We can’t rule out the possibility today’s earthquake was not even the biggest event in this sequence, although as time passes the likelihood of a larger associated event decreases.
Tsunamis aren’t just bigger-than-average waves. Triggered by undersea earthquakes or volcanic eruptions like the one in Tonga, they are fast, massive and potentially destructive. Here’s why.
A tricky kind of earthquake that happens in the soft rock of the ocean floor causes much larger tsunamis than their magnitude would predict. New research pinpoints a way to identify the danger fast.