A tsunami ( plural : tsunamis or tsunami ; from Japanese : 津波 , lit . " harbour wave " ; English pronunciation : / tsuːˈnɑːmi / ) , also known as a seismic sea wave or as a tidal wave , 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 . Tsunamis can be caused by undersea earthquakes such as the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami , or by landslides such as the one in 1958 at Lituya Bay , Alaska , or by volcanic eruptions such as the ancient eruption of Santorini . On March 11 , 2011 , a tsunami occurred near Fukushima , Japan and spread through the Pacific Ocean
tsunami occurred near Fukushima , Japan
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
Natural disaster