Tsunami warning due to earthquake in Japan: What is tsunami, why does it keep forming in the island country?

Tsunami:

Thousands of people have been affected by the strong earthquake in Japan. The high waves of the sea in Ishikawa are scary. The intensity of the earthquake has been measured at 7.4 on the Richter scale. A tsunami alert has also been issued in the coastal areas of Russia. According to reports, there is a threat of a tsunami after the earthquake near the west coast of Japan. How worrying the earthquake is in Japan can be gauged from the fact that power supply has been disrupted in more than 33 thousand houses.

Tsunami is a Japanese word meaning “port wave”. This is usually caused by undersea earthquakes or volcanic eruptions. Here’s everything you need to know about tsunamis:

Tsunami waves hit parts of Japan’s coastal areas, and an immediate evacuation warning was issued after a 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck the north-central region of the country on Monday (January 1).

In a televised address, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida asked citizens to closely follow evacuation orders and warned that the initial quakes could be followed by more powerful earthquakes and tsunami waves.

What is a tsunami?

A tsunami (a Japanese word meaning “port wave”) is a series of huge ocean waves caused by an undersea earthquake or volcanic eruption. When an earthquake occurs under the sea, a large part of the ocean floor can suddenly move up or down, displacing large amounts of water suddenly, creating tsunami waves.

Something similar can happen when a volcano erupts in the sea. Lava flowing from a volcano displaces the water around it, and that water can form a large wave.

“Large tsunamis usually begin in the deep ocean, where large amounts of water can be displaced. According to a NASA report, as the wave approaches the shore, the sea becomes shallower and higher.

Tsunami waves can reach hundreds of feet high and move as fast as jet planes in deep water, slowing down when they reach shallow water.

However, not all earthquakes or volcanic eruptions cause tsunamis. The formation of a tsunami can depend on several factors, including the shape of the ocean floor and the distance and direction of the earthquake.

Emergency number issued by Indian Embassy:

Amidst the sensitive and worrying scene, the Indian Embassy has issued an emergency helpline number to help the people affected by the disaster. The Indian Embassy has also released an e-mail address for contact. Apart from Yakub Topno, Ajay Sethi and DN Burnwal, numbers of S Bhattacharya and Vivek Rathi have been released.

Why is there a risk of earthquakes and tsunamis in Japan?

This is because of its location. Japan lies along the ‘Pacific Ring of Fire’, the most active earthquake tectonic belt in the world. According to a report in Live Science, the ‘Ring’ refers to “an imaginary horseshoe-shaped region located at the edge of the Pacific Ocean, where many of the world’s earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur.”

Within the Ring of Fire, there are separate tectonic belts, including the Pacific Plate, the Eurasian Plate, and the Indo-Australian Plate, which continue to collide and collide with each other, causing earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis.

In 2011, Japan was struck by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and resulting tsunami that devastated its northeastern coastal communities, killing about 18,000 and displacing thousands. Those tsunami waves caused a nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima power plant, the worst nuclear accident in the Soviet Union since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

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