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Tsunami

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For other uses, see tsunami.

A tsunami or tidal wave is a catastrophic sea movement, a massive pulse of water within a planet's ocean capable of causing devastating damage to coastal and island settlements and cities.

The Federation starship USS Tsunami and specialty drink Triskelion Tidal Wave are named for it. (ST video game: Armada; DS9 - Mission Gamma novel: This Gray Spirit)

Specifics[]

Planetary causes[]

A tsunami generally results from an offshore earthquake or erupting underwater volcano that significantly disrupts a large volume of water. Waves cresting as high as 40 meters travel in outward concentric rings from the point of disruption. The triggering disruption can occur on the opposite hemisphere of a planet. (TNG novel: War Drums, Adventures RPG module: The Sciences Division, TTN novel: Fallen Gods)

Perpetually bad weather on Ferenginar produces tidal waves, hurricanes, and tornadoes. The continent of Panara on Rigel IV often endures tsunamis and windstorms due to its equatorial location amid the planet's large oceans. (DS9 novel: The 34th Rule, Decipher RPG module: Worlds)

Climate change from pollution can create a greenhouse effect able to melt polar ice caps, raise sea levels, and increase storm severity, making tidal waves far more common. Thiopa was predicted to face this circumstance in the early 25th century. (TNG novel: Power Hungry)

In its late stages, deep-core planetary mining can lead to polar shifts, volcanic eruptions, tidal waves, and earthquakes. Such mining threatened to destabilize 7348-II in the 2260s. (TOS - Errand of Vengeance novel: Killing Blow)

The reversing of a planet's magnetic field can cause earthquakes and tsunamis. One such event occurred in 2269 on Nordstral. (TOS novel: Ice Trap)

Extra-planetary causes[]

Gravity from close proximity to a moon or other large body can produce tidal waves. A moon of the class M planet Miranda orbits so closely that it continually shifts the world's tectonic planets, resulting in volcanoes and tidal waves. Gravitational shifts from multiple erratically-orbiting moons cause tidal waves and earthquakes on the Mad Planet. In an alternate reality, Earth experienced 150-foot-high tidal waves from an orbiting planet-sized Borg supercube. (TOS - The Eugenics Wars novel: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh, Volume 1; TAS - Log Five novelization: The Jihad; ST - Strange New Worlds VIII short story: "A & Ω")

Impacts of objects from space can cause tsunamis. An asteroid impact can trigger mega-tsunamis reaching a height of three or four kilometers that can damage regions hundreds of kilometers inland. Vesbius faced an asteroid threat in 2269. The third planet of the KDZ-E25F system was struck by debris from a disintegrating comet in 2372. Karzuh'ulla faced a tsunami threat in 2381 if structures were dislodged from The Ring, the world's ringed space station. (TOS novel: Devil's Bargain; DS9 - Day of Honor novel: Armageddon Sky; SCE eBook: Ring Around the Sky)

Gravitational stress from stars in a binary system can trigger natural disasters on its planets. Tidal waves, earthquakes, strong storms, droughts, and other disruptions occur frequently from this source on the homeworld of the Blood Many. 2,500 years ago, natural disasters such as tidal waves occurred more frequently on Monorha after its secondary star collapsed to a white dwarf. (TOS - New Earth novel: Wagon Train to the Stars; VOY - String Theory novel: Cohesion)

A nearby wormhole can cause tectonic stresses and bring about tsunamis. One instance occurred in the 2260s on an uncharted planet in a sector near Starbase 4. (Adventures RPG module: These are the Voyages: Mission Compendium Vol. 1 mission: "A World With a Bluer Sun")

Graviton waves can cause tidal waves. In the 24th century, subspace disruptions caused a calamity known locally as the Constrictor, which multiplied gravity as much as five times for a few seconds. Striking PojjanPiraKot, it shifted the planet's tectonic places, spawning tidal waves, earthquakes, sink holes, and other disasters. The first time it hit, nearly one billion people were killed. (TNG - Double Helix novel: Red Sector)

Exposure to dark matter can cause tsunamis. In 2381, all life on a class M planet in Sector 6837 was wiped out when the presence of dark matter spawned dozens of tsunamis and volcanoes as well as hundreds of earthquakes. (VOY - Dark Matters novel: Cloak and Dagger)

Also, pan-dimensional beings such as Kol claim to have caused tsunamis or destroyed planetoids at a whim. (VOY - String Theory novel: Evolution)

Incidents[]

65 million years ago, an asteroid impact on Earth produced tidal waves that affected the entire planet's surface. Anything in the lower region of North America near the impact site would have been killed quickly. (TOS novel: First Frontier)

Two million years ago, impact of an object from space triggered a tsunami on a world in the Vormoresh Imperium, wiping out several coastal settlements. Jean-Luc Picard learned of the incident while surveying historical records in 2358. (TLE novel: The Buried Age)

Ten thousand years ago, an object with a diameter of 10.7 kilometers approached a planet at considerable speed and obliquely spiraled into orbit, disrupting the planet's crust to produce tidal waves and earthquakes, leaving a trail of impact craters as it broke apart and destroyed all life. In 2367, Data described this process to explain devastation encountered by the USS Enterprise-D. (TNG novel: Chains of Command)

Legends of the Bzzit Khaht include neighboring settlements coming to the aid of a city destroyed by a tsunami on Althos IV. (FASA RPG module: Star Trek IV Sourcebook Update)

In the 12th century, the geography of several continents was permanently altered by tsunamis on Caladaan. (DS9 - Day of Honor novel: Armageddon Sky)

On 27 April 2005, a tsunami flattened Malibu, California, at least according to Captain Hu-Lin Radisson in 2374. It was caused by an offshore earthquake that measured 6.2 on the Richter scale. (TOS novel: Dark Victory)

This disaster did not occur in real-world events; the novel was written in 2000.

Prior to the 22nd century, increasing earthquakes on Dokaal produced huge tidal waves and avalanches. Only a few thousand survivors were able to evacuate before seismic stresses broke the world apart. (TNG - A Time to... novel: A Time to Sow)

In 2263, the Federation's Glassner Colony on Buquair III was struck by a tsunami spawned by an undersea quake. The USS Lovell was among the starships dispatched for reconstruction and repair. (SCE - What's Past eBook: Distant Early Warning)

In 2368, a 40-meter high tsunami traveling 400 kilometers per hour destroyed the Earth colony of New Reykjavik on Selva. Personnel from the USS Enterprise-D led a life-saving evacuation. (TNG novel: War Drums)

In 2369, when Epictetus III faced destruction from a nova, a plan was hatched by the crew of the USS Enterprise-D to save the world's population of 20 million by sending the world through a wormhole using technology left by the world's previous inhabitants. During the transition, gravitational stress caused tidal waves and earthquakes. Tidal waves hit the cities of Austra, Boreas, Epira, Hierapolis, and Nicopolis. (TNG novel: A Fury Scorned)

In 2380, spacial distortions from an emerging protouniverse triggered extreme weather disasters on Oghen. The USS Titan's shuttle Beiderbecke was struck by a tsunami while rescuing Neyel refugees. (TTN novel: The Red King)

In 2381, William T. Riker and Aili Lavena were stranded on an islet on Droplet after falling chunks of an asteroid caused a tsunami. (TTN novel: Over a Torrent Sea)

Appendices[]

Appearances[]

References[]

External links[]

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