The word Tsunami is Japanese for "harbour wave" a series of giant ocean waves (10 or more) created by underwater activity such as an earthquake, volcanic eruption can move 100's of mile per hour the waves can smash into land at 100's of miles an hour They can measure over 100 feet tall when they smash into land
A tsunami is a large sea wave produced by a sea-quake or undersea volcanic eruption. If the sea suddenly pulls back and leaves bare sand, making the beach seem a lot larger, a tsunami might occur
Tsunamis can flip vehicles, and demolish houses. Tsunami waves can be as long as 60 miles. Flooding from a tsunami can reach land 1000 ft that's about 300 meters.
Some Interesting Facts About Tsunami On July 12, 1993 a magnitude 7.8 earthquake in the Sea of Japan produced tsunami that totally destroyed the southern half of Okushiri Island. Waves were greater than 30 feet and some could have been 100 feet. The earthquake was about 50 miles offshore and the tsunami arrived within minutes. 120 people died. The states most at risk for Tsunami are California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington. Hawaii is at greatest risk and they have about 1 tsunami a year and a dangerous tsunami about every 7 years. On March 28, 1964 an extremely large earthquake (magnitude 8.4) struck Alaska. It caused tsunami waves that were very destructive in southeastern Alaska, in Vancouver Island, Canada, and in the States of Washington, California and Hawaii. Waves ranged in size from 6 to 21 feet. The tsunami killed more than 120 people and damages costing more than $106 million. It was the costliest tsunami ever to strike the Western United States and Canada. Although a large asteroid impact is highly unlikely, scientists studying the possibility have decided that a moderately large asteroid or about 5-6 km in diameter falling in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, would generate a tsunami that would travel all the way to the Appalachian Mountains in the upper two-thirds of the United States. Coastal cities would be wiped out by such a tsunami. Nuclear explosions could possible create tsunami but none have ever been generated from testing yet. Furthermore, such testing is currently banned by international treaty.
