TSUNAMI

Tsunami at Hilo (Hawaii) breaking through the pier. (Note the man on the left)

When the tsunami hit countries on the Indian Ocean in 2004, most people had probably never heard of the word "tsunami".

On this day (May 23) in 1960, however a tsunami caused by an earthquake off the coast of Chile travelled across the Pacific Ocean and killed 61 people in Hilo, Hawaii. The massive 8.5-magnitude quake had killed thousands in Chile the previous day.

The earthquake, involving a severe plate shift, caused a large displacement of water off the coast of southern Chile at 3:11 p.m. Travelling at speeds in excess of 400 miles per hour, the tsunami moved west and north. On the west coast of the United States, the waves caused an estimated $1 million in damages, but were not deadly.

Arriving only a minute after predicted, the tsunami destroyed Hilo Bay on the island of Hawaii. Thirty-five-foot waves bent parking meters to the ground and wiped away most buildings. A 10-ton tractor was swept out to sea. Reports indicate that the 20-ton boulders making up the sea wall were moved 500 feet. Sixty-one people died in Hilo, the worst-hit area of the island chain.