World Tsunami Awareness Day is observed annually Nov.5 to create awareness about the dangers of the deadly natural disaster that has claimed over 260,000 lives in the last century.

Tsunamis are usually caused by earthquakes occurring below or near the ocean, submarine landslides and volcanic eruptions. The series of enormous waves then attack the shoreline.

The first World Tsunami Awareness Day was observed in 2016 to stress upon the importance of early warning systems and share new and innovative approaches to risk reduction.

On this day, here are a few quotes about the catastrophic ocean wave, courtesy Good Reads, Brainy Quotes and Thought Co. –

  • "You'll never be just anything. A tsunami can never be just a wave (...) Waves are banal. Tsunamis reshape the Earth." ― Karen Marie Moning
  • "Then he heard a distant rumble - louder than thunder. Looking out to sea, Sawat saw a grey wall of water, the width of the horizon, tumbling at high speed towards the shoreline." ― Kevin Ansbro
  • "Whenever an earthquake or tsunami takes thousands of innocent lives, a shocked world talks of little else." ― Anne M. Mulcahy
  • "Why did the earthquake and tsunami occur in Japan? Was it the act of an angry God? No, it was the result of the movement and collision of the earth's tectonic plates - a process driven by the earth's need to regulate its own internal temperature. Without the process that creates earthquake, our planet could not sustain life." ― Adam Hamilton
  • "Did you know that the word 'tsunami,' which is now being used worldwide, is a Japanese word? This is indicative of the extent to which Japan has been subject to frequent tsunami disasters in the past." ― Junichiro Koizumi
  • "This is an unprecedented global catastrophe and it requires an unprecedented global response." ― Kofi Annan
  • "At first it seemed a terrible disaster, a terrible tragedy. But I think as the days have gone on, people have recognized it as a global catastrophe." ― Tony Blair
  • "The indications are the disaster is going to be a lot worse than we have anticipated already. Aceh really is ground zero." ― John Budd
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Representational image of a woman walking her dog. Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images
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