KILLER TSUNAMIS

Try to answer the following questions without reading the text

1. What’s the main cause of Tsunamis?
2. Why has Japan been hit by so many tsunamis?
3. How fast do waves travel in deep water after an earthquake?
4. Are they high? Do ships notice the waves?
5. What happens when the waves enter shallow waters?
6. Do they go so fast?
7. How high can they be?
8. Does the wave break and stop when it reaches the coast?
9. How far can it go inland?
10. When is it most dangerous?
11. What happens when people think it is all over?
12. When did the deadliest tsunami occur?
13. Where did the earthquake take place?
14. How many people died?
15. Could everybody be warned?
16. What do the scientists in The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre do?
17. Do you remember the pieces of advice they give?

KILLER TSUNAMIS

The warnings are few, the sights are sudden, the tide goes into reverse. A thunderous roar fills the air and then it strikes and when _______________, nothing is left.

A Tsunami

The word in Japanese means “harbour wave”. Japan has been hit by many tsunamis in its history _______________ its location. It lies across the edges of 4 tectonic plates _______________ earthquakes, the principal cause of tsunamis are born.

When two tectonic plates _________________, the resulting earthquake sends an enormous burst of energy up through the ocean, displacing enormous _________________.

A series of waves expands in all directions. In deep water these waves travel fast, up to 500 miles an hour, but only reach a ____________ of a few feet. A passing ship might not even notice. But as the waves enter shallow waters, friction with the ocean floor ____________the waves speed and raises their height until at land fall they can engulf a ten storey ______________.

Unlike _______________ waves, a tsunami wave doesn’t crest at break, _____________, it advances like a wall of water that crashes over the coastline and everything in its way, reaching even ____________ a mile inland.

More damage is caused when the wave recedes dragging everything in it back under water and most tsunamis have multiple waves, each arriving anywhere from 10 to 60 minutes after the first strike just when survivors think ____________________.

The deadliest tsunami ever recorded occurred in December of 2004.

An earthquake off the coast of Indonesia triggered a tsunami that surged across the Indian ocean and reached as far as the coast of Africa. Full sections of cities ________________. More than ______ people died. Most had no way of being _______________.

5.000 miles away, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Honolulu is __________ 24 hours a day to prevent a similar tragedy _________________ in the US.

Scientists monitor tremors and quakes from _______________. If a quake big enough to cause a tsunami occurs, it is their job to alert the coastlines in the tsunami’s path.

The ________________is simple: move to a _________________

_______________ that the tsunami has passed and be ready ________________ the ruins left in its wake