This Why Files article looks at tsunamis in the wake of the July 17, 1998 disaster in Papua New Guinea that killed over a thousand people. Topics covered are: the causes of tsunamis, tsunami movement across the ocean, the history of some killer tsunamis of the last few hundred years, and ways to reduce human vulnerability to tsunamis. Readers can download a movie about how investigators think the Papua New Guinea tsunami spread out from its center. An August 1999 update discusses scientists' new thinking that the Papua New Guinea tsunamis were caused by undersea slides rather than an earthquake. Two university scientists and a hazard-warning official were interviewed for this article.
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