How tsunamis work - Alex Gendler

Tsunamî çawa çê dibe - Alex Gendler

Translator: Mehmet Sıddık Dilek Reviewer: ronya bewran

B.Z. 479'da leşkerê Pers

In 479 BC, when Persian soldiers besieged

bajarê Potidaea dorpêç kiribûn.

the Greek city of Potidaea,

the tide retreated much farther than usual,

Ava deryayê vekêşiya bû,

leaving a convenient invasion route.

Ew der jî bibû rêya êrişê.

But this wasn't a stroke of luck.

Lê bexte wan reş bû,

Before they had crossed halfway,

di nîvê rê de,

the water returned in a wave higher than anyone had ever seen,

pêlên avê bi ser wan de hatin,

drowning the attackers.

hemû xeniqîn.

The Potiidaeans believed they had been saved

Gelê Potidaea bawer kirin ku

Poseidon ew rizgar kirine.

by the wrath of Poseidon.

But what really saved them

Lê tişta ku ew rizgar kirî,

was likely the same phenomenon that has destroyed countless others:

ew tişta ku gelekê din jî kuştiya:

a tsunami.

Tsunamî.

Although tsunamis are commonly known as tidal waves,

Dibejin tsunamî jî Kêş û vekêş e.

they're actually unrelated to the tidal activity caused

Lê têkiliya tsunamî û kêş û vekêş tune.

by the gravitational forces of the Sun and Moon.

Kêş û vekêş bi tevgera roj û heyvê çê dibe.

In many ways, tsunamis are just larger versions of regular waves.

Tsunamî ji pêlên ji rêzê pir mezintir e.

They have a trough and a crest,

Lûtkê û kortên wê hene,

and consist not of moving water,

ji avê çê nabe,

but the movement of energy through water.

lê tsunamî avê dide ber xwe û dibe.

The difference is in where this energy comes from.

Çavkaniya enerjiya wê cuda ye.

For normal ocean waves, it comes from wind.

Enerjiya pêlê avê, ji bayê tê.

Because this only affects the surface, the waves are limited in size and speed.

Ji bo ku tenê li ser rûyê avê ne, biçûk in.

But tsunamis are caused by energy originating underwater,

Lê enerjiya tsunamî ji bin avê,

from a volcanic eruption,

ji teqîna agirpija,

a submarine landslide,

ji hezaza,

or most commonly, an earthquake on the ocean floor

û pir cara ji erdhejên bin deryayê tê.

caused when the tectonic plates of the Earth's surface slip,

Dema bin avê de erdhej diqewime,

releasing a massive amount of energy into the water.

enerjiyakê pir mezin derdikeve.

This energy travels up to the surface,

Ev enerjî avê dide ber xwe

displacing water and raising it above the normal sea level,

û bilind dike,

but gravity pulls it back down,

piştre av tê kişindin,

which makes the energy ripple outwards horizontally.

pêlên biqasî çiya çê dibin.

Thus, the tsunami is born,

Wisa tsunamî pêk tê,

moving at over 500 miles per hour.

saetêkê de 800 km rê diçe.

When it's far from shore, a tsunami can be barely detectable

Ji bona ku di bin avê re tê,

since it moves through the entire depth of the water.

ji dûr naye fem kirin.

But when it reaches shallow water, something called wave shoaling occurs.

Lê dema nêzîk dibe tê guhartin.

Because there is less water to move through,

Hindik av li peşî dimîne,

this still massive amount of energy is compressed.

enerjiya wê hemû kom dibe.

The wave's speed slows down,

Leza tsunamî kêm dibe,

while its height rises to as much as 100 feet.

lê bilindahiya wê digihe 300 metrî.

The word tsunami, Japanese for "harbor wave,"

Tsunamî di Japonî de tê wateya ''pêlên nêzîk''

comes from the fact that it only seems to appear near the coast.

ev jî diyar dike ku ji nêzîk xuya dibe.

If the trough of a tsunami reaches shore first,

Pêşî kortên tsunamî tên,

the water will withdraw farther than normal

avê ji keviyê dikişînin.

before the wave hits,

Lewra berî tsunamî,

which can be misleadingly dangerous.

heya însana jê tune.

A tsunami will not only drown people near the coast,

Tsunamî ne tenê mirovên li keviyê dikuje,

but level buildings and trees for a mile inland or more,

heta 2 km avahî û dara jî xera dike.

especially in low-lying areas.

Bi taybetî jî herêmên nizm.

As if that weren't enough, the water then retreats,

Wextê av vedikişe jî,

dragging with it the newly created debris,

dîsa hemû kes û hemû tiştê,

and anything, or anyone, unfortunate enough

li ser rêya xwe

to be caught in its path.

wêran dike.

The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami

Di 2004 li Okyanûsa hindî,

was one of the deadliest natural disasters in history,

felaketekî pir mezina dîrokî qewimî,

killing over 200,000 people throughout South Asia.

200,000 mirov mirin li başûrê Asiayê.

Em ê çawa xwe ji feleketê siruştî parezin?

So how can we protect ourselves against this destructive force of nature?

People in some areas have attempted

Li cih na hewl dan

to stop tsunamis with sea walls, flood gates,

bi dîwarên bilind, deriyê mezin,

and channels to divert the water.

û bi cokên avê rawestînin.

But these are not always effective.

Yek jî bi kêr nehat.

In 2011, a tsunami surpassed the flood wall

2011 de, li Japonya tsunamî

dîwarê parastina Fukushima derbas kir,

protecting Japan's Fukushima Power Plant,

causing a nuclear disaster

Di encama felaketê nûkleer de

in addition to claiming over 18,000 lives.

18,000 însan mirin.

Many scientists and policy makers are instead focusing on early detection,

Zanyar dixebitin berî ku biqewime,

monitoring underwater pressure and seismic activity,

tsunamî fem bikin,

and establishing global communication networks

û bi tora ragihandinê,

for quickly distributing alerts.

hemû kesî şiyar bikin.

When nature is too powerful to stop,

Dema felaketa siruştî pir bi hêz be,

the safest course is to get out of its way.

ya herî baş: birevin!