How are we able to track/predict if an earthquake will produce/create a Tsunami and in turn estimate how big the wave will be and how long it will take to hit a coastline?

Question

There was a magnitude 8.1 earthquake off New Zealand’s coastline and a tsunami warning has been issued with predictions of how big the wave will be in places and when it will hit. How are scientists able to predict this?

Edit: Grammar and spelling lol

In: Earth Science

Answer 1

Seismometers measure how strong the amplitude is. If you have sensors scattered about, you can quickly determine speed and direction of the wave/energy as it passes over them. These pieces of information let you estimate when, where, and how big the wave might be.