Tsunamigenic Earthquakes: Past and Present Milestones

We review a number of events which, taken individually, have significantly affected our understanding of the generation of tsunamis by earthquake sources and our efforts at mitigating their hazards, notably through the development of warning algorithms. Starting with the 1700 Cascadia earthquake, we examine how significant tsunamis have changed our views in fields as diverse as seismotectonics, the diversity of earthquake cycles, the development of warning algorithms, the response of communities at risk to warnings, and their education, the latter being either formal or rooted in ancestral heritage. We discuss in detail lessons from the 2004 Sumatra disasters and review the performance of warning centers and the response of affected populations during the nine significant tsunamis which have taken place since 2004.