Sunday, April 5, 2009

Memorable Moment


Ø The word ‘Tsunami’ is of Japanese origin, which means,“harbour wave”.

Ø Tsunami are large waves that are generated when the see floor is deformed by seismic activity, vertically displacing the overlying water in the ocean.

Ø The quake occurred at a place where several massive geological plates push against each other with massive force.

Ø Tsunami has very low height while traveling over deep ocean.

Ø High waves occur only when it reaches the shallow waters, typically near the coast. The mega thrust earthquake-measuring 9.0 at Richter scale, off the western coast of northern Sumatra (Banda Ache), Indonesia was the largest of its type since the 9.2 magnitude Good Friday earthquake off Alaska in 1964.

Ø The deadliest natural disaster caused by the tsunami generated from an undersea earthquake on 26 December 2004 in the Indian Ocean has shaken up the world. The 2004 tsunami generated waves of up to 15 meters in height and even hit Somalia at a distance of about 4500 km west of the epicenter.

Ø Almost all the countries situated around the Bay of Bengal were affected by the tsunami waves in the morning hours of 26 December 2004 (between 0900 – 1030 hrs IST).

Ø The killer waves were triggered by an earthquake measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale that had an epicenter near the west coast of Sumatra in Indonesia.

Ø The first recorded tsunami in India dates back to 31 December 1881. An earthquake of magnitude 7.5 on the Richter scale, with its epicenter believed to have been under the sea off the coast of Car Nicobar Island, caused the tsunami.

Tsunami in Tamil Nadu

Ø The state of Tamil Nadu has been the worst affected on the mainland, with a death toll of 7,793. Nagapattinam district has had 5,525 casualties, with entire villages having been destroyed. Kanyakumari district has had 808 deaths, Cuddalore district 599, the state capital Chennai 206 and Kancheepuram district 124. The death tolls in other districts were Pudukkottai (15), Ramanathapuram (6), Tirunelveli (4), Thoothukudi (3), Tiruvallur (28), Thanjavur (22), Tiruvarur (10) and Viluppuram (47).

Ø Those killed in Kanyakumari include pilgrims taking a holy dip in the sea. Of about 700 people trapped at the Vivekananda Rock Memorial off Kanyakumari, 650 were rescued. In Chennai, people playing on the Marina beach and those who taking a Sunday morning stroll were washed away, in addition to the fisherfolk who lived along the shore and those out at sea. The death toll at Velankanni in Nagapattinam district is currently 1,500. Most of these people were visiting the Basilica of the Virgin Mary for Christmas, while others were residents of the town.
By,
Murali.M

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