Japan word for tsunami means “harbour wave.” Under the water, earthquakes or volcanic eruptions are typically the reason. Everything you need to know about tsunamis is provided here.
Following a 7.6-magnitude earthquake that rocked Japan’s north-central region on Monday (January 1), tsunami waves struck many coastal areas and urgent evacuation orders were issued.
In a televised speech, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida urged people to heed evacuation instructions and cautioned that worse earthquakes and tsunami waves could follow the initial ones.
What is a tsunami?
A tsunami is a sequence of enormous ocean waves brought on by underwater volcanic eruptions or earthquakes. The name tsunami is derived from the Japanese word “harbour wave.” When an earthquake occurs beneath the ocean, a sizable portion of the ocean floor may move abruptly upward or downward, causing a massive volume of water to be quickly displaced and creating tsunami waves.
Large tsunamis typically start in the deep ocean, where they have the ability to displace a lot of water. The wave gets larger as it gets closer to the coast because the ocean is shallower, per a NASA research.
Tsunami waves can reach heights of hundreds of feet and can move through deep waters at jet plane speed, reducing in speed as they approach shallow areas.
But not every earthquake or volcanic explosion results in a tsunami. Numerous variables, including as the orientation and direction of the earthquake and the morphology of the ocean floor, can affect how a tsunami forms.
Why does Japan often experience tsunamis and earthquakes?
This is as a result of its position. Japan is located on the world’s most active seismic tectonic zone, known as the “Pacific Ring of Fire.” According to a Live Science story, the term “ring” refers to “a hypothetical horseshoe-shaped area that traces the Pacific Ocean’s edge and is home to a large number of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions worldwide.”
Different tectonic belts, such as the Pacific Plate, Eurasian Plate, and Indo-Australian Plate, are located inside the Ring of Fire. These belts constantly mesh and collide with one another, resulting in earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis.
A 9.0 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami struck Japan in 2011, wreaking havoc on the country’s northeastern coastal regions and killing tens of thousands of people. The most catastrophic nuclear accident since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in the Soviet Union was caused by those tsunami waves, which resulted in a nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima power facility.
Following a strong earthquake that left at least 62 people dead, authorities in Japan issued warnings of landslides and severe rain, and rescuers were rushing to look for survivors.
The main island of Honshu’s Ishikawa prefecture was rocked by a 7.5-magnitude earthquake on Monday that caused massive road destruction, a large fire, and tsunami waves that reached over a meter in height.
The worst-hit area was the Noto peninsula in the prefecture, where hundreds of structures were destroyed by fire and homes in numerous towns, including Wajima and Suzu, were completely demolished. The extent of the damage was partially revealed by satellite before-and-after photos that were made public on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the regional authorities declared that over 300 people had been hurt, 20 of them critically, and that 62 deaths had been confirmed.
As rescuers battled aftershocks and bad weather to sort through wreckage, the death toll was predicted to rise.
The authorities said that approximately 31,800 individuals were staying in shelters. According to claims in the Japanese media, tens of thousands of homes had been damaged.
Also read: Xiaomi’s first EV is the freshest take on a ‘smartphone on wheels’
6 thoughts on “Japan earthquake triggers tsunami warning: What is a tsunami, why does it keep forming in the island country?”