A wave or series of waves that occur in an ocean or other large body of water and that are caused by some activity that displaces large amounts of water, such as seaquakes, landslides, large meteorite impacts or volcanic eruptions under the ocean.
Tsunamis can move hundreds of miles per hour out and away from their point of origin. Near seacoasts, tsunamis may become very large and cause great destruction, but in the deep open sea they cannot be detected by the eye.
Tsunami is the Japanese word for "harbor wave," and are sometimes known as tidal waves. Some tsunamis may reach heights of 100 feet or more.
The eruption of Krakatoa in 1883 formed waves that inundated whole districts in Java and Sumatra. Lisbon, Portugal (1755), and Hilo, Hawaii (1946), suffered disastrous floods from tidal waves caused by earthquakes.
Tsunami about to strike in tropical resort island.
"On that fateful morning in July, the people of Alexandria were struck by horrible phenomena, such as are related to us neither in fable nor in truthful history. For a little after daybreak, preceded by heavy and repeated thunder and lightning, the whole of the firm and solid earth was shaken and trembled."
As the quake itself subsided, the waters of the Mediterranean began pulling away ominously from the coasts, "so that in the abyss of the deep thus revealed men saw many kinds of sea-creatures stuck fast in the slime; and vast mountains and deep valleys, which Nature, the creator, had hidden in the unplumbed depths... first saw the beams of the sun."
Many people, thinking that the worst might be over, ventured into the suddenly shallow waters to gather stranded fish with their bare hands. But the worst was by no means over. The rapid drop in water level was soon followed by a tremendous wave that came crashing down on the city with all its terrifying power and fury. Ammianus described the scene in these words:
"The roaring sea, resenting, as it were, this forced retreat, rose in its turn... dashed mightily upon islands and broad stretches of the mainland, and leveled innumerable buildings.... The great mass of waters, returning when it was least expected, killed many thousands of men by drowning."
The Great Wave of Kanagawa, from the Series '36 Views of Mt. Fuji' (Fugaku Sanjuokkei), by Katsushika Hokusai — Buy this art print at AllPosters.
The unwise fishermen were no doubt among the drowned. So great was the force of the water that it lifted large ships and deposited them on the tops of buildings or carried them as far as two miles inland.
Later, when the waters had receded, many ships "were found to have been destroyed, and the lifeless bodies of shipwrecked persons lay floating on their backs or on their faces."
In 1846 inhabitants of Jamestown, St. Helena, were astounded when a huge wave suddenly appeared 500 yards from shore and smashed thirteen ships in the harbor to kindling. Boats farther out to sea were unaware of the tsunami.
In all, some 50,000 Alexandrians are thought to have perished in the earthquake and ensuing inundation.
In an age when extraordinary events were routinely attributed to God's will and disasters were viewed as divine punishment for man's sin, the earthquake caused astonishment and fear throughout the decaying Roman Empire.
Tsunami about to strike villagers in Babi Island, 1992.
People apprehensively recalled previous calamities and spoke of this one as only a preview of worse things to come. But Alexandria itself — and its remarkably sturdy lighthouse — endured, and for generations afterward its citizens commemorated the earthquake and flood of 365 with a yearly festival. On each anniversary of the disaster, according to the fifth-century lawyer and historian Sozomen, Alexandrians would make "a general illumination throughout the city," offer "thankful prayers to God," and celebrate "very brilliantly and piously" their city's survival."
Major Historical Tsunamis
Date
Place
Description
Estimated Deaths
1645 BC
Crete
Generated by the volcanic eruption of the ancient Greek island of Santorini
Unknown
July 21, AD 365
Alexandria
Generated by earthquake
50.000 +
June 7, 1692
Port Royal, Jamaica
Generated by earthquake
Thousands
January 26, 1700
Pacific Northwest and Japan
Generated by the Cascadia Earthquake (estimated 9.0 magnitude)
Unknown
1703
Japan
Generated by earthquake
100,000
1707
Japan
Generated by earthquake
30,000
1737
Cape Lopatka, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia
210 ft (64 m) high wave generated by earthquake
Unknown
November 1, 1755
Lisbon, Portugal
Waves 20-50 ft (6-15 m) high generated by earthquake
10,000-60,000
1782
South China Sea
Generated by earthquake
40,000
1792
Island of Kyushu, Japan
Generated by the collapse of of one of Mount Unzen's several lava domes
15,030
February 20, 1835
Talcahuano, Chile
Generated by earthquake in Concepcion
Unknown
August 8, 1868
Arica, Chile
50 ft (15 m) wave generated by earthquake
25,000+
August 27, 1883
Krakatoa, Indonesia
Generated by eruption of volcano
36,000
June 15, 1896
Honshu, Japan
100 ft (30 m) wave generated by earthquake; destroyed 175 mile (280 km) coastline
27,122
September 8, 1900
Galveston, Texas
Tidal wave generated by hurricane
9,000
December 28, 1908
Messina in Sicily and Italian coastal cities
Earthquake and 26 ft (8.5 m) wave
120,000
September 1, 1923
Sagami Bay, Kanto Plain, Atami and Nebukawa, Japan
Earthquake, fire, mudslide and 36 ft (11 m) wave
145,000
November 18, 1929
Grand Banks, Newfoundland
Triggered by a sub-marine landslide and earthquake
29
March 3, 1933
Sanriku, Japan
Generated by earthquake
2,990
April 1, 1946
Hilo, Hawaii and Aleutian Islands, Alaska
Generated by earthquake on Unimak Island, Alaska, creating waves up to 112 ft (35 m) high
150-190
November 4, 1952
Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia
Triggered by earthquake
Six cows died in Hawaii, no human lives were lost
June 23, 1955
Near Patani, Thailand
Tidal wave caused by bad weather
500
March 9, 1957
Aleutian Islands, Alaska. Also Hawaii
Triggered by earthquake south of the Andreanof Islands
Thanks to a timely alarm from the International Pacific Tsunami Warning Center at Honolulu, no human lives were lost
July 9, 1958
Lituya Bay, Alaska
Earthquake caused huge slab of ice and rock to fall off nearby glacier into bay; giant splash formed tsunami
3
May 22, 1960
Chile
Generated by a series of earthquakes
450-2,290
May 22, 1960
Hilo, Hawaii
Generated by a series of earthquakes (same as Chile on the same date)
61
March 28, 1964
Prince William Sound, Alaska
An earthquake and subsequent landslides generated a series of tsunamis, the highest reaching close to 100 ft (31.7 m)
130
November 13, 1970
East Pakistan
Monster waves generated by cyclone
500,000 - 800,000
November 29, 1974
Bangladesh, off Cox's Bazaar
12 ft (3.7 m) waves generated by cyclone
20
November 29, 1975
Island of Hawaii
Earthquake off the coast of the Island of Hawaii generated waves between 5ft and 45 ft (1.5 m and 14.3 m) high
2
January 19, 1976
Ganges Delta, Bangladesh
Tidal wave caused by bad weather
800 fishermen
August 17, 1976
Mindanao, Philippines
Generated by earthquake
8,000
July 18, 1979
Lomblem Island, Indonesia
6 ft (1.83 m) wave generated by volcano collapse
539
October 16, 1979
Nice, France
Undersea landslides generated 2 tsunamis one week apart
23
1983
Western Japan
Generated by earthquake
104
September 1, 1992
Nicaragua
Earthquake caused series of waves 35 ft (11 m) high
170
December 12, 1992
Flores Island & Babi Island
Series of tsunamis, generated by earthquake. Waves ranging from 18 ft to 80 ft (5 m to 25 m) high, depending where they hit.
1690 (Flores) 263 (Babi)
July 12, 1993
Island of Okushiri, Japan
Underwater earthquake generated waves 16 ft to 100 ft (5 to 31.7 m) high
200 +
June 3, 1994
Eastern Java, Indonesia
Earthquakes caused series of waves more than 200 ft (60 m) high
223
November 11, 1994
Mindoro Island
Generated by earthquake. Waves 22 ft (7 m) high
70
May 17, 1995
South East Bangladesh
Tidal wave generated by vicious storm
100
October 9, 1995
Jalisco, Mexico
Generated by earthquake. Waves 35 ft (11 m) high
1
January 1, 1996
Minahassa Peninsula, area of Sulawesi
Generated by earthquake. Waves 12 ft (4 m) high
24
February 17, 1996
Biak, Irian Java
Generated by earthquake. Waves ranging from 15 ft to 30 ft (4.5 to 9 m) high
161
February 21, 1996
North Coast of Peru
Generated by earthquake. Waves 16.5 ft (5 m) high
12
November 17, 1996
Near Brownsville, Texas
10 ft (3 m) high wave caused by bad weather
10
July 17, 1998
Papua - New Guinea
Generated by earthquake. Waves ranging from 22 ft to 47 ft (7 m to 15 m) high
3,000
September 15, 1999
Fatu Hiva, Marquesas Islands
Generated by landslide. Two waves 16.5 ft (5 m) high
Property damage, no human lives were lost
December 26, 2004
India, Indonesia (Sumatra and Java), Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand
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