The coastline of the continents was changed drastically and almost all life on land was exterminated. Scientists have found traces of an asteroid-collision event that they say would have created a giant tsunami that swept around the Earth several times, inundating everything except the mountains 3.5 billion years ago. More rarely, a tsunami can be generated by a giant meteor impact with the ocean.
WHEN THE WAVES TURN THE MINUTES TO HOURS SERIES
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Tsunamis have been relatively rare in the Indian Ocean. Within hours killer waves radiating from the epicenter slammed into the coastline of 11 Indian Ocean countries, snatching people out to sea, drowning others in their homes or on beaches, and demolishing property from Africa to Thailand. A violent movement of the Earth's tectonic plates displaced an enormous amount of water, sending powerful shock waves in every direction. Geological Survey, which monitors earthquakes worldwide.
![when the waves turn the minutes to hours when the waves turn the minutes to hours](https://blogs.agu.org/wildwildscience/files/2013/03/construvc.jpg)
![when the waves turn the minutes to hours when the waves turn the minutes to hours](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/HNygoQBe-es/maxresdefault.jpg)
The epicenter of the 9.0 magnitude quake was under the Indian Ocean near the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, according to the U.S. The Indian Ocean tsunami generated by the most powerful earthquake in decades on December 26 is believed to have killed more than 150,000 people and made millions homeless, making it perhaps the most destructive tsunami in history.