The tsunami can flood as fast as a commercial jet plane.
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The tsunami can flood as fast as a commercial jet plane.
The 2018 Indonesia tsunami reached inland up to 600 meters in some places, though the extent varied along the coastline.
A tsunami can travel uphill depending on the slope, height, and force of the incoming wave. In some cases, tsunamis have been recorded to reach elevations of several hundred feet as they move inland.
"The tsunami waves reached run-up heights (how far the wave surges inland above sea level) of up to 128 feet (39 meters) at Miyako city and traveled inland as far as 6 miles (10 km) in Sendai." (quoted from LiveScience website)
There are various factors that determine how far inland a tsunami can go. Here is a list of factors involved: The terrain of the land and the height of the tsunami wave. If the land is mountainous the tsunami would probably not go very far; however, if it is lowland, it may wash inland for several kilometers.Another important factor in a tsunami is the volume of water displaced. It is not the height of a tsunami that gives it momentum over land, but the length.The angle at which the tsunami reaches land and the geographical shape of the coastline: A concave coastline will suffer more damage than a convex coastline that can deflect the water movement.Land forms slow them down considerably. The distance travelled inland is directly related to the change in elevation.Note, an earthquake's impact, in the form of tsunamis, can also travel halfway around the world in the ocean. For instance, the earthquake off the shore of Japan in 2011 created tsunamis reaching the United State's pacific coast line.The 2011 Tsunami in Japan Most scientists reported that the 33-foot tsunami wave made it 6 miles inland, with washed up shrapnel and water reaching 10 miles or more inland.