FREE Resources for Learning About Tsunamis

November 5th is World Tsunami Awareness Day. This day was created to help spread awareness among people across the world to the dangers of tsunamis and the importance of the early warning signs. This would be a great time to teach your children about what a tsunami is and how they occur.

What is a Tsunami?

We don’t hear of tsunamis happening often, as they are not as common as hurricanes or tornadoes. A tsunami is a Japanese word translated as harbor wave. It is also called a seismic sea wave, or tidal wave. However, a tsunami is not really a tidal wave, but a reaction. They are almost always caused by under water sea earthquakes, underwater land slides or volcanic eruptions.

After an earthquake or eruption a series of waves spread over the ocean in widening circles. These travel very fast and can cover up to 120 miles at a time. By the time they reach land the waves are so high and large that they can destroy an entire city in a matter of minutes. Tsunamis are absolutely devastating and the video footage is hard to watch. If you are researching about tsunamis with your kids, be cautious of the footage. It is scary and very sad.

When we learn about natural disasters happening, we are always prompted to pray immediately. I like to have open conversations with my children and encourage them to pray for the families that are effected. We will usually mark the location on our wall map. When we see it, we are reminded to pray for them as they are rebuilding their lives and mourning those they have lost. 

Our very own Jeanette who lives in Tonga, has seen firsthand the devastation from flooding and loss of power from Tsunamis in the Tongan Islands. I remember gathering my children, to pray over her and her family as it was happening. I remember Carrie sending out an email and our whole team and our subscribers were praying for them at the same time! Scary stuff, but some of the survival stories and God’s hand of protection is miraculous.

If you are learning about earthquakes or volcanoes I encourage you to learn about tsunamis as they almost always come as an after effect of those natural disasters.

FREE Resources for Learning About Tsunamis:

Printables and Activities:

Tsunami Science Reading Comprehension – Education.com

Create a Tsunami Science Activity – Homeschool Den

Tsunami Facts and Worksheets – Kids Konnect

Lesson Plans and Activity Book, Maps and Quizzes About Tsunamis – Ed Helper

Tsunami Notebooking Page – Homeschool Helper

Natural Disasters: Tsunami – ESL Printables

Science True and False Quiz on Tsunamis – Help Teaching

NOAA Tsunami Worksheet – Christian’s Marine Science Page

Create a Tsunami Informational Science Poster – Art Skills

Volcano and Tsunami School Project Idea – Cards and School Projects

Learning about natural disasters?

These FREE Natural Disasters Notebooking Research Journals will guide your students through learning about nearly 200 natural disasters including earthquakes, floods, volcanoes, hurricanes, and more. 

Learn about the tsunami and flood of Hilo, Hawaii in The Historic Floods Notebooking Research Journal.

Websites, Tsunami Links and Information:

10 Interesting Tsunami Facts and Information for Kids – Mom Junction

How Tsunamis Work Video from Ted Ed

Tsunami Facts and Questions and Answers – Easy Science for Kids

Earth Science for Kids: Tsunamis – Ducksters

Tsunami Facts for Kids – Science Kids

Savage Earth Waves of Destruction: Tsunamis from PBS has information and facts about tsunamis and animation to see how a tsunami is formed.

Tsunami Preparedness – learn how, why and where to evacuate if conditions suggest that there is a risk of a tsunami in your area. – Red Cross

NOAA Center for Tsunami Research helps to track Tsunamis, and is full of data and information, maps, and the history of tsunamis.