Tsunamis- click to download PDF(269K): download requires Adobe Acrobat

 “You could see this incredible wall of water moving forward. From a distance it didn't look like much, but all of a sudden, it's moving forward quicker and quicker and quicker and the next thing you know, you've got three storeys [of water] above you.”

On 26 December 2004 a large earthquake off the coast of the island of Sumatra in Indonesia triggered tsunamis that raced across the Indian Ocean causing immense damage and loss of life.

The tsunamis wreaked havoc as far away as Somalia (over 4000 kilometres away) and were even detected by wave measuring equipment in Chile and  Mexico.

While the tsunami spawned by the Sumatran Earthquake was the most deadly and well publicised in recent history, tsunamis are not an uncommon phenomenon; there have been at least ten tsunami events internationally that have caused loss of life since 1990 and New Zealand has been hit by tsunamis numerous times in the past.