animals in the same areas drowned. The phenomenon was also noted by media sources in Sri Lanka in the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. It is possible that certain animals (e.g., elephants) may have heard the sounds of the tsunami as it approached the coast. The elephants' reaction was to move away from the approaching noise. By contrast, some humans went to the shore to investigate and many drowned as a result. Mitigation In some tsunami-prone countries, earthquake engineering measures have been taken to reduce the damage caused onshore. Japan, where tsunami science and response measures first began following a disaster in 1896, has produced ever-more elaborate countermeasures and response plans. The country has built many tsunami walls of up to high to protect populated coastal areas. Other localities have built floodgates of up to high and channels to redirect the water from an incoming tsunami. However, their effectiveness has been questioned, as tsunamis often overtop the barriers. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster was directly triggered by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, when waves exceeded the height of the plant's sea wall. Iwate Prefecture, which is an area at high risk from tsunami, had tsunami barriers walls (Taro sea wall) totalling long at coastal towns. The 2011 tsunami toppled more than 50% of the walls and caused catastrophic damage. The Okushiri, Hokkaidō tsunami which struck Okushiri Island of Hokkaidō within two to five minutes of the earthquake on July 12, 1993, created waves as much as tall—as high as a 10-storey building. The port town of Aonae was completely surrounded by a tsunami wall, but the waves washed right over the wall and destroyed all the wood-framed structures in the area. The wall may have succeeded in slowing down and moderating the height of the tsunami, but it did not prevent major destruction and loss of life. See also Footnotes References IOC Tsunami Glossary by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) at the International Tsunami Information Centre (ITIC) of UNESCO Tsunami Terminology at NOAA In June 2011, the VOA Special English service of the Voice of America broadcast a 15-minute program on tsunamis as part of its weekly Science in the News series. The program included an interview with an NOAA official who oversees the agency's tsunami warning system. A transcript and MP3 of the program, intended for English learners, can be found at The Ever-Present Threat of Tsunamis. abelard.org. tsunamis: