E DISASTER WATCH Natural disasters can destroy whole areas and kill thousands of people The only protection from them is to go on disaster watch This means knowing the warning signs that a disaster might be about to happen and having a plan for what to do if one strikes We cannot stop natural disasters from happening but being prepared can help CEE reduce the harm caused by a disaster That Are Natural oisasters Natural disasters are nature's most damaging events They include wildfires earthquakes extreme storms floods tsunamis say soon ah mee 2 and volcanic eruptions Preparing for Natural Oisasters Preparing for natural disasters helps us to reduce their effects in three key ways by increasing our chances of survival making our homes as disaster proof as possible reducing the long term effects of the disaster
A TSUNAMIS A tsunami is a giant wave Tsunamis strike very suddenly and can cause terrible destruction in coastal regions People who are prepared have a much better chance of surviving than people who do not know how to react what is a Tsunami AT EYEWITNESS WORDS CO A tsunami is an ocean wave or Simon Clark was in Thailand and witnessed the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami group of waves caused by a giant movement of the seabed usually an earthquake The tsunam waves travel across the ocean at high speed When the tsunami reaches land the waves increase in size and crash ashore causing terrible damage to low lying coastal areas Suddenly a huge wave came destroying everything People who were snorkeling were dragged along the coral and washed up on the beach and people who were sunbathing got washed into the sea Preparing for a tsunami There are three key ways to prepare for a tsunami You must know the warning signs that a tsunami is about to arrive and what to do the safest places to be if a tsunami threatens the challenges facing those who survive a tsunami Vacationers and locals watched in horror as a tsunami approached the coast of Thailand in December
WHERE DO TSUNAMIS HAPPEN Tsunamis can affect almost any ocean coastline They can travel a long way and regularly affect coastlines thousands of miles from where they began They most often damage coastal communities around the edge of the Pacific Ocean where Tsunamis Begin The Seven Deadliest Tsunamis Rank Year Created Area Affected Estimated Casualties 2004 Indian Ocean Indian Ocean 230 210 1755 Atlantic Ocean Portugal Spain 100 000 Morocco Ireland UK 100 000 31908 Mediterranean Messina taly Sea Tsunamis are usually created in areas where earthquakes and volcanoes are common around the edge of the Pacific Ocean Roughly 80 percent of tsunamis are created in the Pacific Ocean but they are also created in the Indian and Atlantic oceans Even sma seas are not safe a tsunami was recorded in the Mediterranean Sea more than 2 300 years ago 1 883 Sunda Strait Indonesia 36 000 1707 Philippine Sea Tokaido Japan 30 000 1826 Philippine Sea Japan 27 000 1868 Eastern Pacific Africa Chile Ocean 25 000 combined casualties of tsunami and volcanic eruption combined tsunami and earthquake more than BANGLADESH INDIA YANMAR SOMALIA ANKA HAIE LAYSIA MALDIVES ENYA INDONESIA This map shows the areas affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami which was the world's deadliest tsunami The waves radiated out from a powerful earthquake off the north west coast of Indonesia TAZANIA EYCHELLES N DAN 0 C E A MADAG 1 000
E The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami destroyed coastal towns such as Aceh Indonesia where Tsunamis Hit Countries around the coast of the Pacific Ocean are affected by tsunamis more often than anywhere else Japan has been hit by almost 200 damaging tsunamis The Pacific Ocean coastlines of North and South The Indian America are also regularly hit by Ocean tsunami tsunamis as are the Philippines Date December 26 2004 and many Pacific islands Location Indian Ocean The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami is the where Tsunamis Cause most destructive tsunami ever recorded It the Most Oamage began without warning early in the morning Tsunamis cause the most damage when they of December 26 By the end of the day it had hit crowded beaches right across the hit coastlines that are heavily populated Indian Ocean The tsunami and its In 1964 a powerful tsunami formed off the aftermath killed more than coast of Alaska United States Despite being 200 000 people created by a more powerful earthquake than the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami it killed fewer than 131 people This is because there were few people living in the
