Studio One - For Displaced Dwellers

Write a description a tsunami and the typical conditions of the environment after a tsunami event has occurred. Continue your research by finding 3 geographic locations (city/town, country) which have experienced the natural disaster in the past 10 years. Write a description of these events and find images of the location during the aftermath of the disaster. 

What is a Tsunami?

Tsunamis are a natural disaster that happens regularly in coastal environments. Tsunamis are caused by a series of water waves that displace large bodies of water. These series of water waves are generated by earthquakes, underwater volcanic eruptions and other explosions that occur below in the depth of the sea.

The wavelength of a normal tsunami wave is vastly different to a normal wavelength.  The wavelength of a tsunami are much longer.

A normal wave breaks by rising to a peak and then crashing, however a tsunami from the shoreline does not appear like a rising and crashing wave, more like a solid body of water rapidly approaching the shoreline.   Often referred to as a tidal occurrence, tsunamis waves come in groups and the time in between waves can be as long as hours to as little as minutes apart.

Tsunamis and tides both produce waves that travel inland, but in the case of a tsunami the movement of water is much greater and lasts for a longer period.

Typical tsunami geographic location.
tsunamis can happen in any coastal environment, however a typical tsunami environment is generally a low-lying environment, like an island. 

1998 - Papua New Guinea
The 1998 Papua new guinea tsunami was caused by an earthquakes, causing landslides and in turn causing a tsunami. The earthquake hit a magnitude of 7.0 on the rictar scale, striking the north coast region off Papua New Guinea. Eruptions occurred 25km off the coast of Aitape and causing a Tsunami killing more than 2500 people.