Tsunami, features and articles | Educational Science

Apr 3, 2015

2011 Japan Tsunami Unleashed Ozone-Destroying Chemicals

The 2011 tsunami that struck Japan released thousands of tons of ozone-destroying chemicals and greenhouse gases into the air, a new study shows. Thanks to the country's strict building codes, the enormous magnitude-9 Tohoku earthquake left Japan's homes and businesses relatively untouched. But the earthquake triggered a deadly tsunami that...

Apr 27, 2015

LA's Island Playground Could Trigger Tsunamis

PASADENA, Calif. — Landslides coming off Catalina Island's steep slopes could send tsunamis racing toward popular Los Angeles and Orange County beaches with just a few minutes of warning, geoscientists said on April 23 here at the annual meeting of the Seismological Society of America. Researchers discovered chaotic deposits that...

Apr 28, 2015

2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami Had Deadly Predecessors

PASADENA, Calif. — Indian Ocean tsunamis destroyed one of the world's most important silk-route ports in the 15th century, new research finds. Yet there is little record of this devastating tragedy passed down in stories or written records on the island of Sumatra. Researchers now think the history vanished because...

Jun 1, 2015

Continental Collision Could Trigger California Tsunami

Massive undersea earthquakes off the coast of California could send a tsunami crashing into Los Angeles or San Diego, new research suggests. As the North American and Pacific tectonic plates grind past each other, large chunks of Earth's crust wedged between them get squeezed and twisted off Southern California and...

Oct 2, 2015

Mega Tsunami with 500-Foot Waves Swallowed Ancient Island

A mega tsunami taller than a 50-story skyscraper once engulfed an island off the west coast of Africa, researchers say. This finding suggests the giant landslides and killer waves that such tsunamis can trigger might pose a major hazard to people living on islands and coasts, scientists added. Tsunamis are...

Jan 7, 2019

Dinosaur-Killing Asteroid Triggered Mile-High Tsunami That Spread Through Earth's Oceans

When the dinosaur-killing asteroid collided with Earth more than 65 million years ago, it did not go gently into that good night. Rather, it blasted a nearly mile-high tsunami through the Gulf of Mexico that caused chaos throughout the world's oceans, new research finds. The 9-mile-across (14 kilometers) space rock,...

Oct 19, 2020

Ice melt in Alaska threatens to unleash unprecedented 'mega-tsunami,' scientists warn

A giant, catastrophic tsunami in Alaska triggered by a landslide of rock left unstable after glacier melting is likely to occur in the next two decades, scientists fear - and it could happen within the next 12 months. A group of scientists warned of the prospects of this impending disaster...

Dec 3, 2020

Lost islands beneath the North Sea survived a mega-tsunami 8,000 years ago

Some ancient islands now submerged beneath the North Sea survived a devastating tsunami about 8,000 years ago and may have played a key part in Britain's human prehistory, according to a new study. The research suggests some parts of the ancient plain known as Doggerland — which connected Great Britain...

Jan 15, 2022

4-foot tsunami hits Tonga after explosive eruption of underwater volcano

A tsunami triggered by the explosive eruption of the underwater Tonga volcano in the Pacific Ocean slammed the shoreline of the Pacific nation Saturday (Jan. 15), sending residents rushing for higher ground, according to news reports. A 4-foot-tall (1.2 meters) tsunami reportedly hit Tonga’s capital of Nuku’alofa, which is about...

Feb 10, 2022

'Invisible' earthquake caused mysterious 2021 tsunami, scientists find

The mysterious source of a globe-spanning tsunami that spread as far as 6,000 miles (10,000 kilometers) from its epicenter was an invisible earthquake, a new study has found. In August 2021, an enormous tsunami rippled out into the North Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. It was the first time a...

Feb 25, 2022

Japan earthquake & tsunami of 2011: Facts and information

The Japan earthquake and tsunami of 2011, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami or the Great Tohoku earthquake, was a natural disaster that shook northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011. The disaster began when a magnitude-9 earthquake shook the region in the early afternoon, unleashing a savage...

Mar 16, 2022

Magnitude-7.3 earthquake strikes Fukushima, tsunami warning issued

A tsunami warning has been issued for Fukushima after a powerful 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck the east coast of Japan, according to Japanese government officials. In a translated announcement, the Japan Meteorological Agency said the quake hit 36 miles (60 kilometers) below the sea at roughly 11.30 p.m. local time on...

Oct 18, 2022

Powerful 8.1-magnitude earthquake off New Zealand triggers tsunami warnings

A tsunami warning has been issued for parts of New Zealand, with some residents being told to evacuate, after a strong earthquake struck off the country's coast on Friday (March 5), according to news reports. The powerful 8.1-magnitude earthquake occurred at 8:28 a.m. local time near New Zealand's Kermadec Islands,...

Apr 28, 2023

1st mega-tsunami on record since antiquity was triggered by Tonga volcanic eruption

The Tonga underwater volcanic eruption rivaled the strength of the largest U.S. nuclear bomb and produced a mega-tsunami nearly the height of a 30-story skyscraper, a recent study finds. On Jan. 15, 2022, the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai submarine volcano — a large, cone-shaped mountain located near the islands of the...

Dec 11, 2023

Tsunamis up to 90 feet high smash into New Zealand every 580 years, study finds

Tsunami waves 92 feet (28 meters) high could hit parts of New Zealand in a worst-case earthquake scenario, research finds. In the study, researchers used a new method of examining simulated earthquakes to understand possible tsunami risks to New Zealand's North and South Islands. They found that the largest waves...