Nature Tech: Tsunamis DVD

• Additional Details
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
• Rating: Not Rated
• Number of Discs: 1
• Run Time: 50 Minutes
• Region: Region 1
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Language: English
• Studio: History Channel
• DVD Release Date: July 8, 2003

They are started by offshore earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides and other seismic or tectonic events. They can race along the ocean floor at speeds up to 500 miles per hour, undetectable from the surface. But when they reach the shore, the underwater waves turn their speed into height, and can rise some 70 feet above the water's surface, crashing into the coastline with enough force to obliterate entire communities. Called tsunamis, the Japanese word for "harbor waves," they have claimed 50,000 lives in the past century alone, making them one of the deadliest forms of natural disasters.

NATURE TECH speaks with the scientists who are helping to uncover the secrets of these awesome forces and gets an up-close look at the tools they use in this quest. Computerized buoys, wave simulation machines, satellites, shake tables and 3-D models are helping to predict when and where the next deadly tsunami will strike. But it is far from a perfect science, and it remains chronically underfunded. From the 34-foot-high seawalls at Taro, Japan to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii, this is a fascinating look at man's struggle to understand one of nature's most enigmatic killers.