When natural disasters such as earthquakes or volcanic eruptions displace large amounts of ocean water, the result is a tsunami — an enormous wave that can reach speeds over 500 miles per hour in the open ocean. These waves threaten communities when they reach land. Between 1998 and 2017, the global death toll from tsunamis exceeded 250,000, according to the WHO. 227,000 of those deaths came from the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004.

To reduce the risk of injury and property damage from tsunamis, it is important to study the processes that create them. Instruments aboard NASA’s Earth-observing satellites collect data such as wave height and land surface deformation that can help scientists understand why tsunamis occur.

NASA’s Crustal Dynamics Data Information System (CDDIS) archives real-time data from a global network of navigational satellites that has been used to detect tsunamis and other disasters. Additionally, NASA curates socioeconomic data to provide a complete picture of the impact of natural disasters on communities.