Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – New Year 2024 opened with a disaster in the form of an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 in Noto, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, last Monday (1/1/2024).
The earthquake, which occurred at 16.10 local time with a center depth of 10 kilometers underground, produced a tsunami up to one meter high. As a result, a number of fishing boats in the port of Suzu ran aground and several boats capsized. This incident also caused concern for the people of Sakura Country.
It is not surprising that the Japanese people are worried about the appearance of this “small” tsunami. Because tsunamis are one of the disasters that occur most frequently and are attached as a bad trauma for them.
A tsunami is a series of sea waves with speeds of up to more than 900 kilometers per hour which are mainly caused by earthquakes on the seabed.
The word tsunami comes from Japanese, namely 'Tsu' which means harbor and 'Nami' which means sea wave. These two words were adapted because sea waves are often found hitting the harbor.
Throughout history, there have been many tsunamis that have hit a number of countries. In fact, some of them are labeled as “deadliest” because they claimed many victims.
So, what are the deadliest tsunamis in history? Here's the review.
1. Sumatra, Indonesia (24 December 2004)
|
Photo: FILE – In this December 29, 2004 file photo, an Acehnese man walks through rubble near the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque in Banda Aceh, about 240 kilometers (150 miles) from the earthquake's epicenter, Indonesia. (Doc. File – AP/Dita Alangkara)
|
December 26 2004 is a dark history that the people of Aceh will never forget. At that time, the Veranda of Mecca was shaken by an earthquake measuring 9.1 with a depth of 30 km.
This fault zone caused a tsunami as high as 30 meters with speeds reaching 360 kilometers per hour. According to Australian Geographic records, this tsunami was the largest tsunami that affected 15 countries.
The tsunami, which was caused by an earthquake equivalent to a 100 gigaton bomb, is estimated to have caused losses of US$ 10 billion and killed around 230 thousand people.
2. North Pacific Coast, Japan (March 11, 2011)
The tsunami on March 11 2001 on the North Pacific Coast, Japan, was one of the largest in the world and also a deep trauma for the people of Sakura Country.
This powerful tsunami that traveled at a speed of 800 km per hour with waves as high as 10 meters swept the east coast of Japan and killed more than 18 thousand people.
Not only were there 18 thousand fatalities, the tsunami triggered by an earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 displaced 452 thousand residents and caused losses of around US$235 billion.
3. Lisbon, Portugal (November 1, 1755)
The tsunami in Lisbon, Portugal, which killed 60 thousand residents of Portugal, Morocco and Spain, began with an earthquake measuring 8.5 magnitude. Reportedly, this earthquake produced three large waves up to 30 meters high along the western coast of Portugal and southern Spain.
4. Krakatoa, Indonesia (27 August 1883)
This tsunami event in Indonesia was caused by the eruption of Mount Krakatoa. The volcanic eruption in the Sunda Strait produced double waves as high as 37 meters which destroyed Anyer and Merak, as well as several countries.
This incident reportedly killed a total of around 40 thousand people. However, as many as 2,000 deaths were caused by volcanic eruptions, not due to the tsunami.
5. Enshunada Sea, Japan (20 September 1498)
An earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 8.3 caused a tsunami along Kii, Mikawa, Surugu, Izu and Sagami Beaches. The waves were strong enough to kill around 31 thousand people.
6. Nankaido, Japan (October 28, 1707)
The next deadly tsunami event was still from Japan. The 8.4 magnitude earthquake caused sea waves as high as 25 meters that hit the Pacific coast of Kyushu, Shikoku, Honshin and Osaka.
As a result of this incident, nearly 30 thousand buildings were damaged and around 30 thousand people died.
7. Sanriku, Japan (June 15, 1896)
A tsunami hit Shirahama, Japan after an earthquake measuring 7.6 off the coast of Sanriku, Japan. After the earthquake, a tsunami immediately occurred in Shirahama with a height of 38.2 meters.
As a result, more than 11 thousand houses were damaged and around 22 people died. This disaster was also reported to have affected the east coast of China and killed around 4,000 people.
8. Northern Chile (13 August 1868)
This tsunami event was caused by two large earthquakes estimated to have a magnitude of 8.5 off the coast of Arica, Peru (now Chile).
This wave affected the entire Pacific Rim with waves as high as 21 meters. The tsunami, which lasted 2-3 days, caused 25 thousand deaths and losses of US $ 300 million.
9. Ryukyu Islands, Japan (24 April 1771)
Returning to Japan, an earthquake measuring 7.4 magnitude is believed to have caused a tsunami that damaged a number of islands in the region, especially the Ishigaki and Miyako Islands.
This tsunami with a height of around 11 to 15 meters destroyed a total of 3,137 houses, killing almost 12 thousand people.
10. Ise Bay, Japan (January 18, 1586)
The last deadliest tsunami in history was the event in Ise Bay, Japan. This tsunami with a height of 6 meters was caused by an earthquake with a magnitude of 8.2, causing damage to Nagahama City, claiming more than 8,000 lives.
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
(hsy/hsy)