Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition Â© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 Â© HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 Cite This Source
According to Oxfam, five million people were affected of which 1.7m were made homeless, half a million were injured and more than 230,000 were killed. The TEC said 40,000 to 45,000 more women than men were killed in the tsunami.
A tsunami at least 3 feet (a meter) high were recorded on Oahu and Kauai, and officials warned that the waves would continue and could become larger. Japan's worst previous quake was in 1923 in Kanto, an 8.3-magnitude temblor that killed 143,000 people, according to USGS.