Tsunami in Papua New Guinea. The largest tsunami in the world Papua new guinea 1998 tsunami

The largest tsunami, like any other tsunami, is the formation of a large wave, the impact of which is caused by a strong earthquake. The mass of water becomes so crushing that it is capable of destroying even coastal houses, and sometimes even demolishing entire villages and towns.

As a rule, the speed of tsunami waves during the formation process exceeds several times the speed of the wind itself that created the wave. In this material we will talk about the process of the appearance of large waves in the seas and oceans, about their crushing energy, and we will also tell you where the largest tsunamis in the world were observed. For convenience, we have compiled a top list of the most devastating tsunamis in history.

Top largest tsunamis in the world

10. Tsunami on the coast of Japan (2004)

This tsunami was caused by two strong earthquakes that occurred 130 km from the coast of Kochi and 110 km from the coast of the Kii Peninsula. The earthquake magnitudes were 7.3 and 6.8, respectively. In this case, the tsunami wave caused was one meter in length. As a result of the earthquake and tsunami, dozens of people were injured.

9. Tsunami in the Solomon Islands (2007)

This tsunami was caused by a powerful earthquake with a total magnitude of 8, which occurred in the southern waters of the Pacific Ocean. In New Guinea, tsunami waves reached more than one meter in height. The tsunami killed 52 people.

8. Tsunami that occurred in Concepción, Chile (2010)

Tremors with a magnitude of 8.8 triggered a powerful tsunami 115 kilometers north of central Chile, near the city of Concepción. The wave height in this case reached three meters. On that day, February 27, 2010, the tsunami killed more than a hundred people.

7. Tsunami in Papua New Guinea (1998)

This powerful tsunami on the northwestern coast of New Guinea was caused by a powerful landslide, which was triggered by a magnitude 7 earthquake. The height of the tsunami wave reached three meters. The earthquake, landslide and tsunami killed 2 thousand people. This is considered one of the biggest tragedies due to a natural disaster in the 90s of the last century.

6. Tsunami in Alaska, USA (1957)

The tsunami, caused by an earthquake with an almost maximum amplitude of 9.1 points, back in 1957, in Alaska, consisted of two huge waves, 15 and 8 meters high, respectively. As a result of these cataclysms, the Vsevidov volcano, located on the island of Umnak, awakened, the activity of which had not been observed for 200 years. The disaster claimed the lives of more than 300 people.

5. Tsunami in Severo-Kurilsk, USSR (1952)

This tsunami was caused by the most powerful earthquake on the Kamchatka coast, with a magnitude of 9. Three crushing waves with a height of 15 to 18 meters hit the city of Severo-Kurilsk at once, which completely destroyed the entire city and claimed the lives of almost 3 thousand people. This is one of the most terrible disasters in the history of the USSR.

4. Tsunami on the islands of Izu and Miyake, eastern Japan (2005)

A moderate earthquake of magnitude 6.8 caused waves of unprecedented height (50 meters) in eastern Japan. Fortunately, as a result of such a powerful tsunami, not a single person was injured on the islands. All thanks to timely warning. The entire population was evacuated from potentially dangerous areas.

3. Tsunami of Lituya Bay, southwest Alaska, USA (1958)

This tsunami was caused by an earthquake that triggered a massive landslide that came down from Mount Lituya, located directly above the bay just north of the bay, right on the Fairweather Fault. The landslide brought down about 300 cubic million of earth, rock fragments and ice, causing a wave 53 meters high and traveling at 160 km/h.

2. The strongest tsunami in Alaska, USA (1964)

In 1964, the strongest earthquake in history occurred in Alaska with a total magnitude of 9.2. The earthquake occurred in Prince William Sound and caused several dozen powerful waves. The length of the largest wave was 67 meters. The disaster claimed the lives of 150 people.

1. Tsunami that occurred in Southeast Asia (2004)

The largest tsunami in the world in history became a real nightmare for three countries in Southeast Asia. The earthquake with a magnitude of 9.3 caused a series of continuous waves, the height of which reached up to 90 meters. The tsunami killed 180 thousand people in Indonesia, another 39 thousand in Sri Lanka and 5 thousand in Thailand. The total number of deaths was almost 240 thousand people. Unprecedented damage was caused to the infrastructure of south-eastern countries.

Videos of its destruction are still terrifying, 11 years later:

Interesting facts: the process of creating a tsunami

The process of the emergence of large and crushing waves is mainly accompanied by strong underground and underwater tremors, the vibrations of which cause a tsunami. But tsunamis are often caused by strong winds that can move water layers at very high speeds. Waves can accelerate to several tens of kilometers per hour and be more than a hundred meters in length. Such waves, as a rule, can travel vast distances across the sea and ocean, which causes danger. But in most cases, the kinetic energy of such waves fades very quickly due to insufficient wind speed.

Natural disasters occur on our planet quite often: fires, hurricane winds, abnormal rains, but when they talk about the occurrence of a tsunami, this danger is perceived as an apocalypse. And all because in the history of mankind there have already been tsunamis with colossal destruction and loss of life.

Before moving on to a review of the most destructive tsunamis in the history of mankind, we will talk briefly about why tsunamis occur, what the signs are and the rules of behavior during this natural disaster.

So, a tsunami is a wave of enormous height and length that is formed as a result of impact on the bottom of the ocean or sea. The largest and most destructive tsunamis are formed when there is a strong impact on the bottom, for example, during an earthquake whose epicenter is quite close to the shore with a magnitude on the Richter scale of 6.5.

What are the signs to recognize the occurrence of a tsunami?

• - an earthquake with a magnitude of more than 6.5 in the sea or ocean. On land, tremors may be felt weakly. The stronger the tremors are felt, the closer the epicenter and the greater the likelihood of a tsunami. Indeed, in 80% of cases, a tsunami is formed due to underwater earthquakes;
• - unexpected ebb. When, for no apparent reason, the coastline goes far into the sea and the coastal bottom is exposed. The further the water moves from the shore, the stronger the wave will be;
• - The unusual behavior of animals. For example, they begin to hide in their homes, worry, whine, and gather in groups, which was not typical for them before.

How to survive a tsunami?

Rules of conduct during a tsunami.

If you are in a seismically dangerous region and on the coast of the Pacific or Indian Ocean, then at the first shocks and the water recedes from the coastline, you need to immediately go as far inland as possible, at least 3-4 km from the coastline. It is advisable to climb to some height more than 30 meters high: a hill or some large and strong concrete structure, for example a 9-story building.

Since 2004, several countries have developed tsunami warning systems. As soon as an earthquake occurs near the coast, special services, based on the strength of the earthquake and the distance from the coast, calculate the strength and destructive impact of the tsunami. A decision is immediately made to evacuate the population from dangerous areas.

When receiving a message about an impending tsunami, you should take documents, drinking water, money with you and go to a safe zone. You should not take unnecessary things, as they can constrain or cause inconvenience.

It is important to know that a tsunami is most often not one wave, but a series of waves. Therefore, after the first or second wave hits, under no circumstances should you leave the flooded area. After all, it may not be the first and second waves that are the most destructive. According to statistics, people quite often die or go missing when they try to leave a flooded area, and suddenly the water quickly begins to recede back into the ocean, taking cars, people, and trees with it. It is important to remember that the period between tsunami waves can range from 2 minutes to several hours

If suddenly you realize that the water remains and remains and you cannot hide on your hill, then you should find a suitable object in the water that could serve as a flotation device. You also need to figure out where you will be swimming before jumping into the water. You should also get rid of shoes and wet clothes so that nothing interferes or hinders movement.

It is worth saving another person when you are sure that you can handle it. A drowning person should be prompted, if you see an object nearby that can serve as a flotation device, if you decide to help yourself, then you should swim up from behind and, grabbing your hair, pull your head above the water so that the drowning person can breathe and the panic goes away. If you see a person being carried away by a stream of water, then you should first throw a rope, a stick, or any other object with which you can grab onto and pull the person out of the stream. There is no point in throwing yourself into the current, since most likely you will be carried away into the ocean.

You should leave your shelter only when local authorities somehow notify you of this, for example, a helicopter will fly with a bullhorn or by radio. Or when you see rescuers, check with them whether there will still be waves and only then should you leave your shelter.

The world's largest tsunami and its consequences

Now we will give a few statistics about which tsunamis were the strongest in the history of mankind.

In Chile in 1960, a powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 9.5 occurred, the height of the waves reached 25 meters, and 1,263 people died. This natural disaster went down in the history of disasters as the “Great Chilean Earthquake.”

In December 2004, one of the strongest earthquakes with a magnitude of 9 occurred in the Indian Ocean. This powerful earthquake caused waves of monstrous force. The height of the waves reached almost 51 meters off the island of Sumatra in Indonesia.

In terms of the number of victims, it was the largest and most destructive tsunami. As a result of this natural disaster, mainly Asian countries were affected: Indonesia, especially the island of Sumatra, Sri Lanka, the coast of Thailand, southern India, the island of Somalia and other countries. The total death toll is enormous - 227,898 people. This is only official data, some scientists believe that there were more than 300,000 victims, since a large number of people went missing, they could have been carried away into the ocean. The main reason for such a large number of victims was that people in these countries were not warned about the threat. People also died because after the first wave they returned to their homes, believing that everything was behind them. However, soon the next wave arrived from the ocean and covered the coast.

In Japan in 2014, the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred, with a magnitude of 9.00 and wave heights reaching 40.5 meters. It was the largest tsunami in terms of destruction, as 62 cities and villages were affected. The height and force of destruction of these waves exceeded all scientific calculations of scientists.

The next tsunami, which occurred in the Philippines, also claimed a large number of lives - 4,456 people died, the magnitude of the earthquake was 8.1, and the wave height was 8.5 meters.

Then comes the 1998 tsunami in Papua New Guinea, killing 2,183 people. The earthquake was magnitude 7, and the waves reached 15 meters.

The largest tsunami occurred in Alaska in 1958 during a landslide. A huge amount of earth rocks and ice fell into the waters of Lutuya Bay from a height of more than 1000 meters, this caused a tsunami, the height of which reached more than 500 meters off the coast! It is the Alaskan wave that is called the world's largest tsunami.

Below, watch a film about the ten most destructive tsunamis in human history.

Sometimes nature plays cruel jokes and destroys what it once created. One of the most dangerous phenomena is a tsunami. A huge wave resulting from an earthquake can swallow everything in its path. But some tsunamis will be remembered by the whole world for a long time, and they can safely be called the most destructive in history.

The ten most destructive tsunamis:

1. The strongest tsunami in 2006 occurred on the island of Java. The epicenter of the earthquake that triggered the disaster was in the Indian Ocean. And approximately a 40-kilometer stretch of the island's coastline was completely destroyed. The waves demolished telephone lines, buildings, and houses along their path. And since the tremors began in the evening, when many tourists were swimming in the ocean, the number of victims became simply enormous. According to some reports, about 650 people died, and 120 thousand were declared missing. About 47 thousand residents of Java lost their homes. And since new tremors shook the coast for several hours, the search and rescue of victims became much more difficult. And this tsunami is recognized as the most destructive and cruelest in the history of the island.
2. In 1998, a large tsunami hit the shores of Papua New Guinea. The appearance of waves, the height of which in some places reached 15 meters, was triggered by a powerful earthquake that began on the northwestern coast of the country. Moreover, the tremors came from the most isolated part of the coastline and led to a huge underwater landslide. There were only two shocks, but even 1100 kilometers from the epicenter they were clearly felt. In remote regions, sea levels have risen by five centimeters, which is a very significant increase. And although the inhabitants of this region are accustomed to natural disasters, this tsunami was still the most powerful in the history of the country. It destroyed thousands of houses and claimed the lives of about 2,000 people, so it is still remembered today and is unlikely to ever be forgotten.
3. In 1960, on May 22, the most powerful earthquake in the entire history of mankind was recorded, the magnitude of which was as much as 9.5. And the Pacific Ocean, of course, responded with a series of tsunamis that hit coastal areas. In some places the wave height reached 25 meters. But not only the Chilean coast suffered from the destructive power of the water. About 15 hours after the first shocks, the waves reached the Hawaiian shores. And after another seven hours they reached the coast of Japan. In total, about 6 thousand people died then. Many were left homeless, as the water rushed at breakneck speed and spared no one or anything.
4. In 1952, a powerful earthquake occurred in Severo-Kurilsk at approximately five in the morning, the magnitude of which, according to various sources, ranged from 8.3 to 9 points. And it entailed a tsunami, consisting of three waves, the height of which reached 18 meters. They completely wiped out an entire city and claimed the lives of 2,336 people. And the cause of this natural disaster was strong tremors that occurred in the Pacific Ocean, about 130 kilometers from Kamchatka. Moreover, the first wave hit the territory an hour after the earthquake. And many residents noticed her in time and managed to retreat to higher ground. But then everyone returned to their homes, believing that the worst was over. And this is what destroyed everyone, because after some time the second wave came, which destroyed almost all the houses and killed the local residents. Then there was a third wave, but it was weak, and the first two had already destroyed everything. And yet many were saved and evacuated to Sakhalin. And later the city began to be built anew.
5. A megatsunami occurred in 1958 in Lituya Bay, Alaska. Because of it, only five people died, but the wave was the highest in the entire history of mankind, because its height was about 500 meters! And the cause of this disaster was an earthquake that occurred 20 kilometers from the bay. After the tremors, which were recognized as the strongest in the history of the state, a huge landslide descended from the mountain into the bay, which provoked waves. They severely damaged many infrastructure facilities: oil pipelines, docks, bridges, and so on. Later, scientists explored a subglacial lake located near the Lituya glacier. It turned out that it dropped more than 30 meters. But still, the flow of water from this reservoir could not provoke such powerful tremors. So the causes of the earthquake and tsunami are still unknown.
6. The tsunami that occurred in 2004 in the Indian Ocean can also be included in the top 10 global disasters. It all started with an earthquake with a magnitude of about 9.3 on the Richter scale, which was recorded at approximately 8 a.m. local time. After it, several countries at once (Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and part of India) were covered with huge waves that destroyed literally everything in their path. It’s sad that this event happened on December 26, that is, after Catholic Christmas. And therefore, many tourists who decided to celebrate this event at resorts never returned home. The total number of victims has not yet been calculated; according to some sources, it ranges from 240 to 300 thousand people. The epicenter of the tremors was in the Indian Ocean, and just 15 minutes after them, waves up to thirty meters high formed. They reached the coast seven hours later. Moreover, no one expected the disaster, and it took many by surprise and destroyed them.
7. A powerful tsunami hit Japan in 2011. On March 11, an earthquake began near the eastern coast of Honshu Island, the magnitude of which was more than 9 points. The tremors triggered a huge tsunami that affected the northern islands of the Japanese archipelago. According to official data, the total number of deaths due to the earthquake and tsunami was about 15,870 people. And 2,846 people are still missing. The epicenter of the activity was located approximately 130 kilometers from the city of Sendai, located on the island of Honshu. And after the main and strongest shock, the so-called aftershock began, which led to more than 400 shocks. Moreover, a series of tsunamis spread across almost the entire Pacific Ocean, as a result of which mass evacuation was announced in some coastal countries, which saved millions of people.
8. A serious tsunami occurred in 2010 in Chile. And although five people died directly from the wave itself, the destruction was still catastrophic. And if you consider that not only the ocean, but also the earth shook, then you can understand that the damage from this natural disaster was simply colossal. About twenty minutes after the first shock, a wave hit the coast. And although its height was only about 2-3 meters, this did not stop it from destroying most of the territory, thanks to its enormous speed. As a result, two million residents were left homeless. After the earthquake, about 800 people died and 1,200 were missing. The tsunami itself affected 11 cities in Chile, as well as the coastlines of several other countries: New Zealand, Australia, Japan and even Russia.
9. Early in the morning of August 16, 1976, the small Philippine island of Mindanao was struck by a strong earthquake, the magnitude of which was about 8.0. And although it was not the strongest, it still went down in the history of the country as the most destructive and tragic. The tremors triggered a tsunami that literally crashed into the coastline and caught tourists and local residents by surprise. As a result, about 5,000 people died and another 2.2 thousand went missing. The number of injured included 9,500 people, and approximately 95,000 lost their homes. Many cities in the Philippines were literally wiped off the face of the earth.
10. In 1993, an earthquake occurred about 80 miles from Hokkaido, which triggered a powerful tsunami. And although the Japanese authorities, taught by many years of bitter experience, reacted very quickly and clearly, announcing the possibility of a tsunami and starting evacuation, the island of Okushiri turned out to be isolated, so that literally a few minutes after the first tremors it was covered by huge 30-meter waves. Of the 250 local residents, 197 died.

Tsunamis are waves that extend over a long period of time and have enormous destructive power. Originating in one point of the ocean, with lightning speed they reach territories remote over vast distances, wreaking havoc, destruction and death. The name of this natural phenomenon was given by the inhabitants of the Land of the Rising Sun. The literal translation of the Japanese word tsunami is “harbor waves.” The occurrence of a tsunami is associated with earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, underwater explosions, landslides, and the fall of large celestial bodies. The biggest tsunamis, which were observed in the last hundred years, were caused by strong earthquakes.

Tsunami in Severo-Kurilsk (USSR). 1952

An hour after the powerful earthquake, the first wave arrived in the city of Severo-Kurilsk and villages located on the coast of Kamchatka and the Kuril Islands. It was followed by two more with a height of 15 to 18 meters. The city was destroyed. According to unofficial data, about 5 thousand (according to official data - 2 thousand) people died. The scale and consequences of the 1952 tsunami, as with most disasters in the Soviet Union, were classified.

The biggest tsunamis in the state of Alaska (USA). 1957-1964

An earthquake with a magnitude of 9.1 that occurred on the Andrean Islands in March 1957 caused a tsunami. Two waves 15 and 8 meters high caused the death of more than 300 people.

In July 1958, a wave of incredible height hit the coast in the Lituya Bay area. This event went down in the history of natural disasters as With the largest known to mankind. As a result of the earthquake, huge masses of soil and ice fell from the mountainside into the waters of the bay. A giant 150-meter wave formed. Traces of the destructive impact of the most impressive tsunami in the world were recorded at an altitude of 524 meters above sea level. 5 people died.

In March 1964, the world was rocked by a new report of a tsunami and the strongest earthquake in US history, which led to the appearance of giant waves. The magnitude of the Great Alaskan earthquake was 9.1-9.2. The total number of victims is 131 people, and the death of 122 of them, as well as serious destruction, are the consequences of the tsunami.

Largest tsunami in Papua New Guinea. 1998

The largest ever seen by the inhabitants of this island nation was caused by an earthquake accompanied by an underwater landslide. The wall of water that hit the coast reached 15 meters. The number of victims is more than 2 thousand people.

Tsunami of the 21st century

Since the beginning of the new millennium, Japan has suffered from such a destructive natural phenomenon as a tsunami three times. The first time was in 2004, the second time was in 2005. Then residents of coastal areas received a message about the tsunami in a timely manner and managed to leave dangerous areas.

In March 2011, 70 km from the nearest point on the Japanese coast, the strongest magnitude 9 earthquake in the history of the country occurred. The natural disaster caused damage to nuclear power plant reactors, which turned into sources of radioactive emissions. One of the most serious on the danger scale took only 10-30 minutes to reach the coast and destroy everything in its path. According to official sources, in 12 Japanese prefectures, 15,870 people died (data from September 5, 2012), thousands of people were injured, and a huge number of missing persons. Transport, residential real estate, and industrial enterprises were seriously damaged. Overall, the economic damage caused to Japan by the cataclysm was estimated at between $198 and $309 billion.

The most deadly natural disaster in modern human history is recognized as the natural disaster that erupted in the Indian Ocean on December 26, 2004, which arose as a result of underwater tremors with a force of 9.1-9.3, covering land areas located even 6900 km away (South Africa, Port Elizabeth ) from the epicenter. Thousands of people died in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, southern India and other countries. The fate of so many people carried away by the giant wave remains unknown, so it is impossible to give an exact number of human casualties. Various experts agree that the death toll in this region at the end of 2004 reaches 225-300 thousand people.

Tsunami is one of the most terrifying natural phenomena. It is a wave formed as a result of “shaking” of the entire thickness of water in the ocean. Tsunamis are most often caused by underwater earthquakes.

Approaching the shore, the tsunami grows into a huge shaft tens of meters high and hits the shore with millions of tons of water. The largest tsunami in the world caused colossal destruction and led to the death of millions of people.

Krakatoa, 1883

This tsunami was not caused by an earthquake or landslide. The explosion of the Krakatoa volcano in Indonesia generated a powerful wave that swept along the entire coast of the Indian Ocean.

Residents of fishing villages within a radius of about 500 km from the volcano had virtually no chance of survival. Victims were observed even in South Africa, on the opposite shore of the ocean. In total, 36.5 thousand people are considered dead from the tsunami itself.

Kuril Islands, 1952

The tsunami, triggered by a magnitude 7 earthquake, destroyed the city of Severo-Kurilsk and several fishing villages. Then the residents had no idea about the tsunami and after the earthquake stopped they returned to their homes, becoming victims of a 20-meter water shaft. Many were caught up in the second and third waves because they did not know that a tsunami is a series of waves. About 2,300 people died. The authorities of the Soviet Union decided not to report the tragedy in the media, so the disaster became known only decades later.

The city of Severo-Kurilsk was subsequently moved to a higher place. And the tragedy became the reason for the organization of a tsunami warning system in the USSR and more active scientific research in seismology and oceanology.

Lituya Bay, 1958

An earthquake with a magnitude of more than 8 provoked a huge landslide with a volume of more than 300 million cubic meters, consisting of stones and ice from two glaciers. To these were added the waters of the lake, the shore of which collapsed into the bay.

As a result, a gigantic wave was formed, reaching a height of 524 m! It swept across the bay, licking the vegetation and soil on the slopes of the bay like a tongue, completely destroying the spit that separated it from Gilbert Bay. This is the highest tsunami wave in history. The banks of Lituya were not inhabited, so only 5 fishermen became victims.

Chile, 1960

On May 22, the consequences of the Great Chilean Earthquake with a magnitude of 9.5 were a volcanic eruption and a tsunami 25 m high. Almost 6 thousand people died.

But the rogue wave did not calm down there. At the speed of a jet plane, it crossed the Pacific Ocean, killing 61 people in Hawaii, and reached the shores of Japan. Another 142 people became victims of the tsunami, which occurred at a distance of more than 10 thousand km. After this, it was decided to warn about the danger of a tsunami even in the most remote areas of the coast that may be in the path of a deadly wave.

Philippines, 1976

The powerful earthquake caused a wave, the height of which seems to be unimpressive - 4.5 m. Unfortunately, the tsunami hit the low-lying coast for more than 400 miles. But the residents were not prepared for such a threat. The result is more than 5 thousand dead and about 2.5 thousand missing without a trace. Almost 100 thousand residents of the Philippines were left homeless, and many villages along the coastline were simply completely washed away along with their inhabitants.

Papua New Guinea, 1998

The consequence of the earthquake on July 17 was a gigantic underwater landslide, which caused a 15-meter wave. And so the poor country suffered several natural disasters, more than 2,500 people died or went missing. And more than 10 thousand residents lost their homes and livelihoods. The tragedy became the impetus for studying the role of underwater landslides in causing tsunamis.

Indian Ocean, 2004

December 26, 2004 is forever inscribed in blood in the history of Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar and other countries on the Indian Ocean coast. On this day, the tsunami claimed the lives of about 280 thousand people, and according to unofficial data - up to 655 thousand.

The underwater earthquake caused waves 30 m high that hit coastal areas within 15 minutes. The large number of deaths is due to several reasons. This is a high degree of population on the coast, low-lying areas, and a large number of tourists on the beaches. But the main reason is the lack of an established tsunami warning system and poor awareness of people about safety measures.

Japan, 2011

The height of the wave resulting from the magnitude 9 earthquake reached 40 m. The whole world watched in horror the footage of the tsunami destroying coastal buildings, ships, cars...