The Pacific Ocean is prone to earthquake-induced tsunamis caused by the so-called ring of fire volcanoes that girdle it. Ten lethal big waves have struck Japan, Hawaii, Alaska, Chile, Nicaragua and New Guinea over the past 100 years.
One of the most terrifying tsunamis occurred in 1792 when part of the Unzen volcano in Japan collapsed into the sea, setting up 100m (330ft) waves that killed 15,000 people in nearby fishing villages.
In 1868, a powerful tsunami killed 10,000 people when it smashed into the coast of Peru with enough energy to carry an American warship 3km (1.9m) inland.
When the Indonesian volcano of Krakatoa blew itself apart in 1883, it generated a wave that killed 36,000 inhabitants of Java and Sumatra.
Just 13 years later, in 1896, Japanese deep-water fishermen returned to their home ports to find their homes destroyed and 26,000 dead from a tsunami that must have slipped below the keels of their ships without them noticing.
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