What were some of the most destructive tsunamis?

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One of the most destructive tsunamis to occur during historical times followed the explosive eruption of the volcano Krakatoa in the East Indies on Aug. 27, 1883, when over 36,000 people were killed as a result of the wave. Waves were up to 100 ft (30 m) high. Its passage was traced as far away as Panama. On Dec. 26, 2004, a 9.1-9.3 earthquake off NW Sumatra, Indonesia, caused a tsunami with waves as high as 65 ft (20 m) nearest the epicenter. At least 200,000 people are believed to have died. The waves devastated many areas in the E Indian Ocean basin, particularly the nearby coast of N Sumatra, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and the E and S coasts of Sri Lanka. Areas of SE India and SW Thailand were also hard hit. Deaths and destruction occurred as far away as the coasts of Somalia and Madagascar in Africa, and minor sea level changes were measured as far away as San Diego, Calif., Iquique, Chile, and Atlantic City, N.J. It is believed that a 0.6-mi-wide (1-km-wide) asteroid that struck the ocean SW of New Zealand about AD 1500 created a tsunami that reached heights of more than 425 ft (130 m).

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