SINGAPORE, Dec 27: Here are some key facts about tsunamis: - Tsunami is a Japanese word that translates as "harbour wave". Often a tsunami is incorrectly referred to as a tidal wave , which, strictly speaking, describes the periodic movement of water associated with the rise and fall of the tides. -

Oceanographers call tsunamis seismic sea wares because they are usually caused by a sudden rise or fall of part of the earth's crust under or near the ocean. Less powerful tsunami waves can also be triggered by volcanic activity. They are most common in the Pacific Ocean.

- A tsunami is not a single wave, but a series of waves that can travel across the ocean at speeds of more than 800kms an hour. In the deep ocean, hundreds of kilometres can separate wave crests; many people have lost their lives during tsunamis after returning home thinking the waves had stopped.

- As the tsunami enters the shallows of coastlines in its path, its velocity slows but its height increases. A tsunami that is just a few centimetres or metres high from trough to crest can rear up to heights of 30 to 50 metres as it hits the shore, striking with devastating force.

For those on shore there is little warning of a tsunami's approach. The first indication is often a sharp swell, not unlike an ordinary storm swell. - In 1883, a tsunami following the eruption of Krakatoa volcano between the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra killed 36,000. The tsunami's passage was traced as far away as Panama.

- In July 1998, two undersea quakes measuring 7.0 created three tsunamis that killed at least 2,100 near the town of Aitape on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. Villagers said the massive walls of water, which washed two kilometres inland, sounded like a jet fighter landing. -Reuters