The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the 2011 Japan tsunami were two of the most ruinous natural disasters in recent history, claiming over 230,000 lives across 14 countries in the former, and more ...

Tsunami warnings have improved greatly in recent decades, since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami which killed 228,000 people, and then the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake which devastated Japan.

The even stronger 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan killed just under 20,000 people. It was a terrible toll, but far fewer than the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

Tsunami waves reached Hawaii and the West Coast but evacuation orders and an advisory in Hawaii were later lifted and beaches along the West Coast began reopening as the threat to U.S. shores eased.