Tsunami: the underrated hazard

Tsunami: The Underrated Hazard, 2nd Edition, comprehensively describes the nature and process of tsunami formation, outlines field evidence for detecting the presence of past events, and describes notable events linked to earthquakes, volcanoes, submarine landslides, and comet impacts. The author provides a clear approach to the study of tsunami, through dynamics, impact on coastlines, and overviews of the various major mechanisms of tsunami generation. Liberal case studies and examples highlight the significance of this underrated natural hazard for coastal societies. In particular, Dr Bryant studies in detail the great tsunami that struck the Indian Ocean on 26 December 2004, making it one of the largest natural disasters to occur in recorded history.

The book is divided into four parts. Part I considers tsunami as a known hazard, starting in Chapter 1 with legends and stories and questioning whether they are scientific fact or legend. Dr Bryant looks at the causes of tsunami, their distribution and fatalities in the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas, the Pacific Ocean, New Zealand and Australia as well as in bays, fjords, inland seas and lakes. Chapter 2 studies the dynamics of tsunami, their characteristics, the wave theory and the run-up and inundation. In Part II tsunami-formed landscapes are examined, showing both the depositional and erosional signatures of tsunami in the coastal landscape, including chevrons and dune bedforms. The coastal landscape evolution is looked at in Chapter 4, comparing catastrophism against uniformitarianism and tsunami versus storms. Examples and types of coastal landscapes created by tsunami, particularly in Australia, Grand Cayman, the Bahamas and Chilean coast are also given. Part III looks at the main causes of tsunami: earthquakes, great landslides, volcanic eruptions and comets and meteorites. The modern risk of tsunami is covered in Part IV, detailing locations and avoidance, including warning systems. Dr Bryant ends this unique study of a fascinating subject with five stories of different tsunamis.