Tsunami Essay

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General
The word “tsunami” comes from the Japanese, in which “tsu” stands for harbor and “nami” means wave. Another name for tsunamis are seismic sea waves. A tsunami is defined as an ocean wave with long wavelengths that are produced by a landslide, volcano, or earthquake. After a tsunami is generated, the waves move very rapidly across the ocean, reaching speeds over 435 miles per hour. In open and deep waters, a tsunami may have a wavelength of 125 miles and a height around 1.5 feet making it almost impossible to recognize. However, when a tsunami hits shallower waters, the height of the wave starts to increase. Shallow waters cause the waves to slow down, which results in a shorter wavelength. Once a wave reaches the shoreline, a tsunami can amazingly reach as high as 130 feet up in the air. Often, tsunamis are mistaken as tidal waves, but they are not the same thing. Tidal waves are ocean waves like tsunamis, but tidal waves take place in shallow waters …show more content…

Since most tsunamis stem from earthquakes, scientists have discovered that we can use seismographs to detect them. Definition of a seismograph. With this technology, a warning can be issued to give people time to evacuate and go to safe grounds. However, if a tsunami is generated near a coast, coastguards (who?) may only be able to give people a few minute warning before the first wave hits.

Since the (date) Indian Ocean tsunami that devastated the blah, efforts have been made to advance tsunami warning systems in order to give people the best chance of survival. The NOAA Center for Tsunami Research, an environmental laboratory part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the United States Department of Commerce, stated that the East Coast of the US, Gulf of Mexico, and Puerto Rico were going to adopt the US tsunami warning

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