A new formula that could be used to give advance warning of where a tsunami is likely to hit and how destructive it will be has been discovered by scientists at Newcastle University.

This research was spurred by the 2004 disaster which devastated coastal communities in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.

In this tsunami, an earthquake in the depths of the ocean triggered a huge wave that resulted in six massive wave fronts in succession.

It was the third wave that caused the most devastation. It was this wave that lifted a train from its tracks and killed almost 1,000 people aboard.

The number and height of the tsunami waves hitting the shoreline depends on the shape of the initial surface wave in deep water.

From this information it is possible to work out whether a ‘trough’ or a ‘peak’ is the front wave. If it’s a trough there will be a warning of the tsunami. If it’s a peak, there will be no warning.

Automatic sensors have been in the Pacific Ocean for years and sensors have now been placed in the Indian Ocean.

The number of peaks and troughs in the initial disturbance will dictate the number of wave fronts that will steepen and eventually produce tsunami waves.

By calculating the number of waves that will join together as the faster ones catch up the slower ones, it is possible to predict how many and how big and fast the final waves hitting the shoreline will be.

What an incredible potential for life saving this research is!