https://www.pitara.com/tags/tsunamis/Recent content in Tsunamis on Pitara Kids NetworkHugoen-usSat, 13 Jun 2026 21:46:31 +0530https://www.pitara.com/science-for-kids/5ws-and-h/what-is-a-tsunami/Tue, 28 Nov 2000 12:09:07 +0000https://www.pitara.com/science-for-kids/5ws-and-h/what-is-a-tsunami/<p>Last year there were three more fishing villages in the Pacific island country of Papua New Guinea than there are today. You might ask why. The answer is that these three villages were washed away by an ocean wave that was more like a giant wall of water. It goes by the name tsunami, a Japanese term meaning a harbour wave.</p> <figure class="image-medium has-caption"> <a href="https://www.pitara.com/media/earth-29_1.gif" aria-label="Link to larger image"> <img src="https://www.pitara.com/media/earth-29_1_hu_bc1c650c45053065.gif" srcset="https://www.pitara.com/media/earth-29_1_hu_44d22d83639c42cb.gif 320w, https://www.pitara.com/media/earth-29_1_hu_bc1c650c45053065.gif 900w" sizes="(min-width: 900px) 900px, 320px" alt="Ocean that Becomes a Giant Wall [Illustrations by Kusum Chamoli]" height="694" width="900" loading="lazy"> </a> <figcaption>Ocean that Becomes a Giant Wall [Illustrations by Kusum Chamoli]</figcaption> </figure> <p>A tsunami is caused by a disturbance in the sea floor, just like the disturbances on land. It may take the form of a quake or volcanic eruption or landslides on the ocean floor. Imagine the slab-like pieces of the sea floor, each of which may be hundreds of kilometres long. And imagine these slabs moving against each other, forcing one or the other upwards.</p>