
Over the past century, several deadly tsunamis have been recorded, killing more than 300,000 people and causing billions of dollars in losses to the economies of various countries. The most famous of these are:
- the tsunami of Lituya Bay in Alaska, which occurred on July 9, 1958 with the highest wave height in recorded history – up to 530 m;
- the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 – waves 15 m high led to the death of up to 250,000 people in 14 countries;
- the tsunami caused by the Great Chilean earthquake of 1960 with a magnitude of 9.5, destroyed 6,000 and flooded 40,000 buildings;
- the 2011 Tohoku tsunami– 10-meter waves hit the east coast and washed away almost the entire city of Rikuzentakata in Iwate Prefecture, submerging about 5,000 houses. The tsunami severely damaged reactors at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, causing a major radioactive contamination.
Could powerful earthquakes, landslides and tsunamis have changed the course of history in ancient times? Scientists are finding evidence of such events in different parts of our planet.
The Storegga disaster in the early Holocene
Between 8120 and 8175 years ago, the largest submarine landslides in Europe displaced at least 3,200 km3 of sediments in the Norwegian Sea bordering the west of the Scandinavian Peninsula. Scientists believe that the landslide triggered a gigantic and devastating tsunami, called Storegga, meaning “Great Barrier” in Norwegian. Waves are estimated to have reached heights of 12 m along the coast of Norway and 6-10 m in the UK.
The consequences of the tsunami were catastrophic:
- waves completely destroyed the Dogger Bank land bridge from England to Europe;
- Mesolithic communities (Middle Stone Age) inhabiting these coastal areas became extinct;
- the tsunami’s destruction of coastal hunting grounds led to the deaths of those who survived the initial disaster.
A large area of northern Europe was affected by the Storegga tsunami, leaving traces of sediment in areas as distant as northern Norway, western Scotland, the Shetland Islands, eastern Greenland and northern England. Hawick, a resource-rich region in Northumberland, was inhabited by people in the Mesolithic period. However, no evidence of human activity has been found there after the Storegga tsunami.
The Black Sea deluge 7,500 years ago
A sudden flood and huge waves that hit the coast of the Northern Black Sea region more than 7,500 years ago led to the collapse of the civilization of primitive farmers. The warm, humid climate, ideal for growing cereals, was abruptly replaced by a cold snap, which came after huge waves flooded the land suitable for agriculture.
Scientists have discovered deposits of small mollusk shells, as well as fossils of marine animals, while studying sediments along the northern coast of the Black Sea. Observations showed that the deposits were the consequences of huge waves attacking the land, and the rise of the sea occurred almost instantly. The death of the Black Sea civilization in the Late Paleolithic was a large-scale tragedy, but had serious consequences for the development of European primitive communities. The surviving farmers migrated to Europe and spread their knowledge of grain cultivation among local tribes.
The Tsunami in Chile 3,800 years ago
Along the Chilean coast, nearly 3,800 years ago, a powerful tsunami, triggered by a magnitude 9.5 earthquake, caused severe social upheaval among prehistoric populations inhabiting the coastal Atacama Desert. After the earthquake and tsunami, surviving communities of hunters, gatherers, and fishers moved from the coast to desert regions. They did not return to their historical habitats for more than 1,000 years, preserving stories of the catastrophic events in oral traditions.
Waves 20-25 m high washed away the settlements of fishermen and forced them to flee to the mountains in fear. Not all survivors were able to adapt to new living conditions. Primitive hunter communities moved from a region with a productive marine ecosystem to an arid environment with low levels of terrestrial biomass and limited availability of reliable water sources. Archaeologists have discovered mass graves in the mountains, far from the coast. Fishermen returned to the coast after 1,000 years.
The Minoan tsunami
The eruption of the Santorini volcano in 1525 BC and the subsequent tsunami led to the destruction of a highly developed civilization of sea traders on the island of Thira. Scientists have established a precise date, using dendrochronological research methods, chronicles and found artifacts of the New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt. Waves up to 20 m high, traveling at 200 km/h, hit settlements and completely destroyed their merchant fleet. The surviving population took refuge in the mountains, and the island culture quickly declined. There is an opinion that the tsunami that passed throughout the Mediterranean caused the downfall of the ancient Minoan civilization, one of the most magnificent civilizations in human history. The Minoan culture on the island of Crete, which declined as a result of the explosion of the Santorini volcano, followed by an earthquake and a catastrophic tsunami, was replaced by the Mycenaean civilization (Achaean Greece).
Since information about catastrophic events does not remain in the collective memory of coastal peoples for a long time, and powerful tsunamis occur rarely, the population often ignores warning signs. Therefore, scientists not only collect information about ancient tsunamis and earthquakes, but also analyze the consequences in order to reduce their impact on coastal regions and damage from disasters.