Tsunamis on the move . TsunamisTsunamis .. .. .. AreAre aa seriesseries ofof long-wavelength,long-wavelength, long-periodlong-period oceanocean waves.waves. TheyThey areare notnot surfingsurfing waves.waves. ComeCome ashoreashore forfor hours.hours. TheThe firstfirst wavewave maymay nnotot bebe thethe largest.largest. AreAre causedcaused primarilyprimarily byby eearthquakesarthquakes occurringoccurring belowbelow oror nearnear thethe seafloor.seafloor. AreAre lessless frequentlyfrequently causecausedd byby underwaterunderwater volcanicvolcanic eruptions,eruptions, landslides,landslides, sluslumps,mps, andand meteorites.meteorites. TsunamisTsunamis .. .. .. TravelTravel atat jetjet airlinerairliner speedsspeeds inin thethe deepdeep ocean,ocean, bubutt thethe waveswaves areare SEA SURFACE onlyonly centimeterscentimeters highhigh andand cannotcannot bebe feltfelt aboardaboard ships.ships. WhenWhen tsunamistsunamis hithit shallowshallow water,water, ththeyey slowslow andand theirtheir heightheight growsgrows tremendously.tremendously. SEA FLOOR Tsunamis slow down but grow in size Earthquake! as they come ashore. CanCan crestcrest toto 10-m10-m highhigh heights,heights, strikestrike withwith devdevastatingastating force,force, SEA SURFACE 10.6 km andand quicklyquickly floofloodd allall low-lyinglow-lying coastalcoastal areas.areas. 213 km 23 km ThreatenThreaten lifelife andand property.property. SEA FLOOR 10 m 50 m SEA SURFACE 4000 m Depth Velocity Wave length (m) (km/h) (km) Tsunami waves 7000 943 7000 Knowledge is Safety: SEA FLOOR 4000 713 4000 2000 504 2000 200 159 200 50 79 50 Large earthquakes beneath the 10 36 10 Tsunami Warning Signs . seafloor can generate tsunamis AnAn earthquakeearthquake isis oneone ofof nature’snature’s tsunamitsunami warningwarning sisigns.gns. IfIf you’reyou’re atat thethe beachbeach andand thethe groundground shakesshakes soso hardhard youyou can’tcan’t standstand up,up, aa tsunamitsunami maymay havehave beenbeen generated.generated. TsunamiTsunami maymay bebe precededpreceded byby aa rapidrapid fallfall inin seasea levellevel asas thethe oceanocean retreatsretreats exposingexposing fishfish andand rocksrocks onon thethe seasea bottom.bottom. AA roarroar likelike anan oncomingoncoming traintrain mmayay bebe heardheard asas aa tsunamitsunami rushesrushes towardtoward thethe shore.shore. What you should do . AfterAfter anan earthquake,earthquake, movemove quicklyquickly inlandinland andand toto highigherher ground.ground. TsunamiTsunami fromfrom aa locallocal earthquakeearthquake cancan strikestrike inin minutminutes,es, andand beforebefore aa tsunamitsunami warningwarning isis announced.announced. TsunamiTsunami fromfrom distantdistant locationslocations cancan taketake upup toto 2424 hohoursurs toto crosscross anan oceanocean basin.basin. TsunamiTsunami warningswarnings willwill bebe announcedannounced advisingadvising coastalcoastal evacuationevacuation toto ssafeafe shelters.shelters. LearnLearn toto recognizerecognize nature’snature’s warnings.warnings. HeedHeed officiaofficiall tsunamitsunami warnings.warnings. StayStay awayaway fromfrom riversrivers andand strestreams.ams. IfIf youyou seesee aa tsunami,tsunami, youyou maymay notnot bebe ableable toto outrunoutrun it.it. LookLook forfor aa sturdy,sturdy, multi-storied,multi-storied, reinforcedreinforced concreteconcrete buildingbuilding andand climbclimb toto itsits highesthighest floorfloor oror ththee roof.roof. IfIf therethere isis nono time,time, climbclimb upup andand clingcling toto aa strongstrong tree.tree. IfIf you’reyou’re sweptswept upup byby aa tsunami,tsunami, looklook forfor somethingsomething toto helphelp youyou staystay afloat,afloat, andand toto protectprotect youyou fromfrom ddangerousangerous floatingfloating debrisdebris likelike houses,houses, cars,cars, andand trees.trees. For more info, visit www.tsunamiwave.info International Tsunami Information Centre .