Terrifying and Troublesome Tsunamis

by Joe ClarkBlock 9

Tsunamis are started by landslides, earthquakes, or volcanoes.

The ocean floor must shift upward. A horizontal or sideways shift will not cause the waves.

Tsunami waves travel very fast. The closer to shore the wave get, the more

dangerous it becomes. The tsunami wave slows down in shallow water

and gets higher. The earthquake that causes the tsunami can

occur thousands of miles away from where the wave hits land.

Giant Ocean WavesInteresting Facts

How a Tsunami Develops

One of the worst tsunamis in the last century hit Papua, New Guinea, on July 17, 1998.

As described by Svitvil, the first event was an earthquake, only about 15 miles offshore, that measured 7.1 on the Richter scale.

More than 2,100 people died.

Deadly waves of a tsunami can be a serious disaster, striking with almost no warning.

good news: educational programs warning systems bad news: in many places warning systems are

not in place, and people have not been trained to recognize warning signals.

What can be done to reduce the damage caused by tsunamis?

Works Cited

Earthquake: Tsunamis. Art. Encyclopædia Britannica. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.

Gonzalez, Frank I. “Tsunami!” Scientific American. May 1999. 5 Jan. 2000. Print.

“Physics of Tsunamis.” West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center Home Page. Sept. 1999. Web. 10 Oct. 2013.

Svitil, Kathy A. “A Deadly Wave.” Discover. Jan. 1999: 68. Print.

“What Is a Tsunami?” The Handy Science Answer Book. Detroit: Visible Ink, 1994. Print.

Wilson, Robert E. “Tsunami.” Groiler Mulimedia Encyclopedia. Deluxe ed. Danbury Groilier, 1998. CD-ROM.