Tsunami is a Japanese word meaning ‘harbour waves.’ Tsunamis should not be confused with tidal waves. They are totally different from them. Scientists call Tsunamis as the seismic sea waves.

Tsunamis are also not confined to just a single big wave. It reaches the shores in a series of waves. Sometimes tsunamis reach the shore as a series of strong and continuous waves which quickly raise the inland water level.

Tsunamis though, infamous globally for the devastating affect they cause at the shorelines but most of the people are not aware of the causes behind the creation of Tsunamis. Tsunamis are generated due to the earthquakes that take place near the ocean or under it. Sometimes, though very rarely, a Tsunami can also be created by a huge land slide, but as mentioned before, it is very rare. A tsunami can also be generated because of any other sudden and considerable movement in the ocean such as volcanic eruptions and considerably big meteor hitting the ocean. Here it is also important to note that all earthquakes occurring under the ocean or near it do not create tsunamis. Earth quakes are the primary reason of generating tsunamis but not all earthquakes taking place near or under the surface of the ocean cause tsunamis. Scientists have found that earth quakes which release large amounts of energy slowly cause tsunamis. The energy thus released towards the surface of the ocean creates waves of a small magnitude but as it nears the coastline having shallow water, this huge energy is concentrated over a small volume of water. This results in the devastation as the speed decreases and waves rise to enormous hights of up to fifty feet or more. The water which these tsunamis bring in quick successive waves can reach inland up to a mile. A tsunami which can appear to be just one metre high can become fifty feet or even more high. The power of tsunami can be gauged from the fact that it can travel from one side of the ocean to the other and still have some energy left to be bounced back in the direction from which it came after hitting the coast. Tsunamis can come in any ocean of the world but Pacific Ocean is most prone to tsunamis. 24 nations situated around the Pacific have formed a Tsunami Warning System, which uses a system of tide gauges and seismic monitors. The problem is that we are still not able to forecast the size and effect of a tsunami beforehand.