Aaron Levett Capstone Essay
In our world today, we face many natural disasters. These include earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, and many others. Yet, the most devastating out of all of the natural disasters may be the rare tsunami. These terrible waves destroy towns, kill thousands, and leave many homeless. Although these tsunamis do not occur as often as earthquakes, the level of destruction is greater than that of an earthquake. The path of a tsunami could make or break the outcome of a certain town.
Tsunamis occur when waves coming in to land are especially large. The waves are nearly invisible until they get close to land, making it difficult for scientists to predict the severity, or height of the waves. Many people call these waves “tidal waves”, but in fact this is scientifically improper (Ilson). These disasters have devastated parts of the world, ranging from a few hundred deaths, to thousands. Tsunamis are truly deadly.
One of the most well known earthquakes was the Japanese earthquake-caused tsunami.
The tsunami was triggered when a 9.0 magnitude earthquake occurred miles off of the coast of
Japan. The death toll is estimated to be over 10,000, but months after, it is still being calculated
(Diep). This tsunami also triggered a whirlpool, which swallowed up several boats ( YouTube -
Huge Whirlpool after Tsunami Hits Japan 8.9 Magnitude Earthquake - Friday March 11, 2011 ).
Here are some interesting facts: the waves reached a speed of over 800 kilometers per hour, which is about the speed of an airplane. Also, this event triggered over 400 aftershocks, causing some concern that another tsunami may occur in other regions of the world (Diep).
Along with this damage, this event triggered several nuclear breakdowns. This was due to the several power outages occurring in Japan. When the power went out at the reactors, the cooling systems could not function properly. Reactors then began to overheat, and melt down,

causing explosions at several of the reactors, releasing radiation into the atmosphere. At over 150 miles South of the plant, radiation levels were above normal. On a 1-7 scale of nuclear disasters, the Japanese nuclear breakdowns ranked as a four, but several argue that it should have ranked a six (Roth).
Recovery efforts for the Japanese tsunami were astounding. According to “Yahoo!” they teamed up with the American Red Cross to raise tens of millions of dollars to donate to recovery efforts. Many other agencies were created, raising even more money for the cause. The United
States government has also been big in providing national funding for this horrible disaster
(Yahoo).
A less know tsunami hit the coast of Mexico in October of 1995. Killing over 100 people, this tsunami was the strongest that Mexico had seen in decades. The people of the town were well educated on tsunami warning signs, which is the cause of the relatively low death toll. Many people saw various warning signs early, giving them time to reach higher ground and become spared ("ITIC"). This occurrence clearly shows that education is the clear way to prevent terrible damage in case of natural disasters. If people learn about warning signs, thousands of lives could be saved.
It was the day after Christmas when thousands more people lost their lives. On December
26, 2004, a large tsunami wave smashed the coasts of eleven countries. Along with the Japanese earthquake-triggered tsunami, this wave was caused by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake trembling in the Indian Ocean. Waves hurtled in every direction, causing millions of people to become homeless and tens of thousands dead. The few people not hurt were auspicious enough to “fly the coop” and make it to higher ground ("The Deadliest Tsunami in History?"). As of September of 2009, the United States government had donated over 700 million dollars to recovery efforts

in the most distraught countries, including India and Indonesia, and various African countries
("Indonesia - Five Years after the Tsunami: Continuing the Commitment to Reconstruction").
It is 1964 in San Francisco bay. Fishers are out about selling and catching the day’s fresh crab and herring, when a tsunami wave flashes in and destroys the bay. With the waves in that location being only 3 feet tall, it caused millions of dollars of impairment in the bay. Yet, this is not where the most damage occurred. Two thousand miles North of there lies a small town in
Alaska. Here, a 9.2 magnitude earthquake triggered a tsunami, killing 120 people. This may not seem like an extremely high amount of deaths, but the population density of Alaska is the smallest in the nation ("1964 Alaskan Tsunami"). With about 1 person per square mile, the damage is comparable to the tsunami wave killing everybody in a 120-mile radius ("Population,
Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2000"). Waves also traveled to Japan and Hawaii, but the damage was extremely minimal ("1964 Alaskan Tsunami").
Tsunamis truly are deadly. From their birth as a small wave, to the growth of a tsunami, they are nearly impossible to predict, and have occurred in every region of the world. Some have only taken a few lives, while others have claimed thousands. They make people homeless, poor, and deceased. They cause towns to become abandoned, ports to become lifeless, and economies to burn to the ground.

Works Cited
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Diep, Francie. "Fast Facts about the Japan Earthquake and Tsunami: Scientific American."
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<http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fast-facts-japan>.
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2011.
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World Bank Group . Web. 2 Apr. 2011.
"ITIC." Welcome to Caplipso . Web. 7 Mar. 2011.
<http://ioc3.unesco.org/itic/files.php?action=dlfile>.
"Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2000." American FactFinder . USA Census.
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YouTube - Huge Whirlpool after Tsunami Hits Japan 8.9 Magnitude Earthquake - Friday March
11, 2011 . YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.
11 Mar. 2011. Web. 28 Mar. 2011.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhporhNsWWI>.