The Cause And Effects Of Tsunami Waves And Its Causes

In 2004 the world was shocked by the damage that was caused by the tsunami in Asia. The tsunami hit the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, India and more. The tsunami happened because of an earthquake that was a “9” on the richter scale. The undersea earthquake was caused when the Indian Plate was subducted by the Burma Plate. This caused a series of tsunamis along the coasts of many countries in southern Asia, bordering the Indian Ocean. 230,000 people in 14 different countries were killed and the waves rose up to 30 metres high(1). Tsunami waves are the number one natural disaster on earth killing the most people and causing the most damage(1).

What are tsunami waves and how do they happen? Tsunamis comes from two Japanese words. “Tsu” means harbor and “Nami” means wave: “harbor wave”. Tsunamis are caused by any kind of disturbance under the sea, generally in an ocean. Tsunamis can happen by Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions underwater explosions and other disturbances above or below water. All of these have the potential to create a tsunami.

Tectonic plates are pieces of Earth 's crust. The plates are around 100 km thick and consist of two types of material: oceanic plate and the continental plate(5).

The most common place for tsunamis to happen are the subduction zones, that are between the plates. When an oceanic plate hits a continental plate they pressed together and a pressure starts(5). The plates built pressure for years until the heavier plate (the oceanic plate)