A Wall of Water Sweeps Ashore

The day after Christmas 2004, a tsunami—a series of massive waves—hit coastlines around the Indian Ocean. In minutes, buildings were destroyed and people lost their families. Rina Kamal, 5, was one of them. She was found on the shore; her mother and sisters had been swept away.

This tsunami began with a powerful undersea earthquake. Waves began to roll across the ocean in a series. They traveled behind each other very fast-at about the speed of a jet plane.

Closer to shore, the waves slowed. The ones at the back of the series got closer to the waves in the front. One after another they crashed ashore. Some were as tall as an eight-story building. The devastating tsunami killed about 300,000 people.

NEXT >>