Mega Disasters: Tsunami

Literally a wave of devastation; triggered by primarily by earthquakes, these giant waves can strike with unrivalled force and ferocity. The flashpoint that triggers a tsunami may be a thousand miles out to sea but this distance means little as the boiling wave travels at speeds of up to five hundred miles per hour towards the unsuspecting shore. Tsunamis can generate waves of up to one hundred feet high, but because of the inherent power of these events, even a shallow wave of just ten feet high can be highly destructive. Mega Disasters: Tsunami ï¾– The Ultimate Wave examines historic tsunamis, each slamming nature's full force into vulnerable and defenceless victims. With the world's populations amassed along the coastlines, the aftermath of tsunamis can devastate communities and economies. In 1960 the world's strongest recorded earthquake triggered a tsunami that wrecked havoc at Isla Chiloe, on the Chilean coast. Two thousand people were killed by the 75 foot high wave and two million were left homeless. The same tsunami hit Hawaii, Japan, the Philippines and the US.