A tsunami from a nearby source
for which its destructive
effects are confined to coasts less
than 1 hour tsunami travel time, or typically
within about 200 km from its source. A local tsunami is usually
generated by an earthquake, but can also be caused
by a landslide or a pyroclastic flow from
a volcanic eruption. Over history,
90% of tsunami casualties have been caused by local tsunamis.
Tsunami flow depths exceeding 10 m and flow velocities over
6 m/s overturned and dragged 3-story buildings as much as
50 m during the 11 March 2011 Japan tsunami. Onagawa, Japan.
Photo courtesy of ITIC.
