Tsunami

How do you say that again? Tsunami is a Japanese word meaning “Harbour Wave” ‘Tsu’ means ‘Harbour’ ‘Nami’ means ‘Wave’ It is pronounced Soo-Nah-Mee

Are Tsunamis and Tidal Waves the Same? TsunamiTidal Wave A series of waves generated when a body of water, such as a lake or ocean is rapidly displaced on a massive scale. An unusual, often destructive rise of water along the seashore, as from a storm or a combination of wind and high tide. Tsunamis and tidal waves are both large waves that cause a large amount of devastation HOWEVER they differ in how they are created and their intensity.

Tsunamis and Tectonic Plates Tsunamis are formed when there is a rapid displacement of water. Many things can cause this: Volcanic eruptions Underwater explosions (ex. natural gas or nuclear testing) Large meteorite impacts Most common trigger... Earthquakes

Earthquake Formation We already know that plates rub against each other causing friction. Over time the plates can stop moving against each other BUT that doesn’t mean they stop pushing against one another. This energy builds up and is released when the two plates finally slip past each other. Release of energy = Earthquake

Tsunmami Formation The fault line (two plates meeting) shifts, shifting the water column vertically. Water then moves away from earthquake epicentre at high speeds. Approx. 200m/s The danger happens as the wave hits the coastline. The wave is forced to slow down very quickly, but has too much energy behind it. The energy causes the waves to grow in height in order to displace the energy.

Important to Remember... Despite traveling at speeds of up to 700km/hr and losing very little speed while traveling in the open ocean, you are not likely to be aware of a tsunami’s energy moving through the water if you are in open ocean. Everything appears normal! Danger occurs at the coastline NOT in the open ocean.

Canada’s Tsunamis Yes! It’s true! Canada has had tsunamis in the past! LocationDateCauseAdditional Info. Halifax, Nova Scotia Dec. 6, 1917Explosion of a ship during WWI Killed 1,900 Injured 9,000 Burin Peninsula, Newfoundland Nov. 18, 1929Earthquake (7.2 magnitude) Devastated a local town, 27 drown, over $2 million in damages Straight of Georgia, B.C. June 23, 1946Minor earthquakeNot enough energy to reach shore Vancouver Island, B.C. Oct. 22, 1960Earthquake (9.5 magnitude) Damage to log booms, devastated Hawaii. Kitimat Inlet, B.C.April 27, 1975Underwater landslide Port Alberni, B.C.Mar. 27, 1964Earthquake (8.5 magnitude) Earthquake occurred off Alaska, strongest one in N. America ever recorded. No deaths, over $8 million in damages. Data obtained from:

Case Study: Indonesia December 26, 2004 Around the world this is a day for family. The day following Christmas many families are spending time together at home or shopping for the latest deals. What were you doing? Other people weren’t so lucky. Lives were drastically changed.

What Happened? An earthquake with the magnitude of 9.3 occurred on the ocean floor near the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. Known as the Indian Ocean earthquake or the Great Sumatra-Andaman earthquake, it lasted almost 10 minutes. This is the longest duration ever recorded for an earthquake. This is the second strongest earthquake recorded in history. The strongest earthquake recorded was 9.5 in Valdivia Chile on May Earthquake Epicentre

Earthquake Facts Equivalent to 23,000 Hiroshima bombs Epicentre of quake Number of aftershocks since the initial quake Number of aftershocks which registered 6.0 or larger on the Richter scale Estimated size of the fault line which produced the quake Amount of energy released by the quake 250 km SSE of Banda Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia ,200-1,300km

Who Was Affected? India Bangladesh Myanmar Thailand Malaysia Indonesia Sri Lanka Somalia Kenya Tanzania Madagascar South Africa

Property Damage The following pictures are satellite pictures showing the cities and villages before the tsunami and after. How would you describe the damage?

Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Nearby the epicentre.

The villages of Lhoknga and Lampuuk Aceh, Indonesia

The Solomon Islands

Sumatra Coastline

Gleeburk, Indonesia

Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

Human Loss CountryKilledMissingDisplaced Indonesia130,70037,000500,000 Sri Lanka35,300515,100 India12,4005,640647,500 Thailand5,4002,8007,000 Somalia785,000 Myanmar452003,200 Maldives822615,000 Over 225,000 people were lost to this natural disaster

Why was there such a large loss of life? Human Population Patterns Most of the world’s largest populations are found along coastlines. Why? Food (ex. fishing industries), Economy (ex. fishing, tourism), Nowhere else to go. No Warning System There was no early warning system in the Indian Ocean. People were caught completely off guard. Destruction of Natural Habitats Destroyed coral reefs in order to allow shipping traffic or fish farming -- this reduced the natural barrier that reefs can provide. Mangrove trees cut down on shorelines in order to build hotels and houses. These trees help reduce the impact of tsunamis. Sand dunes have been removed in order to create flat beaches and easy access to the water but these are natural barriers.

Prevention: Education! An earthquake is a natural tsunami warning. An approaching tsunami is sometimes preceded by a noticeable fall or rise in the water level. Avoid going down on the beach if the water recedes. A tsunami is a series of waves and that the first wave may not be the most dangerous. A tsunami surge may be small at one point of the shore and large at another point a short distance away. Tsunamis can travel up rivers and streams that lead to the ocean.

The next slide shows the donations made by countries around the world after this horrendous event. This is NOT meant to be a “who donated the most?” slide, but information showing you how people around the world were greatly effected by the tsunami and wanted to help.

Money Donated to Tsunami Relief DonatorMoney Amounts World Bank$250 million (USD) European Union$2 billion (USD) Canada$80 million Japan$500 million United States$350 million Britain50 million pounds Finland10 million euros Australia$1.6 billion These are just a few examples of the donations made from across the world. Almost $4 BILLION dollars!

Tsunami Prevention Tsunamis themselves can not be prevented but the damage they cause can be minimalized. Tsunami walls can be built to force the energy of the tsunami back toward the ocean. Flood gates and water channels can redirect water from smaller tsunamis. Replacing destroyed natural habitat to buffer the force of the tsunami – mangroves, coral reefs. Deep ocean detection buoys – notifying of ocean floor movement and energy displacement. A.k.a. A possible early warning system.

Google image search: before and after tsunami pictures