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Tsunami (海啸) is Japanese for“harbor wave”. They are destructive(破坏的)giant waves that have enough energy to damage towns to pieces on the coast.
The most common cause of tsunamis is when the seafloor buckles(弯曲)because of an undersea earthquake.Tsunami can travel at speed up to 600 miles per hour in the open sea.The ones that usually do the most damage are usually 9 to 10 feet high.It's not just one wave that comes.They might continue for several hours with several hours between each wave.
A tsunami with waves that reached up to 32 feet high, hit more than nine different Asian countries, including Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and Indonesia, in late December, 2004.Sri Lanka was the worst hit with about 1.5 million people moved from their homes.Officials estimate(估计)that more than 100,000 people have been killed.Aid groups like the Red Cross are asking for donations(捐赠)of money to help those in the affected areas(灾区)．
In the Pacific, there were 17 tsunamis during 1992 to 1996 that took about 1,700 lives.The most deadly tsunami in history happened after the Krakatoa Volcano erupted(喷发)in 1883, in Indonesia. About 36,000
