Tsunamis not only destroy human life, but have a devastating effect on insects, animals, plants, and natural resources. A tsunami changes the landscape. It uproots trees and plants and destroys animal habitats such as nesting sites for birds.
When the giant breaking waves of a tsunami batter the shoreline, they can destroy everything in their path. Destruction is caused by two mechanisms: the smashing force of a wall of water traveling at high speed, and the destructive power of a large volume of water draining off the land and carrying all with it, even if the wave did not look large.
Another common question is “How do tsunamis cause destruction?”.
Most tsunami damage and destruction is caused by flooding, wave impacts, erosion, strong currents, and floating debris (e. g, trees, structures, vehicles, and other things that can act like battering rams). The water can be just as dangerous, if not more so, as it returns to the sea, taking debris and people with it.
What are the dangers of a tsunami?
Those numbers seem to be climbing still, with yet more records set on Wednesday: Italy’s new daily case count rose from 78,313 on Tuesday, to 98,020 new cases on Wednesday. Denmark reported a record 23,228 new cases. Portugal reported 26,867 cases – up from 17,172 the day before. France reported 208,000 cases, with another 53 people in intensive care and 184 deaths, and more items.
Yet another question we ran across in our research was “How dangerous is a tsunami?”.
Tsunamis with runups over one meter (3.28 feet) are particularly dangerous to people and property. Yet, smaller tsunamis can also be dangerous. Strong currents can injure and drown swimmers and damage and destroy boats and infrastructure in harbors.
The deadliest tsunami in recorded history was the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which killed almost 230,000 people in fourteen countries including (listed in order of confirmed fatalities) Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Somalia, Myanmar, Maldives, Malaysia, Tanzania, Seychelles, Bangladesh, South Africa, Yemen and Kenya.
This begs the query “What is the most deadly tsunami?”
And tsunami of 2004, and 2010 Port-au-Prince earthquake — feature amongst the most deadly in human history. But equally, some of the most fatal occurred in the very distant past. Making the top three was the earthquake in Antakya (Turkey) in the year 115.
Lightning, while beautiful to look at, can be deadly and occurs every day in various parts of the world.
In this manner, has the US ever been hit by a tsunami? Since 1933, 31 tsunamis have been observed in Crescent City. Four of those caused damage, and one of them, in March 1964, remains the “largest and most destructive recorded tsunami to ever strike the United States Pacific Coast,” according to the University of Southern California’s Tsunami Research Center.
What causes tornadoes, and why are they so destructive?
The winds rotate because the wind speed and direction changes with height, providing an abundance of something called vertical wind shear. It is this wind shear that causes supercells to rotate, and it is this strong rotating updraft, that spawns hail the size of cricket balls and devastating tornadoes.