Photograph courtesy of the Pacific Tsunami Museum in Hilo, Hawai`i People run from an approaching tsunami in Hilo, Hawai'i, on 1 April 1946; note the wave just left of the man's head in right center of image.

Tsunami is a Japanese word meaning "harbor wave." A tsunami is a wave or series of waves that are generated in a body of water by a sudden disturbance that displaces water. They are typically caused by earthquakes and landslides in coastal regions. Volcanic eruptions, nuclear explosions, and even impact of meteorites, asteroids, and comets from outer space can generate a tsunami.

This image is in the public domain in the United States because it only contains materials that originally came from the United States Geological Survey, an agency of the United States Department of the Interior. For more information, see the official USGS copyright policy. Bahasa Indonesia ∙ català ∙ čeština ∙ Deutsch ∙ eesti ∙ English ∙ español ∙ français ∙ galego ∙ italiano ∙ Nederlands ∙ português ∙ polski ∙ sicilianu ∙ suomi ∙ Tiếng Việt ∙ Türkçe ∙ български ∙ македонски ∙ русский ∙ മലയാളം ∙ 한국어 ∙ 日本語 ∙ 中文 ∙ 中文（简体） ∙ 中文（繁體） ∙ العربية ∙ فارسی ∙ +/−