Tsunamis
All around the world natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanoes, tornadoes, and hurricanes, are waiting to strike like a time bomb waiting to explode. Once unleashed, these natural disasters could become deadly. One of nature's tremendous natural disasters is the great waves of the mighty ocean. In the past people referred to them as 'tidal waves' a name that is misleading because these great waves are not related to the tides in any way. The Japanese, who have felt the waves destructive power for many generations, gave them the name Tsunami pronounced 'soo-nah'mee'. "The word Tsunami means 'harbor wave' which references the giant waves' ability to penetrate the protected harbors along Japan's coast" (Koenig, Science). Although these natural disasters are not as common as others, people need to be aware that Tsunamis can be very devastating and destructive, more so than tornados or other storms. People need to educate themselves on how tsunamis are formed, the destruction they can cause, and the warning and support centers that have been established before the clock runs out and it's too late.Before one can truly understand the devastation and destruction these natural disasters can cause, one must first understand
Current thinking is that these waves are not common in the United States so why should people waste their time learning about them. Well the fact is that these waves are extremely devastating and destructing and even though the United States hasn't experienced one first hand for some time they have begun to hit closer and closer to home over time. For example, on April 1, 1946, there was an earthquake that registered 7.1 on the Richter Scale in the Aleutian Islands (off the coast of Alaska). Five hours later the largest and most destructive tsunami, for this area, stuck the Hawaiian Islands. In some areas, the waves penetrated more than a half a mile inland. A total of 159 fatalities were reported. In 1964, an Alaskan earthquake generated a tsunami with waves between ten and twenty feet high along parts of the California, Oregon, and Washington coasts. This tsunami caused more than $84 million in damage in Alaska and reported a total of 123 fatalities. Scientist, currently, are keeping their eye on La Palma, one of the Canary Islands off the coast of North Africa. The only information they have so far, is that some time in the next few thousand years, a huge section of La Palma, weighing 500,000 million tons, will fall into the Atlantic ocean due to a volcano on the island erupting. Scientist predict that this eruption will generate a wave that will be inconceivably destructive; bigger than anything anyone has ever seen. It will penetrate out and travel clear across the Atlantic Ocean, in a matter of hours, engulfing the entire east coast of the United States from Boston to Miami. According to geologist and tsunami expert, Dr. James Goff, "more people will die from impact injuries or being crushed than by drowning. People will have their skin ripped off by sediment in the water. And just when they thought it was all over, people and debris would be sucked back out to sea by the receding wave" (Quirke, The Dominion). what causes tsunamis and how they are formed. There are many causes of tsunamis such as landslides, volcanoes, eruptions, and explosions, but the most common cause are earthquakes. "The relationship between earthquakes and tsunamis has been known for more than 2,000 years - ever since the Greek historian Thucydides connected an Aegean Tsunami in 426 B.C. to the quake that preceded it" (Koenig, Science). However, in order for a disturbance to generate a tsunami, the disturbance must occur underneath or ne
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1652
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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