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Casualties. 227,898 dead [5] [6] On 26 December 2004, at 07:58:53 local time ( UTC+7 ), a major earthquake with a magnitude of 9.2–9.3 Mw struck with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The undersea megathrust earthquake, known by the scientific community as the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, [8] [9] was caused by a ...
May 4, 2024 · The tsunami and its aftermath were responsible for immense destruction and loss on the rim of the Indian Ocean. On December 26, 2004, at 7:59 am local time, an undersea earthquake with a magnitude of 9.1 struck off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Over the next seven hours, a tsunami —a series of immense ocean waves—triggered ...
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- The magnitude of the earthquake that caused the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 was 9.1.
- On December 26, 2004, an undersea earthquake struck off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. This quake caused the Indian Ocean tsunami o...
- The Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 lasted for seven hours and reached out across the Indian Ocean, devastating coastal areas of Indonesia, Sri Lanka,...
- The Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 killed at least 225,000 people across a dozen countries, with Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Maldives, and Thailand...
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The tsunami was the deadliest in recorded history, taking 230,000 lives in a matter of hours.
It was 2004, the day after Christmas, and thousands of European and American tourists had flocked to the beaches of Thailand, Sri Lanka and Indonesia to escape the winter chill in a tropical paradise.
At 7:59 AM, a 9.1-magnitude earthquake—one of the largest ever recorded—ripped through an undersea fault in the Indian Ocean, propelling a massive column of water toward unsuspecting shores. The Boxing Day tsunami would be the deadliest in recorded history, taking a staggering 230,000 lives in a matter of hours.
The city of Banda Aceh on the northern tip of Sumatra was closest to the powerful earthquake’s epicenter and the first waves arrived in just 20 minutes. It’s nearly impossible to imagine the 100-foot roiling mountain of water that engulfed the coastal city of 320,000, instantly killing more than 100,000 men, women and children. Buildings folded like houses of cards, trees and cars were swept up in the oil-black rapids and virtually no one caught in the deluge survived.
1 / 8: AFP/Getty Images
Thailand was next. With waves traveling 500 mph across the Indian Ocean, the tsunami hit the coastal provinces of Phang Nga and Phuket an hour and a half later. Despite the time-lapse, locals and tourists were caught completely unaware of the imminent destruction. Curious beachgoers even wandered out among the oddly receding waves, only to be chased down by a churning wall of water. The death toll in Thailand was nearly 5,400 including 2,000 foreign tourists.
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In the process, massive segments of the ocean floor were forced upward an estimated 30 or 40 meters (up to 130 feet). The effect was like dropping the world’s largest pebble in the Indian Ocean with ripples the size of mountains extending out in all directions.
Titov emphasizes that tsunamis look nothing like the giant surfing break-style waves that many of us imagine.
“It’s a wave, but from the observer’s standpoint, you wouldn’t recognize it as a wave,” Titov says. “It’s more like the ocean turns into a white water river and floods everything in its path.”
Once caught in the raging waters, if the currents don’t pull you under, the debris will finish the job.
Learn how a 9.1-magnitude earthquake in the Indian Ocean triggered a deadly tsunami that killed 230,000 people in 2004. See photos of the devastation in Thailand, Sri Lanka, India and other countries.
- Dave Roos
Dec 23, 2014 · Sometimes known as the Christmas or Boxing Day tsunami, the December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami is far from a distant memory, a decade after resulting in more than 200,000 casualities. “The tsunami struck after the magnitude 9.1 Sumatra-Andaman Earthquake occurred off the northwest coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, causing catastrophic levels ...
Jun 12, 2023 · Learn about the devastating tsunami that followed a magnitude 9.1 earthquake off the coast of Sumatra in 2004, killing over 227,000 people and causing billions of dollars in damage. Find out how this event led to global awareness and advances in tsunami detection, forecasting, warning, and preparedness.
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Sep 25, 2023 · Learn about the causes, effects, and response of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, one of the deadliest disasters in history. See how World Vision helped over 27 million people across five countries recover and rebuild.
Dec 25, 2014 · Indian Ocean tsunami: Then and now. 25 December 2014. A decade ago, one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded struck off the coast of Indonesia, triggering a tsunami that swept away entire ...
