Nightmare of the sea and ocean is nothing other than the tsunami, a deadly natural disaster that kills and destroys. There are several worst tsunamis in different parts of the world, but the most often ones are always in Japan. Tsunamis occur when the body of water experiences a displacement of water due to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, or underwater explosions. Whenever that occurs, giant waves will move for a long distance and hit the shore which results in massive destruction. Today, we will look into 7 worst tsunamis that have damaged and killed a lot of people the most.
1Tohoku Tsunami
When: 11th March, 2011
Where: Japan
Death Toll: About 452,000
It was the most powerful earthquake to have ever hit Japan with a magnitude of 9.0 which lasts for several minutes. Soon after, high waves of 30 meters crashed on the east coast of Japan which also caused the leaking of radioactive at Fukushima. That was also known as the most expensive natural disaster with an economic impact of $235 billion. People were killed, houses were destroyed, and it was also a nuclear disaster that left scars on the people there.
2Messina Tsunami
When: 26th December, 1908
Where: Italy
Death Toll: 70,000
No one would have expected an earthquake at 5:20AM in the morning that caused a deadly tsunami like that. At the dawn of the 28th of December, there was a 7.5 magnitude earthquake that sent 12 meters of waves crashing into the shorelines of Messina. The waves also damaged some parts of another coastal town called Reggio di Calabria as well. The death was devastating, and the survivors joined a wave of immigrants to the United States.
3Portugal-Morocco Tsunami
When: 1st November, 1755
Where: Portugal
Death Toll: Between 60,000 to 100,000
It was a good morning until the 8.5 magnitude earthquake sent a series of three huge waves to strike various towns for several minutes. The tsunami hit towns along the west coast of Portugal and Southern Spain with its 30 meters high waves. The waves also affected some other areas like Carlisle Bay and Barbados with waves that raised up to 1.5 meters.
4Krakatoa Tsunami
When: 27th August, 1883
Where: Indonesia
Death Toll: About 40,000
It all began with a volcano eruption that killed 3,000 people on the island of Sebesi. Not long enough, the eruption and its fast-moving waves of hot gas and rock keep on plunging into the sea. That was when the sea waves started to raise as high as 37 meters which were so powerful they reached India and Sri Lanka. Both the volcano and the tsunami killed about 40,000 people.
5Tokaido-Nankaido Tsunami
When: 28th October, 1707
Where: Japan
Death Toll: About 30,000
It was 300 years ago, but it was one of the tragedies caused by the tsunami in Japan. It was a hot afternoon when an 8.4 magnitude earthquake sent sea waves at a height of 25 meters to hammer parts of Japan. The affected areas were Kyushu, Shikoku, Hanshin, and Osaka. Thousands of buildings were damaged, and no less than 30,000 people were killed.
6Sanriku Tsunami
When: 15th June, 1896
Where: Japan
Death Toll: 27,000
Sanriku earthquake was one of the most destructive earthquakes to ever hit Japan. It did not only damage the buildings but also caused a tsunami which increased the death toll even more. It was an 8.5 magnitude earthquake that caused two large tsunami waves that were as high as 25 meters. The waves swept away buildings and took the innocent lives of more than 27,000 people.
7Boxing Day Tsunami
When: 26th December, 2004
Where: Indonesia
Death Toll: 227,898
The earthquake began in Indonesia, and the effect spread to parts of other countries as well. The affected countries were Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and other 14 countries as far away as South Africa. 227,898 people were dead, and millions of people we homeless.
Related Post: Worst Hurricane Throughout History
