NATURAL DISASTERS HOW PEOPLE SURVIVE SLAMMED BY TSUNAMIS CAITIE MCANENEY Powerkids press New York
WHAT IS A TSUNAMI Imagine you’re standing on a beautiful beach Suddenly the ocean seems to be sucked back You can see fish flopping on the open ocean floor Then a giant wave builds and approaches the beach Watch out it’s a tsunami A tsunami is a series of huge ocean waves Each wave can reach 100 feet 30 5 m tall or more These waves can travel thousands of miles very quickly Sometimes they reach speeds of 500 miles 804 7 km DISASTER ALERT Some geologists believe an asteroid landing in the Indian Ocean caused a megatsunami or huge tsunami that hit Madagascar 10,000 years ago Waves could have been as high as 300 feet 91 4 km 4
Towns and cities on the coast are most at risk for deadly tsunamis per hour Tsunamis slam coastal towns and beaches sometimes causing great destruction They can sweep away trees buildings and even people and animals pulling them out to sea Where do tsunamis come from How can you stay safe before during and after a tsunami Let’s take a closer look at these killer waves 5
