Transcript What caused the tsunami

What caused the tsunami?
The next 5 lessons are about the Indian Ocean
tsunami. This lesson we’ll see how it was produced by
a massive earthquake off the coast of Sumatra. The
earthquake was caused by two plates colliding with
each other.
What happened?
On 26th December 2004, a massive undersea earthquake was
recorded in the Indian Ocean off the north-western coast of
Sumatra in Indonesia. The earthquake produce a tsunami, a
series of huge waves that devastated the coastal areas of
Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, southern India, and islands in the
Indian Ocean, with waves up to 15 metres in height.
The earthquake was the fourth largest recorded in 100 years and
was felt some 2,100 km (1,300 miles) away in India. The tsunami
caused damage as far away as Somalia in East Africa, 4,500 km
(2,800 miles) west of the earthquake’s centre.
The most famous tsunami before that of 2004 followed the
volcanic eruption of Krakatoa off the southern tip of Sumatra in
1883. The eruption caused the deaths of 36,000 people whilst the
tsunami waves travelled several times around the world.
What caused the earthquake and tsunami?
The outer crust of the earth is like a jigsaw. It is broken into
huge pieces called plates. These plates move around very
slowly. Where the plates meet they grind together and cause
earthquakes. Volcanic eruptions also happen here.
The Indian Ocean earthquake occurred just west of Sumatra
where the Indian and Eurasian plates meet. As the plates
moved towards each other they locked together and
pressure built up. When the pressure was released there
was an enormous earthquake.
The plate movement on 26th December 2004 was both
sudden and massive. The sea above the earthquake was
pushed upwards causing a tsunami. The tsunami waves then
spread rapidly out from the earthquake in all directions.
1. Sort the statements below into the correct order to show
the causes of the tsunami disaster.
•Sea movement causes tsunami.
•Plate movement causes earthquake.
•Waves crash onto shore.
•Sea above earthquake forced upwards.
•Plates move towards each other.
•Tsunami waves spread quickly outwards.
2. Make a larger copy of the diagram below. a) Label the two
plates, Sumatra and the Indian Ocean. b) Draw arrows to
show plate movements. c) Label the earthquake position. d)
Draw arrows to show the sea being pushed up and the
movement of tsunami waves. e) Add a suitable title.
3. Using the box, in your own words, describe the main
features of a tsunami.