Tsunami Have Killed Thousands Over Years

Tidal waves, or tsunami, often set off by undersea earthquakes, have caused several major disasters in coastal communities over the years.

References to these waves date back as far as ancient Greece and Rome, including a wave that shook the eastern Mediterranean on July 21, 365, killing thousands of residents of Alexandria, Egypt.

Among other notable tsunami:

* July 17, 1998, an offshore quake triggers a wave that strikes the north coast of Papua-New Guinea, killing some 2,000 people and leaving thousands more homeless.

* Aug. 16, 1976, a tsunami kills more than 5,000 people in the Moro Gulf region of the Philippines.

* March 28, 1964, Good Friday earthquake in Alaska sends out a wave swamping much of the Alaskan coast and destroying three villages. The wave kills 107 people in Alaska, four in Oregon and 11 in California as it sweeps down the West Coast.

* May 22, 1960, a wave reported as up to 35-feet high kills 1,000 in Chile and causes damage in Hawaii, where 61 die, and in the Philippines, Okinawa and Japan as it sweeps across the Pacific.

* April 1, 1946, Alaskan quake generates a tsunami that destroys North Cape Lighthouse, killing five. Hours later the wave arrives at Hilo, Hawaii, killing 159 people and doing millions of dollars in damage.

* Jan. 31, 1906, a devastating offshore quake submerges part of Tumaco, Colombia, and washes away every house on the coast between Rioverde, Ecuador, and Micay, Colombia. Death toll estimated at 500 to 1,500.

* Dec. 17, 1896, a tsunami washes away part of the embankment and main boulevard of Santa Barbara, California.

* June 15, 1896, the Sanriku tsunami strikes Japan without warning. A wave estimated at more than 70 feet high hits a crowd gathered to celebrate a religious festival, killing more than 26,000 people.

* Aug. 27, 1883, the eruption of the volcano Krakatau generates a massive wave that sweeps over the shores of nearby Java and Sumatra, killing 36,000 people.

* Nov. 1, 1775, the great Lisbon earthquake generates a wave up to 20-feet high that strikes coastal Portugal, Spain and Morocco.