The most famous and disastrous tsunamis in history

Do you know which were the most famous and disastrous tsunamis in history?

Among the different types of natural phenomena that exist in the world, tsunamis are undoubtedly one of the most destructive.

And throughout the history of humanity, there have been countless cases of tsunamis that, when they hit certain locations, left an enormous trail of destruction and caused hundreds – and even thousands – of victims.

But what are the most famous and, at the same time, disastrous tsunamis in all of history?

It is about this natural phenomenon that we are going to talk about here in this content!

Throughout the text, you will learn a little more about what a tsunami is, how they form and find out which were the most famous tsunamis that have been reported over the years.

What is a tsunami?

This word – which has taken over the world – has Japanese origins and means something like “harbor wave”.

Generally speaking, a tsunami is nothing more than a large, voluminous and sudden displacement of water.

Depending on their intensity or the way they arise, these tsunamis can easily invade coastal areas.

And when this happens, the powerful and uncontrollable waves end up dragging everything and everyone in their path.

How is a tsunami formed?

The vast majority of tsunamis on record have occurred after major seismic shocks that occurred underwater.

This type of situation occurs mainly because of the movement of tectonic plates that exist beneath the Earth's surface.

Normally, these plates slide smoothly and slowly over a layer of molten magma.

But eventually, these plates can end up moving, causing direct friction between them and, consequently, causing events such as earthquakes and tsunamis.

In addition to earthquakes, other factors that can cause devastating tsunamis are volcanic eruptions – when they are followed by intense landslides into the water – or even rarer events that cause massive impacts on the sea surface, such as the fall of an asteroid or meteor, for example.

What are the most famous and disastrous tsunamis in history?

Now that you know more about what tsunamis are and how they form, it's time to learn about some of the most famous tsunamis in history.

Below, we have selected 5 tsunamis that, in addition to being super famous, caused real disasters wherever they went.

Sumatra, Indonesia – December 26, 2004

It is impossible to compile a list of the most famous tsunamis in history without mentioning this one, which, to date, can easily be considered the most disastrous in history.

It all started with a large magnitude earthquake that occurred approximately 30 kilometers deep. 

With a magnitude of 9.1 on the Richter Scale, the Sumatra earthquake was responsible for causing this tsunami.

With waves reaching 50 meters high, the tsunami hit Sumatra on December 26, 2004, just one day after Christmas.

As it was a period that usually attracted tourists to the area – which had resorts and paradisiacal beaches – the catastrophic effects of the tsunami were amplified.

This resulted in more than 200,000 deaths in countries including Indonesia, Bangladesh, Thailand and India.

And in addition to the fatalities, millions of people were left homeless after the destruction caused by the tsunami.

Tohoku, Japan – March 11, 2011

Another tsunami that attracted a lot of attention and that occurred in the last decade was the tsunami that occurred in Japan.

And this also became known as one of Japan's worst days, as the country was hit by an earthquake, tsunami and, as a consequence of all this destruction, a nuclear accident.

You may remember this episode because, like the 2004 Sumatra tsunami, news about the Japanese tsunami was also broadcast around the world.

After an earthquake that reached 9.1 on the Richter Scale, waves that exceeded 40 meters in height hit Japanese territory.

With the high destructive power that only a tsunami has, the waves invaded the city, entering more than 10 kilometers into the area and dragging absolutely everything along with them.

And, as if that were not enough, to make the country's situation even worse, the tremor caused damage to reactors at the Fukushima Plant, resulting in a nuclear accident.

The result of this tragedy was more than 15,000 deaths, thousands of people homeless and a loss of more than US$360 billion in damages.

Arica, Chile – August 13, 1868

After two recent events, let's go back in history a little and revisit one of the most famous tsunamis that occurred here in South America.

The country – like Japan – suffers greatly from the incidence due to the tectonic plates that are located nearby.

Although there is no way to measure the intensity of the earthquake that caused this tsunami, estimates are that the tremor may have reached 9 on the Richter Scale.

With waves of up to 16 meters, the passage of this tsunami resulted in more than 25 thousand deaths, earning a place on the list of the most famous tsunamis in history.

Krakatoa, Indonesia – August 26, 1883

Another event that stands out on this list is the tsunami caused by the explosion of Krakatoa, in Indonesia.

This, which is considered the second largest volcanic eruption ever recorded in history, was heard more than 3000 km away and caused irreparable damage to the island.

The eruption caused waves of more than 40 meters and ended up killing between 30 and 120 thousand people.

Conclusion

So, what did you think of learning a little more about the most famous tsunamis in history?

It is worth remembering that we take into account the strongest tsunamis + number of deaths.

In addition to these, there have been several other tsunamis that were as powerful as those listed here, but fortunately did not cause as many deaths as those on this list.

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