Other hazards include flooding, contamination of drinking water and fires from gas lines or ruptured tanks. Tsunami waves and the receding water are very destructive to structures in the run-up zone. Drowning is the most common cause of death associated with a tsunami. Areas are at greater risk if they are less than 25 feet above sea level and within a mile of the shoreline. If a major earthquake or landslide occurs close to shore, the first wave in a series could reach the beach in a few minutes, even before a warning is issued. The most destructive tsunamis have occurred along the coasts of California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Hawaii.Įarthquake-induced movement of the ocean floor most often generates tsunamis. A tsunami can strike anywhere along most of the U.S. That is why a small tsunami at one beach can be a giant wave a few miles away.Īll tsunamis are potentially dangerous, even though they may not damage every coastline they strike. There may be more than one wave and the succeeding one may be larger than the one before. The topography of the coastline and the ocean floor will influence the size of the wave. Once the wave approaches the shore, it builds in height. A tsunami can move hundreds of miles per hour in the open ocean and smash into land with waves as high as 100 feet or more.įrom the area where the tsunami originates, waves travel outward in all directions. Tsunamis (pronounced soo-ná-mees), also known as seismic sea waves (mistakenly called "tidal waves"), are a series of enormous waves created by an underwater disturbance such as an earthquake, landslide, volcanic eruption or meteorite.
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