On Sunday morning ,a strong earthquake hit Indonesia and then big tsunamis(海啸)followed . They soon went on to other countries in the south and southeast Asia as well as East Africa .
Tsunamis are especially dangerous for children .By Wednesday ,nearly 60,000 people died because of the tsunamis .One third of them were children .
Children make up at least half of the people in Asia .The walls of water have killed many members of Asia families .In many Asia countries near the sea ,poor kids helped their parents fish .So they were in harm’s way when the tsunamis came .
In Sri Lanka ,when the first waves hit ,thousands of children came to the seaside .The waves brought in fish .The old and the young collected them .Many waited to see more .Then tsunamis six meters high hit the island of 19 million people .
“They got caught and could not run to safety. This is the reason why so many children have died .” said a policeman in Sri Lanka .
Tsunamis are caused by earthquakes .When two large pieces of the earth run into one another ,an earthquake happens.The movement gives the sea water a sudden push and makes it move fast.Scientists don’t know when an earthquake will happen ,so they could not tell people about the tsunamis .
In open seas tsunamis are only one or two meters high .When they are near the land ,they are as high as 10 meters .Houses and cars near the sea can be taken away by these big waves .Because tsunamis move fast and can travel to another side of the sea within one day , they may affect (影响) a lot of places .
The Pacific Ocean(太平洋)has a lot of strong tsunamis because of the size of the ocean and larg earthquakes there .China doesn’t see tsunamis often because its sea floor is quite flat .Islands around China also help the country stay away from them .
What should you do when there’s a tsunamis ?Move to a safe place .If you are near the sea and you feel the earthquake , move to higher ground .Stay away from rivers and streams .帮翻译