of the Caspian Sea there are known events that could be called “tsunamis”. The earliest of them dates back to 957, when the sea in the Derbent area receded by 150 meters during an earthquake.
Something like a tsunami, albeit in a weakened form, occurred in 1868, when the sea near Baku first rose and then dropped by almost half a meter, and the so-called Burnt Plate, located 90 kilometers south of Baku, rising 2 meters above sea level, sank into him.
Much more terrible waves arose during the 9-point Krasnovodsk earthquake of 1895. They covered the village of Uzun-Ada, the bay of its buildings and the pier with water, forming a quagmire. Two-meter-wide cracks appeared in the streets, from which water was gushing. And in 1933, 40 kilometers from the same Krasnovodsk, a one and a half meter rise in sea level lasting about 10 minutes was observed. Evidence of other phenomena of this kind has also been preserved. Gorokhov V.G. The concept of modern natural science and technology. M., 2013. P.431.
Possible zones for the generation of Caspian tsunamis would naturally include those areas of the sea where seismic activity is especially high. Today, seven local zones of increased seismicity are known in the Caspian Sea, and the largest of them coincides with the extreme eastern section of the Terek-Caspian deep fault. This is where strong earthquakes occur most often.
A smaller zone is located within the Absheron threshold - on the underwater section of the same trough. A comparison of areas that have ever experienced something like a tsunami and zones of increased seismicity proves that they certainly coincide. To analyze the reasons for such a local action of the tsunami, modeling was carried out, and it turned out that the relative shallow water and the structure of the bottom prevent it from spreading further.
Tsunamis have been a nightmare for island residents throughout the centuries. These multi-meter waves with enormous destructive force swept away everything in their path, leaving behind only bare earth and debris. Scientists have been keeping statistics on monstrous waves since the nineteenth century; during this period, more than a hundred tsunamis of varying power were recorded. Do you know what the biggest tsunami in the world was?
Tsunami: what is it?
It is not surprising that the term “tsunami” was first introduced by the Japanese. They suffered from giant waves more often than anyone, because the Pacific Ocean generates the largest number of destructive waves than all other seas and oceans combined. This is due to the topography of the ocean floor and the high seismicity of the region. In Japanese, the word "tsunami" consists of two characters meaning flood and wave. Thus, the very meaning of the phenomenon is revealed - a wave in the bay, sweeping away all life on the coast.
When was the first tsunami recorded?
Of course, people have always suffered from tsunamis. Ordinary island residents came up with their own names for rogue waves and believed that the gods of the seas were punishing people by sending destructive waves at them.
The first tsunami was officially recorded and explained at the end of the sixteenth century. This was done by the monk of the Jesuit church, Jose de Acosta, he was in Peru when a wave about twenty-five meters high hit the shore. It swept away all the settlements around in a few seconds and moved ten kilometers deep into the continent.
Tsunami: causes and consequences
Tsunamis are most often caused by earthquakes and underwater volcanic eruptions. The closer the earthquake epicenter is to the coast, the stronger the rogue wave will be. The largest tsunamis in the world that have been recorded by mankind could reach speeds of up to one hundred and sixty kilometers per hour and exceed three hundred meters in height. Such waves leave no chance of survival for any living creature caught in their path.
If we consider the nature of this phenomenon, then it can be briefly explained as the simultaneous displacement of a large amount of water masses. Eruptions or earthquakes raise the ocean floor sometimes by several meters, which causes water vibrations and forms several waves diverging from the epicenter in different directions. Initially, they do not represent something terrible and deadly, but as they approach the shore, the speed and height of the wave increases, and it turns into a tsunami.
In some cases, tsunamis are formed as a result of giant landslides. During the twentieth century, about seven percent of all gigantic waves arose for this reason.
The consequences of the destruction left behind by the world's largest tsunami are terrible: thousands of casualties and hundreds of kilometers of land filled with debris and mud. In addition, in the disaster area there is a high probability of the spread of infectious diseases due to a lack of drinking water and rotting bodies of the dead, the search for which is not always possible to organize in the shortest possible time.
Tsunami: is it possible to escape?
Unfortunately, the global warning system for a possible approaching tsunami is still imperfect. In the best case, people become aware of the danger a few minutes before the wave hits, so it is necessary to know the signs of impending trouble and the rules of survival during a cataclysm.
If you are on the sea or ocean coast, then carefully monitor earthquake reports. A shaking of the earth's crust with a magnitude of about seven on the Richter scale that occurred somewhere nearby can serve as a warning of a possible tsunami strike. The approach of a rogue wave is signaled by a sudden low tide - the ocean floor is quickly exposed for several kilometers. This is a clear sign of a tsunami. Moreover, the further the water goes, the stronger and more destructive the arriving wave will be. Animals often anticipate such natural disasters: a few hours before the cataclysm, they whine, hide, and try to go deeper into the island or mainland.
To survive a tsunami, you need to leave the dangerous area as soon as possible. Do not take a lot of things with you; drinking water, food and documents will be enough. Try to move as far away from the coast as possible or climb onto the roof of a multi-story building. All floors after the ninth are considered safe.
If the wave does overtake you, then find an object that you can hold on to. According to statistics, most people die when the wave begins to return back to the ocean and carries away all the objects it comes across. Keep in mind that a tsunami almost never ends in one wave. Most often, the first one will be followed by a series of two or even three new ones.
So, when were the biggest tsunamis in the world? And how much destruction did they cause?
This disaster does not fit any of the previously described incidents on the sea coast. To date, the megatsunami in Lituya Bay has become the largest and most destructive in the world. Until now, eminent luminaries in the field of oceanology and seismology are arguing about the possibility of repeating such a nightmare.
Lituya Bay is located in Alaska and extends eleven kilometers inland, its maximum width does not exceed three kilometers. Two glaciers descend into the bay, which became the unwitting creators of a huge wave. The 1958 tsunami in Alaska was caused by an earthquake that occurred on July 9th. The power of the shocks exceeded eight points, which caused a huge landslide into the waters of the bay. Scientists estimate that thirty million cubic meters of ice and stones fell into the water in a few seconds. Parallel to the landslide, the subglacial lake sank thirty meters, from which released water masses rushed into the bay.
A huge wave rushed onto the coast and circled the bay several times. The height of the tsunami wave reached five hundred meters, the raging elements completely demolished the trees on the rocks along with the soil. This wave is currently the highest in human history. An amazing fact is that only five people died as a result of the powerful tsunami. The fact is that there are no residential settlements in the bay; at the time the wave arrived in Lituya there were only three fishing boats. One of them, along with the crew, immediately sank, and the other was lifted by a wave to its maximum height and carried out into the ocean.
Indian Ocean avalanche 2004
The 2004 Thailand tsunami shocked everyone on the planet. As a result of the destructive wave, more than two hundred thousand people died. The cause of the disaster was an earthquake in the Sumatra region on December 26, 2004. The tremors lasted no more than ten minutes and exceeded nine points on the Richter scale.
A thirty-meter wave swept with great speed throughout the Indian Ocean and went around it, stopping near Peru. Almost all island countries were affected by the tsunami, including India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Somalia.
Having killed several hundred thousand people, the 2004 tsunami in Thailand left behind destroyed homes, hotels and several thousand local residents who died as a result of infections and poor-quality drinking water. At the moment, this tsunami is considered the largest in the twenty-first century.
Severo-Kurilsk: tsunami in the USSR
The list of “The largest tsunamis in the world” must include the wave that hit the Kuril Islands in the middle of the last century. An earthquake in the Pacific Ocean caused a twenty-meter wave. The epicenter of the earthquake with a magnitude of seven was located one hundred and thirty kilometers from the coast.
The first wave arrived in the city about an hour later, but most local residents were in shelter on higher ground away from the city. No one warned them that a tsunami was a series of waves, so all the townspeople returned to their homes after the first one. A few hours later, the second and third waves hit Severo-Kurilsk. Their height reached eighteen meters, they almost completely destroyed the city. More than two thousand people died as a result of the cataclysm.
Rogue wave in Chile
In the second half of the last century, Chileans faced a terrifying tsunami that killed more than three thousand people. The cause of the giant waves was the most powerful earthquake in the history of mankind, its magnitude exceeded nine and a half points.
A wave twenty-five meters high covered Chile fifteen minutes after the first shocks. In one day, it covered several thousand kilometers, destroying the coasts of Hawaii and Japan.
Despite the fact that humanity has been “familiar” with tsunamis for quite some time, this natural phenomenon is still one of the little studied. Scientists have not learned to predict the appearance of rogue waves, so, most likely, in the future the list of their victims will be replenished with new deaths.
On December 26, 2004, one of the most powerful tsunamis in history hit southern Asia, causing catastrophic destruction. Today we remember the most powerful waves that humanity has ever encountered.
Tsunami in South Asia
On December 26, 2004, a powerful earthquake with an amplitude of 8.9 points was recorded near the island of Sumatra. The resulting wave hits the coasts of Thailand, Sri Lanka, India and Indonesia. Several hundred thousand casualties (including many tourists) and hundreds of destroyed cities make this one of the most destructive and powerful tsunamis in human history.
Tsunami in Alaska
On March 28, 1964, the most devastating tsunami in the history of the Northern Hemisphere occurred, which is commonly called the “Alaska tsunami.” The tremors at its epicenter, which was Prince William Sound, reached 9.2 on the Richter scale, and their echoes were felt throughout the western part of the continent. It is difficult to imagine the horror of the residents of the coast, who, on a fine pre-Easter day, saw a huge 30-meter wall of water on the horizon. The rogue waves left tens of thousands of people in the United States and Canada homeless and wiped out many coastal cities in North America.
Tsunami off Samoa
September 2009 was fatal for many Samoans. On a hot day, when most of the islanders were closer to the saving coolness of the ocean, 15-meter waves hit them. The earthquake was incredibly strong - 8.1 on the Richter scale, and the vibrations occurred in such a way that the bulk of the water rushed deep into the island, sweeping away everything in its path. The inhabitants of the archipelago would have had absolutely no chance of salvation if the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center had not managed to evacuate part of the population to elevated areas.
Tsunami off Okushiri Island
Japanese authorities are extremely attentive to preventing earthquake and tsunami threats. The Land of the Rising Sun has repeatedly suffered from destructive elements, but the government did everything possible to prevent human casualties. However, in every system there is a failure, and an example of this is the sad fate of Okushiri Island, which in a few minutes turned from a prosperous settlement into ruins. In 1993, 27-meter waves literally washed away the island, taking most of the inhabitants with it. The tremors reached a magnitude of 7.8.
Tsunami off the coast of Ecuador
In 1979, deadly waves again swept along the west coast of America, this time the South. The tsunami occurred off the coast of Ecuador as a result of a 7.9 magnitude earthquake, which was later dubbed "Tomaco". This tragedy will forever remain in the memory of Ecuadorians and Colombians. About a dozen fishing villages were completely destroyed, many families were left without breadwinners, hundreds of parents mourned their dead children, and 95 people are still considered missing.
Tsunami off the island of Java
In 2006, the calm life of the island of Java was disrupted by a deadly tsunami that claimed 668 lives. The bodies of another 65 people could not be found. Seven-meter waves hit the island, leveling the resort town of Pangandaran and leaving more than 6,000 people homeless. 9,000 people needed medical attention, most of the roads and almost all the buildings on the island were destroyed.
