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Fishermen were also down by the beach, collecting fish. The tourists in the restaurants

near the beach were talking merrily and watching all the fun over their breakfast. It

seemed like a perfect day!

All of a sudden, a loud hissing sound came from the sea. A giant wave was heading
towards the shore at great speed. It sent speed boats flying across the tops of waves

like matchsticks. Fishing boats were upturned with the fishermen still holding onto
them. When the locals saw this they yelled, “Big wave! Big wave!”, and told the people

to leave the place. People started screaming and running with their bags and babies.

Some people climbed the nearest rock, some clung to poles and trees or anything they
could grab. Then the sea in all its fury came further inwards and swept away everything

in the streets. The waves descended upon the shops, houses and restaurants in the

lanes. The moving water carried away furniture, beach umbrellas, pots and pans,
cots, mattresses, uprooted trees and everything that came in its way. Within minutes,

thousands of unsuspecting people were engulfed by a wall of sea water. When the

ocean finally receded, it left thousands of people dead and a lot more homeless.

We call this a tsunami. It is one of the many natural disasters
What is the meaning of the
that cause a huge destruction of lives and property. The word word ‘tsunami’ in Japanese?

‘tsunami’ pronounced soo-nahm-ee comes from two Japanese

words - ‘tsu’ means harbour and ‘nami’ means wave. So tsunami means a harbour wave.
Have you ever wondered how these tsunamis are caused? Well, tsunamis are caused

when there is a disturbance such as an earthquake or a volcano deep under the ocean.

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