The Anatomy of a Tsunami

Traveling at more than 500 miles an hour by the violent action of a displaced sea floor, volcanic eruptions, underwater landslides or tectonic earthquakes, massive amounts of sea water are thrust upward into a series of waves. Called a Tsunami (Tsoo-nah-mee) by the Japanese, the name of this ocean phenomenon comes from the Japanese words “Harbor Wave”.

Traveling with the force of the entire ocean within the wave, these monsters of the deep are barely recognizable in the open sea. A ship traveling across the ocean would most likely not even detect a Tsunami moving at subsonic speeds as it passes underneath.

It is only when the depth of water begins to decrease as land approaches, that these leviathans of the deep raise themselves into a force that can destroy an entire city in a few minutes.

As this mass of water that has traveled as much as 8-10,000 miles reaches land, it begins to transform itself. In the deep water of the open sea, a Tsunami reaches the speed of a commercial Airliner crossing the ocean. If the Tsunami and a 747 both departed the islands of Japan at the same moment, they would both arrive at the shores of Hawaii or the west coast of California at about the same time.

When the Tsunami finally reaches land and encounters shallow water, it decreased in speed but increases in power exponentially. This reduction in speed as it makes contact with land, causes the mass of water to rise up into a height from a few feet to over 30-40 feet as it makes contact with the shoreline.

The first indication from land that a Tsunami is about to strike the coast is a quick retreat of the water along the shore, back into the sea. As the water from the shore retreats, it meets the mass of energy that has traveled across an entire ocean.

Rather than a large curling wave that you would see at the North Shore of Hawaii near the Bonsai Pipeline, a Tsunami comes in as a wave swell. The energy of the water at the base of the swell begins to swirl into a powerful turbulence of ground tearing action as if it were a massive shark tearing at the sea floor.  This powerful tearing action can sweep a man off  his feet, tear a building from its foundation and lift and move a truck or car as if it were a child’s toy.

The power and mass of a Tsunami can strip the land as it comes in contact with, as if it were an aircraft carrier sized earth mover. Everything in the path of a Tsunami is torn, twisted, and ripped apart.

It is often the tearing action of the Tsunami’s water as it moves massive objects across land, that becomes lethal to any human being it encounters.

A man or woman swept up in the water of a Tsunami is no match for the blender type action of water, metal, wood and concrete that swirls within the mass of water in a Tsunami.

The volume of water moved onshore by a Tsunami can raise up over land and move inland thousands of feet. Everything in the path of the wall of water generated by a Tsunami will be swept from its foundation, and be destroyed.

Pictures from the after effects of a Tsunami that has retreated back into the sea, show a mass of twisted wood, concrete, cars and broken metal from buildings, into one massive pile.

At the dawn of December 26, 2004 one of the most massive and destructive Tsunamis in the history of the world struck the coast of northwestern Sumatra. Over 230,000 people lost their lives in a matter of minutes after the mass of water invaded their cities and homes.

On Friday March 11, 2011, a massive 8.9 magnitude earthquake ripped a 150 mile by 50 mile tear in the earth’s tectonic plate near Northeast Japan at approximately 2:46 pm.

The 5th largest Earthquake in recorded history, and the largest earthquake in Japan’s history, the damage and loss of life from the ensuing massive Tsunami is unfathomable.

As of this date, 2 of Japan’s 50 reactors from their nuclear power plants are in the process of meltdown due to the power being cut off that supplies sea water to cool the reactor core.

Hundreds of thousands of people are missing, untold homes have been destroyed and the long term effects of Japan’s first nuclear catastrophe are yet to be known.

Rob Robinson

The Video from Woods Hole Oceanic showing the “Anatomy of a Tsunami”

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