Tsunami Facts

Tsunamis ( tidal waves ) travel as fast as jet planes.

Owen was a one-year-old hippo swept out to sea by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Villagers in Malindi, Kenya spent hours dragging him to shore with ropes and nets. At Haller Park he refused to leave the side of Mzee, a 130-year-old giant tortoise. The two ate, swam, and slept side by side for years.

The tallest wave in history was the 1958 Lituya Bay megatsunami, reaching a height of 1,720 feet (524 meters).

Around 300 ft uphill from the highest water level reached by the 2011 Tōhoku tsunami sits a centuries-old stone marker that warns: “Do not build your homes below this point!”

On December 26, 2004, 10-year-old Tilly Smith was on holiday at Mai Khao Beach, Phuket when the sea suddenly pulled back. She recognised the sign from a geography lesson two weeks earlier. She screamed at her parents. The hotel was cleared. About 100 people were evacuated in minutes. Mai Khao had no deaths that day.