Tsunami and Earthquakes Animation

Every earthquake from 2001 through 2015 in one animation.

Animations are educational for showing how earthquakes cause tsunamis and how those tsunamis spread.

The above animation is from the US National Weather Service’s Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC). It shows every earthquake that it recorded from 1st January 2001 to 31st December 2015. One can clearly see the activity along the "Ring of Fire" around the Pacific Rim.

Below is an animation of a specific Tsunami caused by an earthquake. There was an earthquake just off the coast of South America on April 1, 2014. It was measured at 8.3 magnitudes on the Richter scale (revised up from 8.2) and triggered tsunami warnings for communities along the coast of Chile.

A tsunami warning for Pacific nations was put in place but then lifted shortly after the earthquake. Reports of six-foot waves in the Chilean town of Pisagua, in the Tarapacá Region, followed, but nothing more severe. It could have been a disaster, but apparently, the greater part of the force of the earthquake was directed outward into the ocean.

The below video animation is from the US National Weather Service Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. It depicts the wave path over the course of 30 hours following the earthquake. It is interesting to note how one of the direct targets of an earthquake near South America isn't anywhere near South America at all but instead is New Zealand.

Credit: YouTube/US NWS Pacific Tsunami Warning Center

2020