Tsunami in Hilo, Hawaii

Date: May 23, 1960 • Location: Lumaco, Chile

A tsunami caused by an earthquake in Chile the previous day kills 61 people in Hilo, Hawaii.

A tsunami is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, underwater explosions, landslides, glacier calvings, meteorite impacts and other disturbances above or below water all have the potential to generate a tsunami. Unlike normal ocean waves, which are generated by wind, or tides, which are in turn generated by the gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun, a tsunami is generated by the displacement of water from a large event.