Introduction
Tsunami is a huge wave of water forming temporally valleys and mountains that hit a shoreline and hence causing a lot of destruction on the inland. Tsunami generally is mainly caused by huge vertical water displacement. This displacement comes about s a result creation of volcanic eruptions, fault movements, meteorite impacts and landslides. They are more often than not usually caused by very stern earthquakes, most particularly those that crop up at subduction regions. Subduction entails vertical movements as the sub ducting plate goes downhill and superseding plate goes upper direction.
It is very difficult to identify the Tsunami waves at the center of the ocean. When these waves approach the shoreline it is easily identified as a result of creation of huge wave and water piles. Usually the water volumes piles up closer to the shoreline for the reason that tsunami waves move more rapidly in subterranean waters than in superficial water. Tsunamis are in most case accompanied by in a chain of waves, not accompanied by a single wave. Tsunami waves are usually squeezed closer to the coast, the wave power energy is aimed upward and wavelength reduced, rising the wave heights significantly. Tsunami waves are capable of reaching about thirty meters height. This kind of tsunami waves mostly takes place in the regions of Pacific Ocean, affecting regions such as Japan, Hawaii, Indonesia and Alaska. Detectors around these regions specifically in the west coast of the USA help in the process of tracking tsunami. National government Weather Service station and NOAA have come up with a forecasting system technology that approximates the amplitude strength of the tsunami wave and furthermore the estimate the arrival time for most vulnerable regions. Professionals use source of information from the investigators to establish the tsunami wave speed, and hence warning the vulnerable community on the early before the disaster on emergency measure need to put in place to help to mitigate the problem (Hsu, pg 100).
Scientific Causes of Tsunami
Scientifically tsunami is caused by the water which is impelled afar the interior of the underwater commotion, the change in this water levels move at the speed of about four hundred miles per sixty minutes through the ocean. The variation in the levels of water in the ocean moving away from the interrupted epicenter, in consecutive water masses, slows down as it approaches off show areas of the ocean.
The moving water usually forms temporary valleys and mountains. These temporally water valleys or mountains move over a distance downward of eighteen thousand feet at speed of five hundred and twenty mph, slowing to a depth of three thousand feet at a speed of two hundred. The slowing movement decrease to a distance downward of sixty feet at a speed of thirty mph. the water displacement movement becomes extremely vivid and the wave heightens as a result of the slowing effect.
Tsunamis typically move large volume of waters; and for that the tsunami wave might not peak as a regular wave does. In condition that a submerged valley was formed at the center of the ocean, the water is always drawdown away from shows, hence the landscape underwater exposed. On the other hand in condition that an underwater mountain was formed by landslide, volcano, earthquake or meteorite, a vivid increase in water volumes and levels will be formed hence results a tsunami that sluices the inland. The waves created by tsunami regularly ‘runs up’ merely about fifty feet above sea level. The supreme run-up is created by or seismic events or volcanic eruptions near to the coast. Flooding takes longer periods in more landlocked regions, with open land giving way for water to move back to the ocean, the water height and volumes can take months to go back to normal.
Tsunami waves, which are ten times with stronger than wind velocity waves last for periods. Gravity forces play a significant function in tsunamis activity, nevertheless, as dislodged water finds their way to cling and level out in uniform manner to the earth surface. Gravity force draws the displaced temporally mountain of waters in the direction of the middle earth destructing the temporally mountain of water as it moves. Different from an entity wave combating the gravitational force pull of the planet moon, a tsunami activity or occurrence in the Ocean is influenced primarily by the gravitational force of the earth. A tsunami wave length peaks in the condition that shoreline topography influences the occurrences; solar and wind gravity has slight conspicuous impact on a tsunami wave. Following water displacement process by earth resulting to tsunami, the ocean waters tries to recover its equilibrium position to the middle of earth, and hence the tsunami activity showers over space although the tsunami wave loses slight power.
The speed by which a tsunami wave disperses is difficult to instantaneously measure, as it relays on the strength with which the ocean waters was primarily displaced. In overall, tsunamis is characterized a fifth-mile wavelength which occurs in a duration that takes one hour between crests. This long duration of tsunami wavelength reduces the ratio between the ocean depth and wavelength. For the reason that tsunami waves are characterized by minimum ratio between depth and wavelength, they act in very subterranean water as waves act in low water: they move long regions with less power loss.
For the reason that tsunami waves are created by pressure, sensors of pressure secured at the floor of ocean can convey warning signs to buoys hovering on the surface of water indicating an increase in pressure. Tsunami an occurrence is illustrated by the pressure increase in water. In addition it is illustrated by lengthened episodes between waves. In condition the third major sign, seismic action, is on, the tsunami technology center receiving the hints from the buoy by the use of satellite will more often than not issue a tsunami admonition. Furthermore in the condition that the initial motion discovered is a water valley then investigators have information that the plates sub positioned downward, for mining a valley on the floors of ocean. Similarly, in the condition that the initial motion discovered is a water mountain, then investigators information of shifting plates for mining a mountain on the floor of ocean.
It is very necessary to take in consideration that the behavior of the ocean after seismic process is very difficult to understand. Earth movements and substantial landslides can result straight tsunamis, the initial tsunami wave of which is not essentially the supreme. Every tsunami is characterized by different process of dissipating waves. The level of water from the initial tsunami mighty halt to usual levels, merely to treacherously increase once more as aftershocks, tremors, volcanoes or landslides, in diverse areas have result in fresh tsunamis in the minutes and hours following the first tsunami was created. Scientific investigators may clearly detect the diverse wave models while spectators on the earth ground can not (Abbott pg 82).
The Causes and Impacts of 2004 Tsunami
The origin of the tidal waves that occurred at 500 miles per sixty minutes across the Indian Ocean on the twenty seven of December two thousand and four was very simple.
The Eurasian and Australian tectonic plates positioned at subterranean, when the Ocean was moved, shaking the under waters numerous meters, and dislocated large volumes of water. This created a tsunami or sequence of big waves, to form and move away, searching for a place to burn up their power energy.
At this phase, the tsunami waves would be not more than 60 or 50 or centimeters far above the ground, difficult to being identified as they moved under ships in the open ocean. They were discovered 30 minutes later, in the Andaman Islands, after 99 minutes in Thailand and after duration of 2 hours in Sri Lanka, prior to at last running themselves out on the shoreline of Somalia coast after a period of some 7 hours (Kious pg 88).
As wave moved towards the shallows regions, reaching land for instance , the speed of a tidal wave reduced at the frontline and the moving water at the back rears up, creating a barrier that was about ten meters height ; at that point the tsunami wave approached its destination, although it had some mission to accomplish further.
In near to the ground lying on earth surface, the tsunami waves pushed a number of kilometers inland. Since one a cubic meter of water wave weighs about one thousand kilograms, this tsunami wave smashed and wrecked everything on is way on the twenty six of December 2004. When the tsunami wave retreats back to the deeper sea, it took much of what it had damaged. Many populaces were carried away, their bodies were not found and they did not return home again.
The tsunami wave claimed over 150,000 people in Indonesia, in addition 31,000 people perished in Sri Lanka, comprising the globes’ worst train catastrophe which claimed more than a thousand lives. Furthermore it rendered 299 homeless and Twenty Maldives homeless. The negative impact caused by 2004 tsunami was so severe that in total an estimate of not less than 250,000 lives perished in the catastrophe. Furthermore Indonesia many poor communities depending on sea for their living were completely destroyed in Indonesia and Sri Lanka.Patong and Khao Lak beach restaurants were total destroyed excluding Patong of which the waves occurred after it was deserted in Thailand.
The tsunami incident caused a lot for damages to the numerous small business undertakers; bar owners, street traders, and fishermen who lost everything they had accomplished. These business operations were not insured; since Asian countries were still developing not equip with such insurance services. The community affected by the tsunami, had no otherwise but to start a new life without getting any compensation from the insurance company (Kious pg 56).
Economic experts stated that Indonesia was the most affected country of all the Asian countries which were hit by the calamity. The cost of running the recovery phase of the disaster is estimated at four billion United States of American dollars over the next 5 years. The International Labor Organization on the other hand estimates that there has been a loss of one million jobs in both Sri Lanka and Indonesia. The region near the coast of this country was the worst hit and many buildings including luxurious hotels located on the coastline were severely destroyed. This has generally impacted on the trade and industrial stability of this country. The fishing industry which employs two thirds of the Indonesian population was also hit hard since the Indian islands of Nicobar and Andaman were seriously damaged; over seventy percent of jetties were destroyed (Abbott, Leon pg 98).
This disaster politically brought together many different nations who were willing to assist the effected countries for instance; the Russians contributed one million rubles. The Britons donated ten point seven billion pounds, and the Americans donated 195 million which was used in the relief process in the regions affected by the tsunami.
Socially the disaster united people from different cultures, countries, regions and nations, to work together by setting aside their difference. If these kinds of incidents can bring together habitual enemies, on the other hand in a few words, in a unlike views, indisputably, there is little positive impacts emerging from very destructive disasters.
The Tsunami disaster that hit the Asian coast in the year two thousands and four resulted to an intensive humanitarian crisis. The total number of people who died because of this calamity stands at over one fifty thousands lives and immeasurable resultant suffering of the victims who survived. Munich Re which is global insurance giant estimated the loss obtained from this calamity to be at ten billion euros. The only hope for the affected countries is that the disaster affected severely the undeveloped areas of the affected countries and no major damages occurred to the industrial regions of this region (Jayatilleke Bandara and Athula Naranpanawa pg 66).
Other Incidences of Tsunami
There was also reported subduction earth movement which was very powerful in Chile in May nineteen sixty ,which resulted after three different tsunami waves that killed about one thousand Chileans ,furthermore millions valued properties were destroyed. In addition in the disaster rendered people homeless and killed many people in Japan and Hawaii, a lot of property were also destroyed by the tsunami. In nineteen ninety a tsunami occurred that caused a lot of damage destroying properties in Nicaragua, in South America coast. Furthermore a tsunami inundated the whole peninsula in Hokkaido, in nineteen ninety three (Kious pg 44).
Conclusion
Circumstances are coming up in the globe near us that might in the long run cause a massive disparaging tsunami that possibly will affect most important states and towns bordering the Indian, pacific and Atlantic Ocean. The volcanic land mass La Palma which is to North of Africa Canaries is perched to extent the massive tsunami wave to the United States of American Eastern Shoreline. The North America east shoreline may possibly slip into the Ocean, it has happened in the earlier period, smudging Europe civilization with the destructive tsunami. In addition the pervasive Bolide tsunamis, which come as a result of the negative impacts of outer space objects, are very difficult to predict and avoid and hence very difficulty to mitigate the disaster. There is very high probability that more or one or of these circumstances must come to take place in the near future. The problem is, are we equip with advance technologies to mitigate these disaster and save lives and property early enough before they happened?
Works Cited
Abbott, Leon. The causes and impacts of natural disasters, USA: McGraw-Hill, 2005.
Hsu, Tom. The study of physical, space and earth science, London: Sage, 2003.
Jayatilleke Bandara and Athula Naranpanawa. The Economic Effects of the Asian Tsunami on the ‘Tear Drop in the Indian Ocean’, South Asia Economic Journal, 8 (1): 65-68, 2007.
Kious, J. The study of Tsunamis tectonic dynamics, USA: Wiley publication, 1999.