FAITH LAPIDUS: When a tsunami forms, the wave can spread out quickly. As it gets close to land, the force of the water builds. People near the ocean may hear a loud, sucking sound, or a noise similar to a train or airplane. Then, a “drawback” may happen. Suddenly, a large area of coastline has very little water on it, because the water is moving away from land. But sometimes there is no drawback, and high waves come quickly toward the land with no warning. Some tsunami waves reach as high as thirty meters.

BOB DOUGHTY: Three months ago, the tsunami that hit Japan destroyed houses, office buildings, cars, trucks, and even large boats. Thousands of people were killed. But many more would have died if not for a tsunami warning from the Japanese Meteorological Agency. That warning came just three minutes after the 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck near northeastern Japan. It was the fourth-most powerful earthquake ever measured worldwide and the worst to hit Japan.

The tsunami waves that followed the earthquake came almost immediately. They were reported to have reached as high as nine meters in some areas. Japan has concrete sea walls wrapped around forty percent of its coastline. But those walls were not built for such high waves. In some areas, the sea walls were as low as three meters.

FAITH LAPIDUS: Japan has one of the best tsunami early warning systems in the world. There are more than four thousand seismic intensity meters in place across the country to measure earthquakes. These meters provide information within two minutes of an earthquake striking. Information about the strength and the epicenter of the earthquake can be learned in less than three minutes.