Tsunami: A Wave of Destruction Quiz

Answer: Indonesia

The country of Indonesia lost at least 130,000 lives in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. It caused an additional loss of life of at least 100,000 in an additional dozen countries. This earthquake of at least 9.1 magnitude lasted for over 8 minutes, making it the third largest recorded by science and the longest lasting quake ever measured.

The ensuing tsunami caused damage as far away as Somalia on the continent of Africa. There were at least four tsunami waves that hit Indonesia at this occurrence and death rates are believed to have been much higher than is often documented.

Answer: Lisbon

This earthquake, with the ensuing tsunami, devastated the capital city of Lisbon. Death estimates for the city run as high as 1,000,000 people. After a 5 minute earthquake the people of the city ran to the wharfs and piers to watch massive masses of water recede into the ocean stranding ships and their cargo all along the shoreline. Less than an hour later a huge tsunami came crashing in destroying large parts of the city.

Other cities along the coastline were also severely damaged from the tsunami.

This natural disaster brought an end to Portugal's aspirations to become a world power through colonization. It also gave rise to the birth of seismology and earthquake engineering.

Answer: The eruption of Krakatoa

The Krakatoa eruption was heard 3,000 miles away and is often considered the loudest sound to have been heard in modern history. Tsunamis ravaged the coastal islands causing more deaths than the actual volcanic eruption itself. Bodies were still washing up on the coast of Africa a year after the eruption took place. Tsunami waves were seen in the both the Indian and Pacific Oceans, with some occurring as far away as the American West Coast. On the coastlines of Java and Sumatra, at areas facing the volcano, these sea floods went many miles inland and caused such devastation and loss of life that the areas were never resettled.

Some of these areas were allowed to revert back to jungle and are now part of the Ujang Kulon nature reserve.

Answer: Honshu

This tsunami devastated large portions of Japan's largest island, Honshu. At least 20,000 people were killed or reported missing. The Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant withstood the record breaking earthquake but succumbed to the very powerful tsunami that followed.

In March of 2011, Japan's government released a statement in which it claimed that the cost of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami could reach as high as $309 billions dollars, which would make it the world's most costly natural disaster up to that time.

Answer: True

The Aleutian Islands are part of Alaska. The earthquake that triggered this tsunami measured about 7.8. The ensuing tsunamis killed six lighthouse keepers in Alaska but after travelling a much farther distance killed over 150 people in Hawaii, making the answer to the question true.

The distance traveled contributed to the amount of water displaced and stronger higher walls of water. It is also thought that a very large underwater landslide also contributed to the strength of this tsunami. The earthquake that caused the tsunami was not felt in Hawaii.

Many people on Hawaii refer to incident as the April Fools' Tsunami as it occurred on April 1st, and many people who heard the sirens that it was a prank. This incident led to the founding of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in 1949.

Answer: England

The Bristol Channel Floods drowned over 3,000 people and rendered over 200 square miles of farmland unusable. The city of Brean in Somerset was left with only 2 houses standing. At the time the huge mass of water was considered to be the wrath of God. Today scientist argue that this catastrophe occurred from an underwater earthquake on a known fault off the coast of Ireland.

Answer: Asteroid impact

The Fenambosy chevron and its three siblings are huge wedge shaped sediment deposits made from material from the ocean floor. Each of these chevrons is twice as large as the island of Manhattan and as tall as the Chrysler building. They are composed of deep sea fossils fused with a group of metals that are usually found at locations of cosmic impacts.

A newly found impact crater in the bottom of the Indian Ocean that is 18 miles across in diameter appears to have caused a tsunami at least 600 feet high with the ability to travel around the globe and with the power to kill up to 1/4 of the earth's human population.

It is believed to be responsible for these huge chevrons on Madagascar.

Answer: False

The Johnstown Flood was not a tsunami; it was caused by unrelenting rains and a dam breaking. There was no seismic activity involved in this incident. Over 2,000 people were killed, and over $17 million dollars in damage was incurred. This was the first major disaster relief effort to be handled by the American Red Cross.

Answer: Sicily

On December 28, 1908 an earthquake measuring 7.1 hit the city of Messina on the island of Sicily. The earthquake shook for over 30 seconds and was followed less than a minute later by a tsunami of over 40 ft. high. (3% of the structures in the city were destroyed. 70,000 people were killed immediately. Damage on the Italian mainland to the city of Reggio Calabria was extensive also.

It took weeks of work to pull out those trapped underneath the debris and the final death counts vary between 100,000-200,000 people. Upon rebuilding the city new building codes were enforced that required new buildings to be more earthquake and tsunami resistant.

Answer: Landslide

The Vajont Dam was completed in 1959 and was one of the tallest dams in the world. In 1963, heavy rain triggered a landslide which caused a mega tsunami to wash over the top of the dam that was measured at 250 meters high and caused a displacement of 50 million cubic meters of water.

The resulting flooding of the valley below caused the deaths of at least 2,000 people. The dam's structure was found to be intact after the incident. While tsunamis are often caused by earthquakes, they are not the only reason for a tsunami to develop.