TSUNAMI HISTORY - RECORDED V.K.Gusiakov Tsunami Laboratory, Institute of Computational Mathematics and Mathematical Geophysics, Siberian Division, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr.Lavrentieva, 6, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia, Email:
[email protected] Introduction Historical data on tsunami occurrence and coastal run-up are important for basic understanding of the tsunami phenomenon, its generation, propagation and run-up processes, its damaging effects. Such data are widely used for evaluating tsunami potential of coastal areas and for determining of the degree of tsunami hazard and risk for use in coastal-zone management and disaster preparedness. Also, historical data are of a critical importance for real-time evaluation of underwater earthquakes by the operational Tsunami Warning Centers, for the establishment of thresholds for issuing tsunami warnings and for design criteria for any tsunami-protective engineering construction. In terms of documented total damage and loss of human lives, tsunamis do not come first among other natural hazards. With an estimated 700,000 fatalities, resulted from tsunamis for all historical times (Gusiakov et al., 2007), they rank fifth after earthquakes, floods, typhoons and volcanic eruptions. However, because they can affect densely populated and usually well- developed coastal areas, tsunamis can have an extremely adverse impact on the socioeconomic infrastructure of society, which is strengthened by their full suddenness, terrifying rapidity, and their potential for heavy destruction of property and high percentage of fatalities among the population exposed to their action. There is evidence that tsunami as a catastrophic natural phenomenon has been known by humankind since antiquenty. Many languages have of a special word for this type of disaster coming from the sea - tidal waves, seismic sea waves (English), raz de maree, vagues sismiques (French), flutwellen (German), maremoto (Spanish), vlogengolden (Holland), tsunami (Japanese), hai-i Chinese, loka (Fijian).