1. By Ellie Mapes

3. Tsunami is a Japanese word which means ‘harbour wave’. A tsunami is an earthquake under the sea. (Well that’s how I think of it!!!) They can be caused by under-water landslides, volcanic eruptions, explosions, meteorites and obviously earthquakes!!! What happens is the tectonic plates under the sea rub together and create waves up to 10 metres and higher. They can be as long as 10km to 500km.

4. In the deep ocean there is an instrument called the TSUNAMETER. It measures the water pressure and the length of the harbour waves. As you can see it’s attached to the ocean floor and information is sent through satellites.

5. 1. Indonesian Tsunami. 26th December 2004 225,000 people died. 2. Krakatoa Indonesia. August 27 1883. 36,000 people died

6. · The speed of a Tsunami can be as fast as 200 metres per second. That’s more than 700 km per hour. · Like normal waves, tsunamis begin to lose energy as they approach the shore.

7. www.wikipedia.com www.youtube.com www.bom.gov.au www.wiki.answers.com www.telegraph.co.uk www.theworstdaily.com

8. It shows how devastating they can be. Here is a video clip of a Tsunami.