津波 つなみ tsunami
A tsunami is a giant tidal wave. Japan has experienced this kind of wave over the centuries, but more recently these waves are being named using the Japanese word. The power of tsunami are almost unmeasurable. These days with modern computers and impact models the effects are being studied and measured. Even so, scientists still get it wrong regularly, as the giant tsunami off the Indonesian coast on Boxing Day proved. Hawaii is another country which is aware of tsunami effects, as it regularly experiences them, being out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
A couple of facts need to be remembered: no-one can outrun or out-drive a tsunami. They can travel at a speed of some 800 kilometres an hour (the speed of a plane).
And also: 1000 litres of water is one tonne of weight, so if 20 kilometres wall of water rushes towards you, it is like being hit by a mountain. Fatal.
However, most damage and most injuries are caused by the debris, the flotsam and the wreckage that are carried along by the water. In certain circumstances trees, houses, boats, cars, even houses can be swept along. The human body has no chance.
The following images, though they may have temporary awe and amazement for a potential surfer, they are truly ghastly and to be feared in any real tsunami situation.
This is how tsunamis work according to scientific research:
This is a wood-block print by a famous Japanese artist centuries ago, Hokusai, and it shows a beautiful artistic impression of what would have been a horrific event.
And this is what Hollywood makes of it. Well, 40 metre high waves have been recorded, so it is a possibility, but not even the Boxing Day disaster looked like this. The sad reality is that survivors are not concerned whether the suffering was as a result of a 20 metre wave, or a 40 metre wave – the helplessness, despair and trauma is the same.
The recent tsunami disaster in northern Japan near Sendai was caused by 15 metre waves. Land inward up north from Sendai water reached 38 metres up the hill. Added to that, some coast lines sank in the quake by between 2 and 5 metres.
Lami Japan 