How a Tsunami occurs

The word tsunami, which means "harbor wave", is used by the Japanese to name the tsunamis. This word became popular in the media for some years due to the various catastrophes that hit the Asian continent, but how does a tsunami occur ? In .com we explain it to you.

What is it?

When we speak of tsunami, we refer to a group of large waves and energy that occurs when a certain phenomenon vertically displaces a body of water. When these waves reach the coasts they usually slow down but increase their size and strength, which makes them masses with a great destructive power

What can produce a tsunami?

The most common tsunamis occur due to a high intensity earthquake, although other factors such as the eruption of a volcano, submarine explosions, landslides, subsidence of islands or the fall of a meteorite in the ocean could also lead to a seaquake

How does an earthquake produce a tsunami?

Tsunamis produced by earthquakes are known as tsunamis or tectonic tsunamis . When an oceanic plate moves or slides under another oceanic plate or under a continental plate, an energy release is produced that leads to an earthquake, but for it to cause a wave to move vertically and turn into a tsunami it must be higher than 6.5 on the Richter scale. These waves can reach a speed of 800 kilometers per hour which makes them reach the coast very quickly, depending on their energy and height can create many damages in their path. Photo: Google Images

What are the characteristics of a tsunami

On the high seas a tsunami can go unnoticed because the waves produced by the movement of the earth are disguised by the waves produced by the wind, but on the seabed where the earthquake has occurred, agitation can be perceived. Depending on how close the epicenter of the tsunami coast is, the mass can take between 10 and 70 minutes to reach the coast. At this point the wave significantly decreases its speed which causes it to suddenly increase its height and strength, the sea is removed several meters leaving much of the seabed of the coast before striking the bay, how Observe in this image. The damage caused will depend on the size and energy of the waves, but could range from erosion and displacement of land to the destruction of kilometers of coastline and buildings as was the case of the tsunami in Indonesia in 2004 or Japan in 2011. Photo : sanandreasfault.org