Tsunamis are unimaginable gigantic waves caused by earthquakes or under-the-sea volcanic eruptions. It is a series of waves which can destroy anything that comes in its way. The world has encountered tsunamis since long but the biggest tsunamis in history left mankind to mourn its technology and advancement resulting in a complete wreckage of the infrastructure.
Biggest tsunami in the history
The biggest tsunami in history hit the Lituya Bay of Alaska in 1958 which was caused by an earthquake, followed by a landslide. This tsunami is said to be the biggest tsunami in history as the waves produced were as high as 100 feet, and till date it is the tallest tsunami wave recorded.
Large tsunamis can continue to wreak havoc for days at a particular location. The peak waves are recorded between a couple of hours to a couple of days depending upon the intensity. The tsunami crests can range between five minutes to two hours, but the dangerous tsunami current waves can take days to subsidize before calming down completely.
The deadliest tsunami of all times
The deadliest tsunami to hit the face of earth was recorded on December 26, 2004, in the Indian Ocean affecting the coastline of as many as 11 countries. It is said to have the energy of 23,000 Hiroshima-type atomic bombs at once slamming killer waves from its epicenter to as far as East Africa and Thailand. It is also known as the BOXING DAY tsunami as it killed 230,000 people in a matter of a few hours.
The city of Banda Aceh in Indonesia was the epicenter of a powerful 9.1 magnitude earthquake that caused the first tsunami wave to hit the shore in mere 20 minutes. The Indian Ocean tsunami travelled to far fledge Africa for about 3000 miles and still hit the shores with the same intensity, thereby killing the people and destroying the properties.
One of the mysterious things about a tsunami is that it can’t be predicted beforehand. People who live at the shores of the ocean and whose livelihood is connected with the ocean say that sometimes it can be noticed and sometimes it hits at an instant. The rise and fall of the water level can be predicted as the good sign of the sea but it can also result in producing a big wave on its way. It is always advisable if such activity is noticed, go to higher grounds immediately.
The earthquake that caused the deadly Boxing Day tsunami in December 2004, lasted for about 10 excruciating minutes which resulted in the Indian Ocean losing its rim completely.
Another deadly tsunami hit Japan in 2011, which demolished its atomic reactors, resulting in loss of human lives and damage to properties on a very large scale.
The tsunami that jolted the shores of Japan is also considered as one of the biggest tsunamis in history. The tsunami waves hit the shores within an hour following an undersea earthquake of magnitude 9.0 which resulted in gigantic waves hitting the coastline of japan, killing more than 15000 people in an instant.
There is a long history of tsunamis that have hit different seashores at different times. We need to keep ourselves ready to counter tsunamis beforehand, by having robust warning systems in place. We can also minimize the after-effects of tsunamis by taking preventive measures and precautions.