The biggest tsunamis

November 5, 1952 Severo-Kurilsk (USSR).

It was caused by a powerful earthquake (magnitude estimates vary from 8.3 to 9 according to various sources), which occurred in the Pacific Ocean 130 kilometers from the coast of Kamchatka. Three waves up to 15-18 meters high (according to various sources) destroyed the city of Severo-Kurilsk and caused damage to a number of other settlements. According to official figures, 2336 people died. The population of Severo-Kurilsk before the tragedy was about six thousand people.

View of the port part of Severo-Kurilsk, where the whole city was located before the 1952 tsunami

03/9/1957 Alaska, (USA).

Caused by an earthquake with a magnitude of 9.1 that occurred on the Andreyanovsky Islands (Alaska), which caused two waves, with an average wave height of 15 and 8 meters, respectively. In addition, as a result of the earthquake, the Vsevidov volcano, located on the island of Umnak, woke up and had not erupted for about 200 years. More than 300 people died in the disaster.

07/09/1958 Lituya Bay, (southwest Alaska, USA).

The earthquake, which occurred north of the bay (on the Fairweather fault), initiated a strong landslide on the slope located above the Lituya Bay of the mountain (about 300 million cubic meters of earth, stones and ice). All this mass filled up the northern part of the bay and caused a huge wave of a record height of about 150 meters, moving at a speed of 160 km/h. The maximum height at which the destruction caused by the wave was recorded was 524 meters above sea level.

03/28/1964 Alaska, (USA).

The largest earthquake in Alaska (magnitude 9.2), which occurred in the Prince William Sound, caused a tsunami of several waves, with the highest height - 67 meters. As a result of the disaster (mainly due to the tsunami), according to various estimates, from 120 to 150 people died.

07/17/1998 Papua New Guinea.

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake off the northwestern coast of New Guinea triggered a powerful underwater landslide that triggered a tsunami that killed more than 2,000 people.

At 00:58 there was a powerful earthquake - the second most powerful of all recorded (magnitude 9.3), which caused the deadliest of all known tsunamis. Asian countries (Indonesia - 180 thousand people, Sri Lanka - 31-39 thousand people, Thailand - more than 5 thousand people, etc.) and African Somalia suffered from the tsunami. The total number of deaths exceeded 235 thousand people.

Village in ruins off the coast of Sumatra

An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8 caused a tsunami with a wave height of 30-50 cm. However, thanks to a timely warning, the population from dangerous areas was evacuated.

Caused by a magnitude 8 earthquake in the South Pacific. Waves several meters high reached New Guinea. The tsunami killed 52 people.

The strongest earthquake of magnitude 9.0 with an epicenter located 373 km northeast of Tokyo caused a tsunami with a wave height exceeding 40 meters. According to the data obtained, the hypocenter of the earthquake was at a depth of 32 km. The source of the earthquake was located to the east of the northern part of the island of Honshu and extended for a distance of about 500 km. In addition, the earthquake and the ensuing tsunami caused the Fukushima I nuclear accident. injured.

1) Tsunami in Southeast Asia - 12/26/2004
Giant waves formed by a powerful underwater earthquake with a magnitude of 9.3 Richter. Waves of gigantic heights crashed at different times on the coasts of several countries in Southeast Asia and even reached the shores of West Africa. The global warning system did not save from the destructive wave, despite the fact that American satellites detected the beginning of the tsunami 15 minutes after the earthquake. American meteorologists could not report the tragedy that claimed the lives of about 300 thousand people. American politicians took the rap for them, delivering humanitarian aid and declaring that assistance to the affected countries was in the political interests of the United States.

2) Alaska, USA - 03/28/1964
On March 28, 1964, at 5:30 p.m., an earthquake of magnitude 9.2 Richter struck the Prince William Sound. It was the most powerful earthquake in Alaska - it is compared with the explosion of the equivalent of 12,000 atomic bombs! The disaster resulted in the death of 122 people, most of them went missing - most likely, they were washed away by water. Tsunami waves reached 67 meters - this is the maximum recorded height.
On "Blessed Easter Friday", the highest wave wiped out 3 villages in Alaska, where 107 people died. 4 people died in Oregon and 11 people in California. This happened when a giant wave passed along the West Coast of the United States. The city of Valdez was completely destroyed, most of the office and business buildings in the center of Anchorage were completely destroyed. The fish and crab factories on Kodiak Island looked like they had been hit by a series of explosions.

3) Lituya Bay, (southwest Alaska, USA) - 07/09/1958
An earthquake on the Fairweather Fault triggered a massive landslide from the side of a mountain located above Lituya Bay (more than three hundred million cubic meters of rocks, soil and ice). This giant mass crashed into the waters of the northern part of the bay and caused a giant wave 52.4 meters high, moving at a speed of 160 km / h.

4) Izu and Miyake Islands (east of Japan) - 01/09/2005
In 2005, an earthquake of magnitude 6.8 on the Richter scale hit the eastern coast of Japan. The Japanese meteorological services reported the approach of the tsunami about 10 minutes after the first underwater tremors.
After the alarm was sounded, rescue services evacuated the inhabitants of the Izu Islands from the coast to safer places, with the exception of special observers. The wave traveled to Miyake Island for about 30 minutes. According to experts, such a fast wave, even with a height of half a meter, could be a threat to people.

5) Severo-Kurilsk (USSR) - 11/5/1952
In the autumn of 1952, the eastern coast of Kamchatka, the islands of Paramushir and Shumshu, were on the way to the raging elements. The 1952 tsunami in Severno-Kurilsk is recognized as one of the five largest in the history of the 20th century.
Severo-Kurilsk was completely destroyed. The Kuril and Kamchatka settlements of Levashovo, Utesny, Coastal, Reef, Rocky, Galkino, Podgorny, Okeansky, Major Van, Shelekhovo, Baikovo, Savushkino, Kozyrevsky, Babushkino were razed to the ground ...
That autumn of 1952, the country suspected nothing. The Soviet press did not get information either about the tsunami in the Kuriles, or about hundreds and thousands of dead and missing.
6) Alaska, (USA) - 03/09/1957
Another terrible tsunami caused by an earthquake in Alaska - March 9, 1957 on the Andreanov Islands. The earthquake reached 9.1 on the Richter scale. The shocks generated as many as two tsunamis, the approximate height of the waves reached 15 and 8 meters, respectively. The storm claimed the lives of 300 people. The earthquake triggered the eruption of the Vsevidov volcano on Umnak Island, which had been dormant for more than 200 years.
The consequences of the shocks were also felt on the island of Andrianov's Spit, where damage was done to buildings, two bridges were destroyed, and roads cracked. More global damage was caused by the subsequent tsunami, it reached the Hawaiian Islands, the coast of California, Japan and Chile. In Hawaii, two villages were completely wiped off the face of the earth, material damage amounted to $ 5 million.

7) Papua New Guinea - 07/17/1998
On the evening of July 17, an earthquake measuring 7 on the Richter scale struck Papua New Guinea. The epicenter was 640 km from the coast in the open ocean, just opposite the small town of Aitape. The shocks were practically not felt on land. A few people woke up, but hardly paid much attention. After 15-20 minutes, the first of 3 giant waves hit the island.
Retreating, the waves dragged people, cars and buildings behind them. Low-strength houses could not withstand the pressure of the waves, they were also dragged into the ocean. 2200 people died.

8) Concepción Chile - 02/27/2010
An earthquake with a magnitude of 8.8 Richter was recorded 115 kilometers north of the city of Concepción, located close to the center. The earthquake brought great destruction. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center gave information that the tremors caused a tsunami. Experts specified that the waves reached a height of three meters. The number of victims reaches 300 people.

9) Solomon Islands (archipelago) - 2.04.2007
On April 2, 2007 at 7 am local time, an earthquake of magnitude 6.9 on the Richter scale hit the South Pacific Ocean. The tremors were recorded near the Solomon Islands at a depth of ten kilometers.
Tsunami warnings have been issued in several South Pacific countries. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center announced the possibility of a wave near the Solomon Islands and near the island of New Guinea. For other states of the South Pacific, a low level of threat was declared. There was no evacuation.

10) The coast of Japan - 09/06/2004
110 km from the coast of the Kii Peninsula and 130 km from the coast of Kochi Prefecture, two rather strong earthquakes struck, with a power of about 6.8 and 7.3 on the Richter scale, which caused a tsunami. The waves reached a meter height. Several dozen people became victims of the water element.

The worst earthquake and tsunami in the last decade happened in Japan in 2011 ().

The largest tsunami, like any other tsunami, is the formation of a large wave, the impact of which is caused by a strong earthquake. The mass of water becomes so crushing that it is able to destroy even coastal houses, and sometimes even demolish entire villages and towns.

As a rule, the speed of tsunami waves in the process of formation exceeds several times the speed of the wind itself, which created the wave. In this material, we will talk about the process of the appearance of large waves in the seas and oceans, about their crushing energy, and also tell about where the largest tsunamis in the world were observed. For convenience, we have compiled a list of the most devastating tsunamis in history.

Top biggest tsunamis in the world

10. Tsunami on the coast of Japan (2004)

This tsunami was caused by two strong earthquakes, which occurred 130 km from the coast of Kochi and 110 km from the coast of the Kii Peninsula. The magnitude of the earthquakes was 7.3 and 6.8, respectively. The resulting tsunami wave was one meter long. As a result of the earthquake and tsunami, more than a dozen people were injured.

9. Tsunami in the Solomon Islands (2007)

This tsunami was caused by a powerful earthquake with a total magnitude of 8 points, which occurred in the southern waters of the Pacific Ocean. In New Guinea, tsunami waves reached more than one meter in height. The tsunami claimed the lives of 52 people.

8. Tsunami that occurred in Concepción, Chile (2010)

Tremors of magnitude 8.8 provoked the strongest tsunami 115 kilometers north of central Chile, near the city of Concepción. The wave height in this case reached three meters. On that day, February 27, 2010, the tsunami claimed the lives of more than a hundred people.

7. Tsunami in Papua New Guinea (1998)

This powerful tsunami on the northwest coast of New Guinea was caused by a powerful water landslide, which was triggered by an earthquake of magnitude 7 points. The height of the tsunami wave reached three meters. The earthquake, landslide and tsunami killed 2,000 people. This is considered one of the biggest tragedies due to a natural disaster in the 90s of the last century.

6. Tsunami in Alaska, USA (1957)

The tsunami caused by an earthquake with a maximum amplitude of almost 9.1 points, back in 1957, in Alaska, consisted of two huge waves, 15 and 8 meters high, respectively. As a result of these cataclysms, the Vsevidov volcano, located on the island of Umnak, woke up, the activity of which was not observed for 200 years. The disaster claimed the lives of more than 300 people.

5. Tsunami in Severo-Kurilsk, USSR (1952)

This tsunami was caused by the most powerful earthquake on the coast of Kamchatka, magnitude 9. Three crushing waves from 15 to 18 meters high hit the city of Severo-Kurilsk at once, which completely destroyed the entire city and claimed the lives of almost 3 thousand people. This is one of the worst disasters in the history of the USSR.

4. Tsunami on the islands of Izu and Miyake, east Japan (2005)

An earthquake of not the strongest magnitude of 6.8 points, caused waves of unprecedented height (50 meters) in eastern Japan. Fortunately, as a result of such a powerful tsunami, not a single person was injured on the islands. All thanks to a timely warning. The entire population was evacuated from potentially dangerous areas.

3. Tsunami of Lituya Bay, southwest Alaska, USA (1958)

This tsunami was caused by an earthquake that triggered a major landslide that came down from Mount Lituya, located just above the bay just north of the bay, right on the Fairweather Fault. The landslide brought down about 300 cubic million of earth, rock fragments and ice, causing a wave 53 meters high and a speed of 160 km/h.

2. The strongest tsunami in Alaska, USA (1964)

In 1964, Alaska was hit by the strongest earthquake in history with a total magnitude of 9.2. The earthquake occurred in the Prince William Sound and caused several dozen powerful waves. The length of the largest wave was 67 meters. The disaster claimed the lives of 150 people.

1. Tsunami that occurred in Southeast Asia (2004)

The largest tsunami in the world in history has become a real nightmare for three countries in Southeast Asia at once. An earthquake with a magnitude of 9.3 caused a series of incessant waves, the height of which reached up to 90 meters. The tsunami killed 180,000 people in Indonesia, 39,000 more in Sri Lanka and 5,000 in Thailand. The total number of deaths was almost 240 thousand people. Unprecedented damage was done to the infrastructure of the southeastern countries.

Video from its destruction is still horrific, after 11 years:

Interesting facts: the process of the tsunami

The process of the emergence of large and crushing waves is mainly accompanied by strong underground and underwater shocks, the vibrations of which cause a tsunami. But not infrequently, tsunamis occur due to strong winds that are able to move water layers at a very high speed. Waves can accelerate to several tens of kilometers per hour and be more than a hundred meters long. Such waves, as a rule, can travel great distances across the sea and ocean, which causes danger. But in most cases, the kinetic energy of such waves is very quickly extinguished due to insufficient wind speed.

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TSUNAMI IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA

TSUNAMI IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA

On July 17, 1998, two earthquakes of magnitude 7.1 shook the northwestern coast of Papua New Guinea. The epicenter was located 50 km from the village of Aitape. The earthquake led to the formation of a destructive wave up to 15 m high in one of the most remote and isolated parts of the coast of the island. The death toll from the tsunami exceeded 2,100 people, and several thousand were left homeless.

Before the tragedy, in that part of the coast there was a small paradise lagoon Varupu with two small islands inhabited by the Papuans. But the tremors that occurred at the bottom of the sea with an interval of 20 minutes initiated an underwater landslide, which descended at a distance of more than 3200 km from the crash site. The emerging wave washed away 3 villages on a 30 km coastline. More than 1,100 people were injured in seven settlements. In the country's capital Rabaul, 1100 km from the epicenter of the cataclysm, the sea level rose by 60 mm.

In this region of the Earth, tsunamis of this height have not been recorded, although small ones happen here all the time. The consequence of the earthquake was a sunken coast with a length of about 100 km. As a result, local residents were able to admire the newly appeared large lagoon up to 4 m deep.

Since Europeans first came to these islands (1st half of the 16th century), no significant seismicity has been observed here.

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A giant wave never appears just like that, the main thing is to be aware of the dangerous regions and take precautions.

Causes of a tsunami

• Tsunamis are caused by earthquakes, but not every earthquake will necessarily cause a tsunami.
• The great Lisbon earthquake of 1755, which claimed the lives of more than 50 thousand people off the coast of Spain and Portugal, is associated by experts with the tidal effects of the Moon and the Sun on the earth's crust.
• The 1998 tsunami, which demolished everything in its path in the Papua New Guinea region, arose due to a landslide, the descent of which, in turn, provoked an earthquake of medium power ().
• The so-called "meteorological" tsunamis appear against the background of typhoons: after a sharp turn of the typhoon to the side, the resulting wave can continue to move independently (for example, the 2011 tsunami near the English city of Plymouth was caused by a storm in the Bay of Biscay).
• "Exclusive" tsunamis are caused by underwater volcanic eruptions (for example, the tsunami of 1883, formed after the eruption of Krakatau volcano), meteorite falls (the documentary of the National Geographic channel mentions traces of a tsunami preserved in Texas after a meteorite fall 65 million years ago ) and man-made disasters.

Philippines, Malay Archipelago

The Philippine Islands are located in a seismically active zone. And where there are earthquakes, there are tsunamis, and it is impossible to predict which of the seven thousand islands will be under attack this year. In 2013, these were the islands of Samar and Leyte, where waves up to 5 meters high claimed the lives of 10 thousand people and left about half a million local residents homeless. And the worst tsunami in the history of the Philippines occurred in 1976, when, as a result of an earthquake in the Cotabato ocean trench, a wave hit the island of Mindanao, killing 8,000 people.

Gizo, Solomon Islands

The Solomon Islands, tiny patches of land scattered across the Pacific Ocean, are defenseless against the destructive power of the tsunami, which was confirmed in 2007, when the cities of Gizo and Noro completely disappeared under water.

Honshu, Japan

In 2012, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake, which occurred near the Philippine city of Guan, “rolled back” in Japan with a tsunami a little over half a meter high, covering the metropolitan area and Fukushima Prefecture. Compared to the truly horrific devastation of 2011, when a 9-magnitude earthquake dubbed the "Great East Japan Earthquake" was followed by a tsunami up to 40 meters high, flooding a total area of ​​561 square kilometers.

Miyagi Prefecture (327 km 2) was hit the hardest, and the highest wave height (40.5 meters) was recorded in Iwate Prefecture. Considering that the word “tsunami” itself came to us from the Japanese language (literally translated as “big wave in the harbor”), the Japanese, who had been familiar with this natural phenomenon for centuries, were not ready for a tragedy of such magnitude.

Maldives

Despite its seemingly vulnerable position, the Maldives archipelago experienced the only major tsunami in 2004. There is a threat, but coral reefs serve as a reliable natural system for protecting the island from surprises from the ocean.

More dangerous than the waves

• The mechanism of formation of a tsunami differs from the mechanism of formation of an ordinary wave, and this is where its danger lies.
• In a strong wind, the height of an ordinary wave can significantly exceed the height of an average 5-meter tsunami and even reach a 20-meter mark, but at the same time, the length of such a wave is no more than a couple of hundred meters.
• During underwater earthquakes, the entire water column comes into motion, so that the length of a tsunami wave is measured in thousands of kilometers, and the speed can reach 1000 km / h.
• An ordinary wave is driven by the wind, and a tsunami carries a huge charge of energy, moving towards land with all its might.
• While the storm wave in narrow spaces loses its pressure, the power of the tsunami, on the contrary, is concentrated there, and it destroys everything in its path.

Phuket, Thailand

A magnitude 9 earthquake brought death and destruction to the Thai island of Phuket in 2004. Despite the fact that the epicenter of the earthquake was in the Indian Ocean near the island of Sumatra, the tsunami that followed it reached the shores of Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India and even South Africa. Three waves hit in turn, numerous buildings, local residents and tourists were under water.

Hilo, Hawaii

In the Hawaiian Islands, more precisely, in the city, the International Tsunami Warning Service is located. The place was not chosen by chance: Hawaii is regularly covered by waves about 2 meters high, while the main blow falls on the city of Hilo, which is located on the shores of the bay of the same name. Despite the small wave height, Hawaiian tsunamis are among the most dangerous, because if a person falls into a tsunami wave on one of the local sandy bays with a very short beach, he will simply be smashed against the rocks. But if you are careful, then there is nothing to worry about: all such areas are marked with warning signs, and sirens are installed along the banks of the islands.

Alaska, USA

Alaska had two powerful tsunamis in a row at once: in 1957 and 1958, giant waves covered the Andreanov Islands and Lituya Bay, respectively. In 1958, the impact of the wave was so strong that the whole strip of land was actually destroyed - the La Gaussy spit.

Kamchatka, Russia

Tsunami waves come to Kamchatka from a zone prone to earthquakes, which is located in the Kuril-Kamchatka and Aleutian trenches. The three most powerful attacks of ocean waters occurred in the last century: in 1923, the wave height reached 30 meters, in 1952 - 15 meters, in 1960 - 7 meters.

Iquique, Chile

On May 22, 1960, an earthquake of magnitude 9.5 occurred near the Chilean city of Valdivia, the strongest earthquake in modern human history. And of course, there was a tsunami: in addition to the damage caused directly to the Chilean coast by a 20-meter wave, it reached Alaska, the shores of the Kuril Islands, Japan and swept the Hawaiian city of Hilo, taking about 6 thousand people into the ocean. In 2014, residents of the port town of Iquique were evacuated, where, after an earthquake of 8.2 points, a two-meter tsunami wave came.

Acapulco, Mexico

Despite the fact that the April 2014 earthquake of 7.2 magnitude did not cause a tsunami, the Mexican resorts of Acapulco and Zihuatanejo are under constant threat of a sudden onset of a killer wave. So if the ocean suddenly retreated from the shore, it's time to run.

Tsunami statistics

What to do if "covered"

• If you are in the coastal zone and feel an earthquake, leave the coast within 15-20 minutes.
• If you didn't feel an earthquake, you can guess the approach of a tsunami by a strong ebb tide.
• While the tsunami is approaching, in no case do not waste time in vain: do not go down to look at the exposed seabed, do not shoot the wave with your camera. Immediately look for a hill at least 40 meters in height, preferably warning others about the danger without sowing panic.
• If you are in a building (for example, a hotel) and there is no time left to look for a hill, go up to the upper floors of the building and barricade the windows and doors. Take a safe place: there should be no potentially dangerous objects near you (for example, cabinets that can fall or mirrors that can break).
• If you can't find a hill, try to take cover behind any obstacle that is significant for water (for example, a strong tall tree or a large stone) and cling to it so that you are not carried away by the flow of water into the ocean.
• If a tsunami caught you on the high seas (for example, you were on a ship and you were thrown into the water by a wave), do not panic, take a breath, group yourself and cover your head with your hands. After emerging to the surface, get rid of wet clothes as quickly as possible and find any object that you can cling to (in 2004 in Thailand, one of the survivors managed to swim out, clinging to the tail of a crocodile, and the other to a python).
• After the elements have raged, do not return to the sea for 2-3 hours: a tsunami is a series of waves.

Photo: thinkstockphotos.com, flickr.com