The December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was caused by an earthquake that is thought to have had the energy of 23,000 Hiroshima-type atomic bombs. Within hours of the earthquake, killer waves radiating from the epicenter slammed into the coastlines of 11 countries, damaging countries from east Africa to Thailand.

Noticeable tsunamis require earthquakes of about magnitude seven or larger and widely-damaging tsunamis usually require earthquake magnitudes of at least eight or greater. But whereas large-magnitude events are necessary, they alone are not sufficient to cause a tsunami.

The most devastating and deadliest tsunami was one in the Indian Ocean on Boxing Day, 2004. The tsunami was the most lethal ever to have occurred, with a death toll that reached a staggering figure of over 230,000, affecting people in 14 countries – with Indonesia hit worst, followed by Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand.

Large tsunamis have occurred in the United States and will undoubtedly occur again. The tsunami generated by the 1964 magnitude 9.2 earthquake in the Gulf of Alaska (Prince William Sound) caused damage and loss of life across the Pacific, including Alaska, Hawaii, California, Oregon, and Washington.

Interestingly, in the event of a tsunami, the safest place for a boat to be is out to sea, in deep water. Tsunamis can also be brutal to all sorts of life forms underwater. A diver, for instance, will hardly survive a tsunami because he will be caught by violent spinning currents.

Tsunamis are harmless for 95% of their life. The energy of the tsunami runs through the entire depth of the ocean. It only becomes deadly when the ocean floor becomes shallow, and all that energy compresses into a smaller amount of water.

December 26, 2004 +1.5 hours: Beaches in southern Thailand are hit by the tsunami. Among the 5,400 who died were 2,000 foreign tourists. +2 hours: The tsunami strikes the Sri Lankan coastline from the northeast and all around the southern tip; more than 30,000 people are dead or missing.

100 miles inland

You can’t surf a tsunami because it doesn’t have a face. Many people have the misconception that a tsunami wave will resemble the 25-foot waves at Jaws, Waimea or Maverick’s, but this is incorrect: those waves look nothing like a tsunami. On a tsunami, there’s no face, so there’s nothing for a surfboard to grip.

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – University of Hawaii researchers say there is a 10 percent chance a large earthquake could hit the Aleutian Islands in the next 50 years and generate a devastating tsunami that could leave Hawaii under water. That’s three times bigger than the tsunami that wiped out Hilo in 1946.

Tsunami can come from different sources. A distant source tsunami, like one generated from Chile, could take 14 hours or more to arrive. A regional source tsunami, like one generated from the Southwest Pacific, could take between one and three hours to arrive.

Tsunamis can cause great loss of life and property damage in coastal areas. Very large tsunamis can cause damage to coastal regions thousands of miles away from the earthquake that caused them. Beaches, lagoons, bays, estuaries, tidal flats and river mouths are the most dangerous places to be.

Early warning signs of a tsunami

• One of the signs of a potential tsunami is the occurrence of a very large earthquake that lasts for more than 20 seconds.
• A more immediate and ominous sign of an approaching tsunami is a rapid and unexpected recession of water levels below the expected low tide.

Pacific Ocean

Subscribe today. On April 1, 1946, a 10-foot wall of water surged onto the Island of Hawai’i after a magnitude 8.1 earthquake near the Aleutian Islands. The tsunami killed over 170 people, did tens of millions of dollars in damage, and is known as the most destructive tsunami in recent Hawaiian history.

Prehistoric. The asteroid linked to the extinction of dinosaurs, which created the Chicxulub crater in Yucatán approximately 66 million years ago, would have caused a megatsunami over 100 metres (328 ft) tall.

Tsunamis generated far away from the coast of Hawaii are considered distant tsunamis. The following are the estimated times that waves will reach Hawaii for tsunamis generated in various locations around the world.

IF YOU ARE UNDER A TSUNAMI WARNING:

1. First, protect yourself from an Earthquake.
2. Get to high ground as far inland as possible.
3. Be alert to signs of a tsunami, such as a sudden rise or draining of ocean waters.
4. Listen to emergency information and alerts.
5. Evacuate: DO NOT wait!
6. If you are in a boat, go out to sea.

Here Are The 10 Safest & Most Peaceful Places To Live In Hawaii

• Makaweli, Kauai. Dave Seidman/Flickr.
• Kalaupapa, Molokai. Warren Antiola/Flickr.
• Schofield Barracks, Oahu. U.S. Pacific Command/Flickr.
• Hanalei, Kauai. Ik T/Flickr.
• Kilauea, Kauai.
• Laupahoehoe, Big Island.
• Haleiwa, Oahu.
• Mililani Town, Oahu.

10 Most Dangerous Places in Hawaii

• Wahiawa. Wahiawa with a population of 46,562 has a Livability Score of 58/100, which is considered poor.
• Makaha. This leeward Oahu census-designated place has a population of 8,934.
• Kahului.
• Pahoa.
• Ewa Beach.
• Hilo.
• Waianae.
• Kapaa.

Top places to live in Hawaii

• Honolulu, Oahu. Honolulu is widely recognized in the whole state of Hawaii as having the highest livability in the island chain.
• Kahala, Honolulu, Hawaii.
• Wailea, Mau’i County.
• Lahaina, Mau’i County.
• Paia, Mau’i County.

the Big Island

The current minimum wage in Hawaiʻi is $10.10 an hour, or $21,000 per year for full-time work. According to these new calculations, Hawaiʻi’s own state department charged with governing our economic landscape found that a single adult with no keiki needed to earn $16.90 an hour in 2018 in Hawai’i to be self-sufficient.

The high cost of living often intimidates those making the move to Hawaii. While the cost is higher than many other states, living on Oahu can actually be surprisingly affordable in other aspects. Hawaii offers the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors, get around town and cook dinner without having to ‘break the bank’.

Bottom line is, there are many places where the land is for sale cheap due to some sort of environmental danger like volcanic activity or flood prone. Its easy enough to suss those areas out.

With a crime rate of 43 per one thousand residents, Pahoa has one of the highest crime rates in America compared to all communities of all sizes – from the smallest towns to the very largest cities. One’s chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime here is one in 23.