2004 Indian Ocean earthquake---Copmplete up to date info

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In case anyone thinks this event is over---it isn't.

Over 140 earthquakes (avg. mag. 6+ ) have happened since the big one steadily for the past six days. http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/bulletin/

 

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Indonesia Tsunami Animation Complete.gifAddress:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:2004_Indonesia_Tsunami_Complete.gif*****************************************

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Indian_Ocean_earthquake#India

 

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This article or section is about a current or ongoing event.Information may change rapidly as the event progresses.

 

For related articles, including charities accepting donations, see Category:2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.

 

Animation of the tsunami caused by the earthquake. (See also the full-length version)

The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was a magnitude 9.0 undersea earthquake on December 26, 2004 which generated tsunamis that caused one of the deadliest natural disasters in modern history.

This rare type of earthquake known as a megathrust earthquake struck at 00:58:53 UTC (07:58:53 local time) in the Indian Ocean off the western coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. It was the largest earthquake on Earth since the 9.2-magnitude Good Friday Earthquake of 1964, and tied for fourth largest since 1900.

The tsunamis devastated the shores of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and other countries with waves of up to 15 m in height. Even the east coast of Africa (especially Somalia) was hit, despite being located 4,500 km (2,800 mi) or more west of the epicentre.

The plight of the many affected people and countries prompted a widespread humanitarian response.

 

 

 

Contents

[showhide]

 

 

1 Quake characteristics

 

1.1 Aftershocks and other earthquakes1.2 Power of the earthquake

2 Tsunami characteristics

3 Damage and casualties

 

3.1 India3.2 Indonesia3.3 Malaysia3.4 Maldives3.5 Myanmar (Burma)3.6 Somalia3.7 Sri Lanka3.8 Thailand3.9 Other countries3.10 Casualties in historical context

4 Early warning systems

5 Post-tsunami humanitarian situation

 

5.1 Conflicting priorities

6 See also

7 External links

 

7.1 Ongoing news coverage7.2 Videos and photos7.3 Forums and discussion7.4 Background information

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Quake characteristics

 

 

Locations of the initial earthquake and aftershocks (Credit: USGS)

The quake was initially reported as 6.8 on the Richter scale. On the moment magnitude scale, which is more accurate for quakes of this size ([1] (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/faq/meas.html)), the earthquake's magnitude was first reported as 8.1 by the United States Geological Survey, but after further analysis they increased this first to 8.5 and 8.9 and finally 9.0 ([2] (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/usslav.htm)).

Since 1900, the only earthquakes recorded with a greater magnitude were the 1960 Great Chilean Earthquake (magnitude 9.5) and two Alaskan quakes: the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake in Prince William Sound (9.2) and a March 9, 1957 quake ([3] (http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eq_depot/usa/1957_03_09.html)) in the Andreanof Islands (9.1). The only other recorded earthquake of magnitude 9.0 was in 1952 off the southeast coast of Kamchatka ([4] (http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eq_depot/world/1952_11_04.html)). Each of these megathrust earthquakes also spawned tsunamis (in the Pacific Ocean), but the death toll from these was significantly lower, ranging from zero to a few thousand (see Top 10 earthquakes (http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/10maps_world.html)).

The hypocentre was at 3.316°N, 95.855°E, some 160 km (100 mi) west of Sumatra, at a depth of 30 km (18.6 mi) below mean sea level (initially reported as 10 km). This is at the extreme western end of the "Ring of Fire", an earthquake belt that accounts for 81% of the world's largest earthquakes ([5] (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/faq/hist.html#1)). The quake itself (apart from the tsunamis) was felt as

far away as Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and the Maldives.

The earthquake was unusually large in geographical extent. An estimated 1,200 km (750 mi) of faultline slipped 20 m (60 ft) along the subduction zone where the India Plate dives under the Burma Plate. The seabed of the Burma plate is estimated to have risen several metres vertically up over the India plate, creating shock waves in the Indian Ocean that traveled at up to 800 km/h (500 mi/h), forming tsunamis when they reached land.

The India Plate is part of the great Indo-Australian Plate, which underlies the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal, and is drifting northeast at an average of 6 cm/yr (2 in/yr) (or 20 m (60 ft) per 330 years; i.e. this earthquake moved this fault 330 years worth). The India Plate meets the Burma Plate (which is considered a portion of the great Eurasian Plate) at the Sunda Trench. At this point the India Plate subducts the Burma Plate which includes the Nicobar, the Andaman Islands and northern Sumatra. The India Plate slips deeper and deeper beneath the Burma Plate until the increasing temperature and pressure turns the subducting edge of the India Plate into magma which eventually pushs the magma above it out through the volcanoes (see Volcanic arc). This process is interrupted by the locking of the plates for several centuries until the build up of stress causes their release resulting in a massive earthquake and tsunami. The volcanic activity that results as the Indo-Australian plate subducts the Eurasian plate has created the Sunda Arc.

 

 

Tectonic plates at epicentre (Credit: USGS)

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Aftershocks and other earthquakes

Numerous aftershocks of magnitude between 5.7 and 6.3 were reported off the Andaman Islands in the hours and days that followed. Aftershocks off the Nicobar Islands were also reported, including ones of magnitude 7.1 ([6] (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/ussmax.htm)), and 6.6 ([7] (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/ussmbj.htm)). Other aftershocks between

magnitude 5.0 and 6.5 occurred near the location of the original quake. See also: USGS current earthquake information (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/quakes_all.html).

The earthquake came just three days after a magnitude 8.1 earthquake in a completely uninhabited region west of New Zealand's sub-Antarctic Auckland Islands, and north of Australia's Macquarie Island ([8] (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/ussjal.htm)). This would normally be unusual, since earthquakes of magnitude 8 or more typically occur an average of once per year ([9] (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/faq/hist.html#8)). Seismologists have speculated about a possible connection between these two earthquakes, saying that the former one might have been a catalyst to the Indian Ocean earthquake, as the two quakes happened on opposite sides of the Indo-Australian tectonic plate ([10] (http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11787870%255E28477,00.html)). Coincidentally, the earthquake struck almost exactly one year (within an hour) after a magnitude 6.6 earthquake killed an estimated 30,000 people in the city of Bam in Iran ([11] (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/uscvad.htm)).

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Power of the earthquake

The total energy released by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake is equivalent to 32,000 megatons of TNT ([12] (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/faq/meas.html#19)) or 133 exajoules (1.33×1020 joules). This exceeds the total amount of energy consumed in the United States in one year by 30%, or the energy released by the wind of a hurricane like Hurricane Isabel over a

period of 70 days ([13] (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/10/031031062553.htm)). Using the mass-energy equivalence formula E = mc2, this amount of energy is equivalent to a mass of about 1500 kg (3300 lb). Equivalently, this amount of energy is enough to boil 10,000 litres (2,600 US gallons) of water for every person on Earth. Note that each unit of the magnitude scale represents a

31.6-fold increase in energy; every two units signifies 1,000 times more energy.

The shift of mass and the massive release of energy very slightly altered the Earth's rotation. The exact amount is yet undetermined, but theoretical models suggest the earthquake may have shortened the length of a day by as much as three microseconds (3 µs) and caused the Earth to minutely "wobble" on its axis by up to 2.5 cm (1 inch) ([14] (http://slate.msn.com/id/2111443/), [15] (http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/12/29/quake.wobble.reut/index.html)). However, due to tidal effects of the Moon,

the length of a day increases by 15 µs every year, so any rotational speedup due to the earthquake will be quickly lost. Similarly, the natural Chandler wobble of the Earth can be up to 15 m (50 ft).

Based on one seismic model, some of the smaller islands southwest of Sumatra may have moved southwest up to 20 m (66 ft). The northern tip of Sumatra, which is on the Burma Plate (the southern regions are on the Sunda Plate), may also have moved southwest up to 36 m (118 ft). However, other models suggest that most of the movement would have been vertical rather than lateral. Onsite measurements using GPS will be used to determine the extent and nature of actual geophysical movement.

[edit]

 

Tsunami characteristics

 

See larger version

The earthquake triggered massive tsunamis that struck the coasts of the Indian Ocean, the deadliest tsunamis by far in all of recorded history.

 

See a full-length animation of how the waves travelled — large file (about 1 MB) — to see exactly how and why some countries were more badly affected than others

Because the 1200 km of faultline affected by the quake was in a nearly north-south orientation, the greatest strength of the tsunami waves was in an east-west direction. Bangladesh, which lies at the northern end of the Bay of Bengal, had very few casualties despite being a low-lying country regularly devastated by cyclones.

Coasts that have a land mass between them and the tsunami's location of origin are usually safe; however, tsunami waves can sometimes diffract around such land masses. Thus, the Indian state of Kerala was hit by tsunamis despite being on the western coast of India. Also, distance alone is no guarantee of safety: Somalia was hit harder than Bangladesh despite being much farther away.

The tsunamis took anywhere from fifteen minutes to ten hours to reach the various coastlines, due to the distances involved. Nevertheless, due to the rarity of tsunamis in the Indian Ocean and the resulting lack of an organized warning system, nearly all of the victims were taken completely by surprise.

Tsunamis usually occur along the Pacific Ocean coasts of the "Ring of Fire". The population and government authorities in these areas are better prepared to respond since there are tsunami warning systems in place. Several lethal earthquake-caused tsunamis have struck Pacific Ocean coasts and near the centre of the Indonesian archipelago in recent years: Flores (December 12, 1992), Java (June 3, 1994), Sulawesi (May 3, 2000). On this occasion, however, Pacific Ocean coasts were fully shielded behind large land masses and experienced only minor fluctuations in sea level as part of a global ripple effect.

Only the extreme western edge of the "Ring of Fire" lies within the Indian Ocean; nearly all of it is in the Pacific. Thus Indian Ocean tsunamis are rare; the last major tsunami near Sumatra, on the Indian Ocean side and western end of Indonesia, was caused by the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883. So the death toll of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake may be particularly high since this is the first large Indian Ocean tsunami to strike land in 100 years, leaving the affected countries unprepared and the people unable to recognise the telltale signs of an approaching tsunami (such as

the sea receding from the coast in the minutes before the wave hits).

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Damage and casualties

 

 

Countries most directly affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.

The death toll from the earthquake, the tsunamis and the resultant floods was reported to be more than 150,000, with tens of thousands of people reported missing, and over a million left homeless. This is comparable to the number of casualties in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined. Early news reports about eight hours after the earthquake spoke of a toll only in the "hundreds", but the numbers rose steadily over the following week.

Relief agencies report that one-third of the dead appear to be children. This is a result of the high proportion of children in the populations of many of the affected regions and the fact that children were the least able to resist being dragged by the surging waters. Coastal fishing communities and their fisherfolk, some of the poorest people in the region, have been the most devastated with high loss of life as well as boats and fishing gear.

In addition to the large number of local residents, up to 5000 foreign tourists (mostly Europeans) enjoying the busy Christmas holiday travel season were among the dead, especially Scandinavians ([16] (http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/30/quake.scandinavia.reut/index.html)). The European nation hardest hit may have been Sweden ([17] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4134345.stm)).

States of emergency were declared in Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Maldives. The United Nations has declared that the current relief operation will be the costliest one ever. Governments and NGOs fear the final death toll may double as a result of diseases, prompting a massive humanitarian response.

In terms of total fatalities and economic damage, this is the worst tsunami in recorded history, the previous record being the 1703 tsunami at Awa, Japan that killed over 100,000 people ([18] (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/savageseas/neptune-side-tsunamis.html)) and one of the ten worst earthquakes ([19] (http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/eqsmosde.html)).

For purposes of establishing timelines of local events, the time zones of affected areas are: UTC+3: (Kenya, Madagascar, Somalia, Tanzania); UTC+4: (Mauritius, Réunion, Seychelles); UTC+5: (Maldives); UTC+5:30: (India); UTC+6: (Bangladesh, Sri Lanka); UTC+6:30: (Cocos Islands, Myanmar); UTC+7: (Indonesia (western), Thailand);

UTC+8: (Malaysia, Singapore). Since the quake occurred at 00:58:53 UTC, add the above offsets to find the local time of the quake. A list of times can be found at a USGS site (http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/bulletin/neic_slav_tz.html).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Country

Deaths

Injured

Missing

Displaced

 

Confirmed

Estimated

 

Indonesia

* ~100,000 [20] (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/31/international/worldspecial4/31cnd-quake.html?hp & amp;ex=1104555600 & amp;en=c8572103d0616b0d & amp;ei=5094 & amp;partner=homepage)

Up to 400,000 [21] (http://snipurl.com/bo8i)

100,000+?

Thousands

100,000s

 

Sri Lanka

** 41,008 [22] (http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/31/asia.quake/)

Up to 50,000

8,200+ [23] (http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/29/asia.quake/index.html)

4,000+ [24] (http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/29/asia.quake/index.html)

~1.5 million [25] (http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/29/asia.quake/index.html)

 

India

8,942 [26] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Indian_Ocean_earthquake_in_India)

15,000

—

10,000 [27] (http://www.modbee.com/24hour/global/story/1957375p-9965057c.html)

100,000s

 

Thailand

4,510 [28] (http://www.turkishpress.com/world/news.asp?id=041231065856.jl3bhe4q.xml)

6,800 [29] (http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=370441)

9,810

6,475 [30] (http://www.turkishpress.com/world/news.asp?id=041231065856.jl3bhe4q.xml)

29,000+

 

Somalia

132 [31] (http://news./news?tmpl=story & amp;cid=1530 & amp;u=/afp/20041230/wl_asia_afp/asiaquaketoll & amp;printer=1)

100s

—

—

—

 

Myanmar (Burma)

96 [32] (http://www.irrawaddy.org/aviewer.asp?a=4252 & amp;z=24)

—

45 [33] (http://www.irrawaddy.org/aviewer.asp?a=4248 & amp;z=24)

14

788

 

Maldives

74 [34] (http://www.presidencymaldives.gov.mv/v3/pages/earthquakeupdates3.phtml)

—

—

30 [35] (http://www.presidencymaldives.gov.mv/v3/pages/earthquakeupdates3.phtml)

8,352 [36] (http://www.presidencymaldives.gov.mv/v3/pages/earthquakeupdates3.phtml)

 

Malaysia

66 [37] (http://a2gay.org.uk/portal/article.php/20041231164635120)

—

183

6

5,000

 

Tanzania

10 [38] (http://www.guardian.co.uk/tsunami/story/0,15671,1380677,00.html)

—

—

—

—

 

Seychelles

10 [39] (http://www.capetimes.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=271 & amp;fArticleId=2357542)

—

—

7

—

 

Bangladesh

2

—

—

—

—

 

Kenya

2

—

—

—

—

 

South Africa

2 [40] (http://www.capetimes.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=271 & amp;fArticleId=2357542)

—

—

—

—

 

Madagascar

0

—

—

—

>1,000 [41] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4129639.stm)

 

Total

~154,848

Up to 470,000

510,000 [42] (http://olympics.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews & amp;storyID=7199990)

22,000+

3-5 million [43] (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6765193/)

 

Note: All figures are approximate and subject to constant change.

[ edit (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:2004_Indian_Ocean_earthquake_casualties & amp;action=edit) ]

 

* Official count stopped due to chaos in affected areas.

 

** Includes 14,000 casualties from the regions controlled by Tamil Tiger rebels.

A description of the countries most affected by the earthquake and resulting tsunamis is below. In order to make the article easier to read, the description of nations whose casualty totals cannot be counted in the dozens, as well as the account of nations that have lost citizens who were travelling abroad are listed as other countries affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.

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India

 

 

Much of the area adjacent to the Marina Beach in Chennai was covered by water from the tsunami

 

Main article: 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake in India

The current official number of casualties in India is 8,942 ([44] (http://ndmindia.nic.in/)), the overwhelming majority of them being in the state of Tamil Nadu. There are still about 7,000 people missing in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The estimated number of casualties in India is between 14,000 and 15,000, split roughly equally between the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Indian mainland.

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands lie just north of the earthquake epicentre, and the tsunami reached a height of 15 m in the southern Nicobar Islands. The official death toll there is 712, and about 7,000 are still missing. The unofficial death toll (including those missing and presumed dead) is estimated to be about 7,000. One fifth of the population of the Nicobar Islands is said to be dead, injured or missing ([45] (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/974230.cms)). Chowra Island in the Nicobars has lost two thirds of its population of 1,500. Entire islands have been literally washed away, and the island of Trinket has been split in two ([46] (http://in.news./041229/137/2ipv4.html)). Communications have not been restored with the Nancowry group of islands, some of which have been completely submerged, with the total number of the population still out of contact exceeding 7,000 ([47] (http://www.rediff.com/news/2004/dec/30tsunami2.htm)). The Indian Air Force base in Car

Nicobar, near the epicentre, is reported to have been severely damaged ([48] (http://www.newkerala.com/news-daily/news/features.php?action=fullnews & amp;id=50910)).

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are home to several aboriginal tribes such as the Jarawa, the Sentinelese, the Shompen, the Onge and the Great Andamanese. Most of these tribes have maintained their aboriginal lifestyle for centuries, and government policy has been to not interfere with them unless absolutely essential. The tribal population is extremely low (the largest tribe has about 1,000 individuals, while the smallest

have less than 50) and tribal census data is not reliable (partly as a consequence of the no-interference policy). Most of the native islanders survived the tsunami because they live on higher ground or far from the coast ([49] (http://www.hindu.com/2004/12/31/stories/2004123106661100.htm)) and no tribe has been completely lost, though many individual tribe members were lost ([50] (http://www.newkerala.com/news-daily/news/features.php?action=fullnews & amp;id=52843)). Nearly all the tribes are of great importance and interest to anthropologists and

linguists, due to their unique culture and language.

On mainland India, the entire eastern coast was affected, killing more than 7,000 and rendering thousands injured and/or homeless. Most of the people killed were fisherfolk who lived along the coast, and most of those missing on the mainland are those who were out at sea. The official death toll in Tamil Nadu, which was most affected, is 7,397. The official death toll in Pondicherry is 560. A total of 105 have died in Andhra Pradesh so far, and Kerala (though lying in the tsunami shadow region on the west coast of India) was also affected with 168 deaths and thousands rendered homeless.

The death toll in Tamil Nadu stands at 7,397, most of whom were women and children. It is reported that 5,500 were killed in Nagapattinam district alone, 600 in Cuddalore district, 800 in Kanyakumari district and 200 in the state capital of Chennai. It was reported that survey and rescue helicopters could not land immediately in Nagapattinam and Cuddalore districts due to floods and rains. Those killed in Kanyakumari include pilgrims taking a holy dip in the sea. Of about 700 people trapped at the Vivekananda Rock Memorial off Kanyakumari, 650 were rescued while the search is on for others. In Chennai along the Marina Beach, people taking part in various sports activities (including children) and those who were having a Sunday morning walk along the beach were washed away, in addition to the fisherfolk who lived along the shore and those out at sea. The death toll at Velankanni in Nagapattinam district is currently 1,500. Most of these people were visiting the Basilica

of the Virgin Mary for Christmas, while others were residents of the town. The nuclear power station at Kalpakkam was shut down after water rushed into the plant. No radiation leak or damage to the reactor was reported ([51] (http://www.ndtv.com/template/template.asp?template=tsunami & amp;id=15969 & amp;callid=0)). About 100 casualties were reported from Kalpakkam, all power plant personnel and their families.

The Indian Army, Navy and Coast Guard were pressed into service for undertaking rescue operations and to air-drop food to the tsunami victims. The chief ministers of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh announced ex gratia relief for those affected by the tsunamis. The Indian Army, Navy and Coast Guard have also been helping variety of affected areas in Sri Lanka.

[edit]

 

Indonesia

 

 

Part of Banda Aceh shore before and after the tsunami, see also larger versions: before (http://www.digitalglobe.com/images/tsunami/banda_aceh_northernshore_june23_2004_dg.jpg), after (http://www.digitalglobe.com/images/tsunami/banda_aceh_northernshore_dec28_2004_dg.jpg) (Credit: DigitalGlobe).

Indonesia's Ministry of Health confirmed almost 80,000 dead, mainly in the northern province Aceh (officialy named Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam) of the island Sumatra. Nine thousand are reported dead in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh and nearby towns, where dozens of buildings were destroyed in the initial earthquake. The town of Meulaboh, which had a population of 120,000 before the tsunami, was struck by a series of seven waves, killing an estimated third of the town's population according to government officials. This preliminary figure does not include the rest of the badly damaged western coast of Sumatra. Northern Sumatra was unusual in the

regional disaster in that it took damage from the earthquake itself as well as the tsunami. Hundreds of thousands of people have been rendered homeless ([52] (http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaillatestnews.asp?fileid=20041229210311 & amp;irec=1)).

Government officials are very concerned over the lack of reports from the many small islands dotting the western coast of Sumatra. These islands are among the poorest areas in Indonesia, among them the islands Simeulue and Nias. On Nias island alone official accounts gave the number 122 (source: Media Indonesia Online (http://www.mediaindo.co.id/berita.asp?id=54631) via the Ministry of Health (http://www.depkes.go.id/index.php?option=news & amp;task=viewarticle & amp;sid=708 & amp;Itemid=2)), while various unconfirmed sources (mostly from phone calls by relatives living in Jakarta) report death tolls of over 600; others say the number is more likely to go well over 1000. Confirmation and communications to the islands are further hampered by damage to telecommunication infrastructures, where phone lines are broken and radio networks have been said to be down due to bad weather (source: KCM (http://www.kompas.com/kompas-cetak/0412/28/utama/1464439.htm), updates from The Jakarta Post (http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaillatestnews.asp?fileid=20041229161906 & amp;irec=0)). This infrastructure damage has severely hampered the distribution of aid.

Reports have surfaced that the small islets off the coast of Nias island in the Sirombu district are still relatively intact ([53] (http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaillatestnews.asp?fileid=20041229194206 & amp;irec=1)), but high waves still prevent locals from attempting to reach the islands (niasisland.com (http://www.niasisland.com/home/news.php?file_option=../home/data/news.txt & amp;primary_key=2004-12-29%2013:57:40)). A report from an early

aid flight to the island of Simeulue indicated that residents had escaped the tsunami, with only five killed by the earthquake, due in part to the residents' long experience with tsunamis in this quake-prone region ([54] (http://smh.com.au/articles/2004/12/29/1103996617216.html)).

Most of the damage was the result of the tsunamis that struck the coastal regions of Aceh and North Sumatra provinces. Ten metre tall tsunamis passed the tip of the island to race south down the Straits of Malacca and strike along the northeast coast near the town of Bireun. The west coast of Sumatra was about 100 km (60 mi) from the epicentre and is believed to have taken heavy damage. At least five villages were completely destroyed. Overflights of the region show that thousands of homes remain underwater. An Indonesian navy ship bringing aid supplies to Meulaboh was forced to turn away after it was unable to dock because of damage to the port. Reports indicate that survivors

survived for days eating nothing but coconuts and looting has been reported in stricken Acehnese towns.

The unmanageably high number of corpses strewn all over the cities and countrysides, limited resources and time for identifying bodies, and the very real threat of cholera, diphtheria and other diseases have prompted emergency workers to create makeshift mass graves. One of the most urgently required medical supplies now are body bags ([55] (http://www.kompas.com/utama/news/0412/29/143804.htm)).

In addition, the Indonesian ambassador to Malaysia said that up to 400,000 may be dead in villages that "show no signs of life"; aerial helicopter surveys of the areas fail to make any contact so far ([56] (http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2004/12/31/nation/9784484 & amp;sec=nation), [[57] (http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/news_lite.php?id=111574)).

More information on the humanitarian situation in Indonesia may be found in the Indonesia section of the humanitarian response page.

[edit]

 

Malaysia

 

 

The wave crashing into the road at Tanjung Tokong, Penang

Despite its proximity to the incident, Malaysia escaped the kind of damage that struck countries thousands of miles further away. Since the epicenter was on the western coast of Sumatra, the island largely shielded the country from the worst of the tsunami. The country's worst affected areas were the northern coastal areas and outlying islands like Penang and Langkawi. Local TV stations broadcasting tsunami alerts within the hour of the quake and simple but effective red flag warning system used by lifeguards on beaches in some resort areas in Penang were credited to reducing the number of fatalities. The number of deaths currently stands at 66 with 52 in Penang, 10 in Kedah, 3 in Perak and 1 in Selangor. The deaths at Penang were reported to include many picnickers and children who were playing on open public beaches. No deaths are reported among foreign tourists yet. Houses in fishing villages along coastal areas were damaged in Batu Maung and Bayan Lepas in Penang. Coastal areas in Peninsular Malaysia e.g. 13 villages in Kuala Muda, Kedah and Kuala Triang in Langkawi island were also affected. About a quarter of holiday vessels anchored in Rebak and Telaga harbour in Langkawi were also damaged. The waves sent parked motorcycles crashing and cars washed with mud at stretches along Gurney Drive in Penang. The biggest loss from a single family was when 5 of Zulkifli Mohamad Noor's 7 children were killed when the tsunami struck at Pasir Panjang beach. The tremor of the quake was felt by office workers in the PETRONAS Twin Towers.

 

 

Cars struck by the tsunami in Pesiaran Gurney (Gurney Drive), Penang

Malaysian Prime Minister Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi cut short his diplomatic trip to Spain and returned to Malaysia. He instructed the government to cancel all New Year celebrations and urged all parties, including the private sector, to hold prayers and remembrance services instead. The government is also considering postponing the deportation of illegal immigrants and extending an amnesty so that they may exit the country by Jan 31 2005 instead of Dec 31 2004. The Malaysian government announced that MYR 1,000 (USD 263.16) would be given to the families of victims while MYR 200 (USD 52.63) would be paid to those who had sustained

injuries from the tsunami. Displaced residents would be given MYR 200 to alleviate their hardship, MYR 2,000 for every house damaged, MYR 5,000 would for every destroyed house while fishermen whose boats were lost will be given MYR 1,000 for smaller boats and MYR 3,000 for larger boats.

Sinkholes which were reported in Kampar and Ipoh for 3 days running have been investigated and determined not earthquake related.

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Maldives

 

 

Malé, the capital island of Maldives was severely hit by the tsunamis.

In the Maldives, 74 were killed and 30 reported missing, with both figures expected to rise as communication links are restored. Two-thirds of the capital city Malé was flooded during the early hours of the day. Outlying low-level atolls were badly affected and some low lying islands were completely submerged, including some of the major resorts, during the high tide.

The government has declared a state of national disaster ([58] (http://www.presidencymaldives.gov.mv/v3/pages/News.php3?NewsID=2702)) and a special task force has been set up to provide aid and supplies. Rescue efforts have been hampered by loss of communication capability, as well as the lack of a prior rescue or relief plan for a disaster of this nature.

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Myanmar (Burma)

The United Nations reports at least 90 people killed by tsunamis in Myanmar. Most deaths were in the Irrawaddy Delta where several villages and a bridge were destroyed. There is a paucity of official information from Myanmar's ruling military dictatorship and state run newspapers, therefore exact numbers of casualties and homeless are difficult to obtain. The official death toll of the Myanmar government stands at 36 ([59] (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/B610265.htm)). Wave reconstructions and geography suggest coastal effects in

southern Myanmar similar to those in adjacent Thailand, so the complete figure is likely significantly higher. The Bangkok Post estimates 800 citizens of Myanmar working in Thailand during the event have been lost (these are included in the Thai numbers).

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Somalia

Villages and coastal communities in Somalia, as far as 4,500 km (2,800 mi) from the epicentre of the earthquake, were swept away and destroyed by the huge waves. Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Gedi of the government-in-exile has stated that over 100 people are dead. Rising waters engulfed the town mosque of Brava and the villages of Beyla, Garacad, Muduy and Nugaal, all in Puntland, were reported destroyed.

According to Ali Abdi Awari, Minister of Rural Development, the final toll is believed to be much higher, as the number of fishermen caught on the sea has not been established by the local authorities. Much of the 1,000 km (621 mi) coast is controlled by various clan-based militias, making obtaining accurate information difficult. The United Nations is assisting 2,000 people in Hafun, a town 1150 km (715 mi) northeast of Mogadishu, who were made homeless by the tsunamis.

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Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan authorities report 27,268 confirmed deaths ([60] (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;?type=topNews & amp;storyID=7207349)), mostly children and the elderly. The south and east coasts were worst hit. One and a half million people have been displaced from their homes. The death toll continues to rise as the threat of infectious diseases breaking out has turned into a fact, with doctors confirming first cases of Cholera.

 

Before/after animation of Kalutara, Sri Lanka beach neighborhood. Credit: DigitalGlobe.(See also the large, interpreted version.)

1200 dead were counted at Batticaloa in the east and at Trincomalee in the northeast, where the tsunami reached more than 2 km (1.25 mi) inland, 800 were reported dead. In neighboring Amparai district alone, more than 5,000 dead. The naval base at Trincomalee is reported to be submerged. About 1000 more dead were counted in Mullaitivu and Vadamaradchi East ([61] (http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13 & amp;artid=13744)). A train, the "Sea Queen", moving between Colombo and Galle, with 1,600 passengers was struck by a tsunami, killing all but 300 on board.

Across the island collections are being taken for those who have lost everything, vans with PA systems driving around calling on people to give whatever they can. Even in the poorest, most remote areas people flock to the roadside to hand over money, clothes, bottles of water and bags of rice and lentils.

Apart from homes, many hotels were also reported to have been damaged. Hotels along the south coast were full of both foreign tourists and Sri Lankans making use of the long Christmas weekend. Twenty thousand soldiers were deployed in government-controlled areas to assist in relief operations and maintain law and order after sporadic looting. Curfews had been imposed in some areas to curb looting. Chinese light antipersonnel mines of type T-72A, left after the two-decade civil war, are feared to have been washed up and spread by the surge of water. The Norwegian Peoples' Aid Organization is currently assembling a team of mine sweepers to assess the situation.

It has been noted that in the Yala National Park, many animals seem to have moved to higher regions in order to escape the disaster. It is unclear how they detected the coming disaster, although a sixth sense, perhaps the ability to hear the infrasound rumble of the tremors or approaching tsunami, was mentioned in reports. Another possible reason is that many animals can run faster than people, enabling them to outrun the tsunami.

The test match ground at Galle, where international cricket is played, has been devastated.

For more on the humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka, see the humanitarian response page.

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Thailand

The Thai government reports 4,510 ([62] (http://www.turkishpress.com/world/news.asp?id=041231065856.jl3bhe4q.xml)) confirmed deaths, 8,953 injuries ([63] (http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3938222)) and 6,475 ([64] (http://www.turkishpress.com/world/news.asp?id=041231065856.jl3bhe4q.xml)) missing. The popular tourist

resort of Phuket was badly hit. The smaller but increasingly popular resort area of Khao Lak some 80 km north of Phuket was hit far worse and there are said to be around 700 corpses on the beach in Khao Lak, while the total amount of dead in Khao Lak may exceed 2,000. The severity of the situation in Khao Lak is probably explained by the fact, that unlike the high-rising city of Phuket, the village of Khao Lak only had low built bungalows instead of high-rise concrete hotels. Khao Lak also has an extensive area of flatland only a few metres above the sea level, on which most bungalows were situated.

Thailand deputy interior minister Sutham Sangprathum reports over 700 tourists among Thailand's casualties. The bodies of 44 foreign tourists are reported to have been recovered at Phuket. Hundreds of holiday bungalows on the Phi Phi Islands were washed out to sea. Tuk-tuk drivers were quick to offer assistance, driving victims to hospital and higher ground and away from the surging waters. Local reports say many scuba divers were found dead, with their bodies torn apart by the tsunami. Bhumi Jensen, grandson of HM King Bhumibol

Adulyadej, is confirmed dead.

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Other countries

Main article: Other countries affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

A number of other countries were also affected either directly or indirectly by the earthquake. Countries such as Tanzania lost citizens as the tsunami struck its shores and other countries suffered significant property damage. Meanwhile, nations like Oman and Australia reported only non-deadly ocean swells. Citizens from countries from around the world have been killed, or remain missing, in the aftermath of the natural disaster. Many foreigners were visiting the famed beaches of Thailand and Sri Lanka during the Christmas vacation.

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Casualties in historical context

 

 

Regional map showing physiographic features, tectonic plate movements, and locations of volcanoes, earthquakes, and impact craters (Credit: USGS)

The earthquake was the fourth most powerful recorded since 1899, and the likely final death toll is quite high; estimations now range from 460,000 to 650,000, due to the highly populated areas affected by the ensuing tsunami. The deadliest earthquakes since 1899 were the Tangshan, China, earthquake of 1976, in which at least 255,000 were killed, the Ashgabat, Turkmenistan earthquake of 1948 (110,000), the Tsinghai, China earthquake of 1927 (200,000), the Great Kanto earthquake which struck Tokyo in 1923 (143,000), and the Gansu, China earthquake of 1920 (200,000). The deadliest known earthquake in history occurred in 1556 in Shaanxi, China, with an estimated death toll of 830,000, though figures from this time period may not be reliable ([65] (http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/eqsmajr.html)).

This 2004 tsunami appears to be the most deadly tsunami in recorded history. The most deadly tsunami in history prior to 2004 was the result of an earthquake near Awa, Japan in 1703 that killed 100,000. The tsunami created by the 1883 explosion of Krakatoa is thought to have resulted in 36,000 deaths. The most deadly tsunami between 1900 and 2004 occurred in the Messina, Italy where the earthquake and tsunami killed 70,000 in 1908. The most deadly tsunami in the Atlantic resulted from the 1755 Lisbon earthquake that, combined with the toll from the actual earthquake and resulting fires, killed over 100,000.

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Early warning systems

 

 

Relative size of a 10 m (33 ft) wave

See also: Tsunami - Warning systems

The nations of the Indian Ocean do not participate in a regional tsunami early warning system like that in the Pacific Ocean ([66] (http://www.prh.noaa.gov/ptwc/)); neither do the nations of the Atlantic Ocean. The first reaction of many to the the disaster has been to question governmental priorities in the region in not having constructed such a system, but as the region had not seen a large tsunami since the Krakatoa eruption of 1883, it was not previously felt justified.

In the Pacific, there is a system of sensors linked to monitoring stations so that local media can warn the populace to take action well before a tsunami arrives. The system dates back to 1965 and was a reaction to the tsunamis resulting from the magnitude 9.2 Good Friday Earthquake of 1964, which was the last quake of 9.0 or larger magnitude. Thailand is a member of the Pacific tsunami warning system, but all of its ocean buoys, which relay information from wave sensors on the ocean floor, are on the east coast of the country. A single wave station south of the epicentre measured a 0.6 m tall tsunami moving towards Australia. However wave fluctuations of 2.6 meters were measured off the coast of Mexico at Manzanillo, Colima state.

The US Geological Survey has stated that if a monitoring and warning system had been in place, the loss of life could have been reduced, especially in areas that were struck by tsunamis more than three hours after the initial tremor, such as Sri Lanka and India. Furthermore, in Pacific regions where tsunamis are better known, the receding of the sea from the coast would have warned many people of an impending ocean surge. In the Indian Ocean region, this rare sight has been reported to have induced people, especially children, to visit the coast to investigate and collected fish stranded in as much as 2.5 km of exposed beachland. Furthermore, the intensity of the tremors felt in India and Sri Lanka was too low to raise an alarm.

In the aftermath of the earthquake, the Indian government has decided to install equipment to warn about impending tsunamis, and to join a group of countries that would share information on tsunamis. The Malaysian government has also proposed to create a tsunami warning system, in cooperation with other countries in the region ([67] (http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2004/12/28/nation/9760871 & amp;sec=nation)).

Thailand's foremost meteorologists decided in a crisis meeting before the tsunami hit not to issue a warning "out of courtesy to the tourism industry". A key factor in failing to do so was reliance on an early estimate that the earthquake was of magnitude 8.1 rather than 9.0 as it turned out to be ([68] (http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=42170)).

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Post-tsunami humanitarian situation

Main article: Humanitarian response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

A great deal of humanitarian aid is needed due to widespread damage to infrastructure, food and water shortages, and economic damage to the fishing and tourism industries. Epidemics are of special concern, as they are highly likely due to the high population density and tropical climate of the affected areas. The United Nations has stated that the largest

relief operation in history is underway. The overwhelming concern of humanitarian and government agencies is to provide fresh drinking water to contain the spread of diseases such as cholera, diphtheria, dysentery and typhoid. Nations all over the world have so far provided over 2 billion of US dollars in aid for damaged regions, with the United States offering the most at $350 million, the World Bank offering $250 million and UK government

and public offering $140 million. Officials estimate that billions of dollars will be needed.

 

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Conflicting priorities

Significant effort is being spent in burying bodies hurriedly, explicitly to prevent the spread of disease. However, the public health threat of unburied trauma victims is not as great as that of those who die of infectious disease; the World Health Organization (WHO), characterises it as "negligible" in comparison. Furthermore, improperly buried corpses may contaminate underground water supplies. Many argue that the limited resources available should be focused on the survival and health needs of the living. On the other hand, religious and cultural practices, the aesthetic distaste of unburied bodies, and the negative impact on morale of leaving the dead unattended to, continue to motivate for prompt burial.

 

Mass burials do more harm than good—experts (http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/0/0fb1a0c8c4ca2bac49256e0d0006659c?OpenDocument) CNN — WHO: Corpses pose little threat (http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/29/quake.corpses/index.html) Slate — Are Dead Bodies Dangerous? (http://slate.msn.com/id/1003473/)

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See also

 

Donations for victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake Humanitarian response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake in India Other countries affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake List of islands in the Indian Ocean 1970 Bhola cyclone - probably the worst natural disaster of the 20th century Death tolls of other major disasters Earthquake List of earthquakes Tsunami Cumbre Vieja, a possible future megatsunami threat in the Atlantic Ocean

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External links

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Ongoing news coverage

Wikinews

 

Wikinews: Strongest earthquake in 40 years hits Southeast Asia Wikinews: Tsunami Help - Database by SEA-EAT bloggers giving details about persons missing/found, aid efforts and ways to donate

Other media sources

 

ABC News – Tsunami Disaster (http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Tsunami/) USA ABC News Online – Asian Tsunami Disaster (http://www.abc.net.au/news/indepth/tsunami/) Australia The Age – Waves of Destruction (http://www.theage.com.au/issues/asiatsunami/) Australia BBC News – In-Depth Report: Asia Quake Disaster (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/world/2004/asia_quake_disaster/default.stm) UK CBC News – Indepth: Disaster in Asia (http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/asia_earthquake/) Canada Channel News Asia – Special Coverage: Killer Waves (http://www.channelnewsasia.com/killerwaves) Singapore CNN – Special: Tsunami Disaster (http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2004/tsunami.disaster/) USA Financial Times News – In Depth: Asian Earthquake Disaster (http://news.ft.com/cms/e7abb2ca-5776-11d9-a8db-00000e2511c8.html) UK Guardian Unlimited – Special Report: Indian Ocean Tsunami Disaster (http://www.guardian.co.uk/tsunami/) UK Hindustan Times - The Killer Waves (http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/611_0,001301540000.htm) India MSNBC News – Asia's Deadly Tsunami (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6758619/) USA New York Times – Complete Coverage (http://www.nytimes.com/pages/world/worldspecial4/) USA News Interactive – Tsunami Disaster (http://www.news.com.au/index/0,8915,28477,00.html) Australia NPR – Tsunami Devastates Asian Nations (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4245761) USA Rediff – Tsunami: Waves of Destruction (http://www.rediff.com/news/tsunami.htm) India Reuters AlertNet – S. Asia Quake and Tsunamis (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/emergency/SA_TID.htm) UK Scotsman – Indian Ocean Earthquake (http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=1230) UK Sydney Morning Herald – Waves of Devastation (http://www.smh.com.au/specials/tsunami/) Australia Times (London) – Tsunami (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/section/0,,18690,00.html) UK Washington Post – Tsunami in South Asia (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/world/issues/tsunami/) USA W*USA 9 – Tsunami Disaster (http://www.wusatv9.com/news/tsunami.aspx/) television station in Washington DC, USA News – Asia Tsunami Disaster (http://story.news./fc?cid=34 & amp;tmpl=fc & amp;in=Science & amp;cat=Asia_Tsunami_Disaster) USA Guardian's World News Guide (http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldnewsguide/asia/) for finding local news sources Haveeru Daily (http://www.haveeru.com.mv/?page=english) Maldives TamilNet (http://www.tamilnet.com/) Sri Lanka

Headline links

 

ReliefWeb - South Asia Earthquake and Tsunami (http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/vLCE/B46020E42CECE0A3C1256F76003D51A4?OpenDocument & amp;StartKey=South+Asia:+Earthquake+and+Tsunami+-+Dec+2004 & amp;ExpandView) news stories EinNews Sri Lanka news links (http://www.einnews.com/srilanka/) International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) (http://www.icsf.net/jsp/english/flashnews/flashNews.jsp) frequent news updates of impact on coastal fishing communities, plus current links to resources, images etc TheAcademic (http://www.theacademic.org/) Sri Lanka News News from Sri Lanka (http://www.asinah.org/travel-guides/srilankanews.html) - Thailand (http://www.asinah.org/travel-guides/thailandnews.html) - Indonesia (http://www.asinah.org/travel-guides/indonesianews.html) and India (http://www.asinah.org/travel-guides/indianews.html)

Individual news articles (latest on top)

 

For latest Update of News Regarding Tsunami (http://www.rupya.com/chennai) Tsunami adds to belief in animals' "sixth sense" (http://news./news?tmpl=story & amp;u=/nm/20041230/od_uk_nm/oukoe_quake_animals_1) News, 2004-12-30 Why Thais avoided tsunami warning: Meteorologists decided against it 'out of courtesy to tourist industry' (http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=42170) WND 2004-12-30 Raw Data: How to Help (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,142750,00.html) FOXNews List of resorts on Phi Phi, Phuket, Koh Lanta, Khao Lak and Khao Sok badly damaged (http://www.asinah.org/travel-guides/thailandtsunami.html) Bodies litter Aceh as famine looms (http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailheadlines.asp?fileid=20041229.@01 & amp;irec=0) The Jakarta Post Death toll in tsunami rises to 22,000 in Sri Lanka (http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-12/29/content_2390146.htm) Xinhua News Agency 2004-12-29 Asia Struggles with Disaster Aftermath (http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=365697) ABC News Tsunami Caught on Video Camera (http://www.nbc10.com/news/4026938/detail.html) NBC Latest Updates from Minivan (Maldivian News Source) (http://www.minivannews.com/news/news.php?id=142) British tourist among 15 dead as tsunamis lash Maldives (http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/124175/1/.html) Channel News Asia, 2004-12-27 at 00:50 (GMT +8) Ten Killed in Burma (http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Tsunami-kills-10-in-Burma/2004/12/27/1103996445858.html?oneclick=true) 2004-12-27 Asia quake death toll nears 10,000 (http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/26/asia.quake/index.html) CNN, 2004-12-26 at 13:42 EST Over 1800 killed in South India (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/971320.cms) Times of India Tsunami hits south, southeast Asia; 9,000 feared dead (http://www.ndtv.com/environment/Earthquake.asp?id=15959 & amp;callid=0) New Delhi Television Sea surges kill thousands in Asia (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4125481.stm) BBC News World Edition, 2004-12-26 Huge earthquake wreaks havoc (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11785540%255E401,00.html) The Weekend Australian, 2004-12-26 List of organizations providing assistance and help to the victims of Indonesia Tsunamis (http://indonesia.united.co.uk/) Tsunami Leaving Asia All Shook Up (http://thanks4supporting.us/tsunami)

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Videos and photos

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wikimedia Commons has multimedia related to 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.

Videos

 

5 First-Hand Clips (http://www.thestatrix.com/archives/2004/12/tsunami_video.html) Torrents of the tsunami as it hit Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Malaysia. Requires Blogtorrent (free, 2.3M) or similar BitTorrent client. (thestatrix.com) 4 different videos (wmv and avi format) (http://video.contemporaryinsanity.org/) Torrent of 2 minute video (http://www.thestatrix.com/archives/2004/12/another_tsunami.html) of the tsunami overtaking a luxury resort. (thestatrix.com) Downloads include nearly all known footage (http://crackhouse.blogspot.com) 220MB worth using BlogTorrent for ease of use. Video from Patong beach hotel (http://snipurl.com/bnd0) (snipurl.com) Video from Sri lanka beach hotel (http://snipurl.com/bnd2) (snipurl.com) BBC video about the tsunami (http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/news_web/video/40667000/nb/40667325_nb_16x9.ram) (requires RealVideo codec) Tsunami in Penang Malaysia, video taken on 26 December. (http://www.sinchew-i.com/special/indonearthquake/video/tsunami128.wmv) Numerous amateur video clips available on eDonkey/eMule P2P networks. (use at own risk: eMule program download (http://prdownloads.sf.net/emule/eMule0.44d-Installer.exe) and installation support (http://www.emule-project.net/home/perl/help.cgi?l=1)) Photos and Videos from the aftermath of the Asia Tsunami. (http://www.waveofdestruction.org/)

Photos

 

Aftermath of the 2004-12-26 Tsunami in Sri Lanka (http://blog.ceneus.com/aftermath_12_26_tsunami_sri_lanka.html) A collection of photos from Male', Maldives (http://vakaruge.com/modules.php?op=modload & amp;name=My_eGallery & amp;file=index & amp;do=showgall & amp;gid=2) Slideshows - Asian Tsunami Disaster (http://snipurl.com/bo10) Kalutara, Sri Lanka (http://www.digitalglobe.com/images/qb/srilanka_kalutara_flood_dec26_2004_dg.jpg) Quickbird satellite image, DigitalGlobe Inc., 2004-12-26 Banda Aceh, Indonesia (http://www.digitalglobe.com/press/images_media.shtml) Quickbird satellite image, DigitalGlobe Inc., 2004-12-28 Photos after the destruction of Koh Phi Phi Island (http://www.digitalvoodoo.de/blog/archives/asien/phi-phi-island-verwuestet.php) AP photos from the affected areas (http://news.search./search/news/?ei=UTF-8 & amp;c=news_photos & amp;p=earthquake & amp;datesort=1) Photos from Malé, Maldives (http://www.senses0.org.mv/tsunami_aftermath/) More photos from Malé (http://www.darkmoon.mv/wave/) Photo sequence of tsunami flooding in Phuket (Thailand) resort. (http://www.pbase.com/issels/phuket_tsunami & amp;page=all) Photos from Phuket at the time of the disaster (http://www.pbase.com/issels/root) More photos and story from Phuket, Thailand from the beginning of the tsunami (http://www.jeffhock.com/pics/04_12b/index.html) The aftermath story and photos of several cities on Thailand (http://www.jeffhock.com/pics/04_12c/index.html) Satellite images of a few affected coasts and islands © CNES 2004 (http://www.crisp.nus.edu.sg/tsunami/tsunami.html)

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Forums and discussion

 

BCZ.com Classifieds (http://www.bcz.com/cgi-bin/members/class9990181764673.cgi?categoryid=9990181764730) to post information to search for your lost ones. BCZ.com Clubs (http://www.bcz.com/cgi-bin/members/clubs.cgi?clubid=9990181674293) News and Media / December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake ASIA TSUNAMI 2004 asia_tsunami_2004/

To assist in reuniting loved ones, family and friends devastated by the Sumatra earthquake and tsunamis. To inform where to *register* your loved ones at important databases, find survivor lists, and country links.

 

TSUNAMI WARNING tsunami_warning/

For the discussion of tsunami and tsunami warning systems.

 

Condolence Book (http://www.ceneus.com/tsunami/) Offer your condolences to the victims of the December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

Sites to help family and friends locate missing loved ones are listed here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Other_countries_affected_by_the_2004_Indian_Ocean_earthquake#Links_to_search_for_missing_people)

 

Please post your survival stories, missing persons, etc at the forum (http://surfandturf.biz/tsunami)

Blogs

 

Tsunami Disaster in Malaysia and Thailand Blog (http://tsunamipenang.blogspot.com/) Latest news,stories, and donation information for the tsunami victims in Malaysia. Rupya - Tsunami Relief measures and Updated News Blog (http://www.rupya.com) out of Chennai, India SEA-EAT South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami Blog (http://tsunamihelp.blogspot.com/) News and information about resources, aid, donations and volunteer efforts. Also redirected from http://asiaquake.org/ ProPoor Blog (http://nipun.charityfocus.org/pp) Information on grassroot ways to help. Indonesia HELP (http://indonesiahelp.blogspot.com/) Aid and donations information for earthquake and tsunami victims in Aceh & North Sumatra (Indonesia) Tsunami Help India (http://tsunamihelpindia.blogspot.com/) spun off from Sumankumar's yak pad (http://sumankumar.com/) out of Chennai, India This Way Please's Extra Extra (http://www.thiswayplease.com/extra.html) out of Jaffna, Sri Lanka PHUKET TSUNAMI first hand experiences (http://phukettsunami.blogspot.com/) Weblog from Rick Von Feldt who was in Pukhet during the tsunami. Includes first hand experiences, stories and photos urban75 (http://www.urban75.org/news/maldives.html) a first hand account from the Maldvies ceneus.blog (http://blog.ceneus.com) - Blogging a Tragedy, Sri Lanka primary0 (http://www.primary0.mv/) Views of a Maldivian. nomadlife.org (http://www.nomadlife.org) - AIESEC oriented coverage on the earthquake. DS AS http://believeinmagic91.blogspot.com/ Several videos.

[edit]

 

Background information

 

LookSmart - Tsunamis and Tidal Waves (http://search.looksmart.com/p/browse/us1/us317836/us317914/us53775/us221719/us1134460/) directory category Open Directory Project - Tsunami (http://dmoz.org/Science/Earth_Sciences/Geology/Geologic_Hazards/Tsunami/) directory category - Tsunamis (http://dir./Science/Earth_Sciences/Oceanography/Physical_Oceanography/Waves/Tsunamis/) directory category 1998 geoscientific investigations (http://www.bgr.de/b322/text/e_sunda.htm) of the active convergence zone between the east Eurasian and Indo-Australian Plates (GINCO I), carried out along the Sunda Arc PBS NewsHour - Predicting Earthquakes (http://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/earthquake/) British Foreign Office advice (http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage & amp;c=Page & amp;cid=1007029390590 & amp;a=KCountryAdvice & amp;aid=1013618386199) for the Maldives. BBC News: World helps - but will it forget? (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4130127.stm) Tsunami Experiment (http://www.bigelow.org/virtual/handson/tsunami.html)

Geological reports

 

Global Earthquake Report – chart updated with each new earthquake or aftershock (http://tsunami.geo.ed.ac.uk/local-bin/quakes/mapscript/demo_run.pl) National Institute of Oceanography, India - 26 December 2004 Tsunami (http://www.nio.org/jsp/tsunami.jsp) NOAA – Pacific Tsunami report (http://www.prh.noaa.gov/ptwc/wmsg) December 27 USGS - Magnitude 9.0 – OFF THE WEST COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/usslav.htm) USGS, December 26, 2004 at 00:58:50 UTC. USGS – Earthquake Hazards Program: Tectonic Summary (http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/bulletin/neic_slav_ts.html) USGS, December 26, 2004 at 00:58:50 UTC. USGS – Largest earthquakes in the world since 1900 (http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/10maps_world.html) USGS – Surviving a Tsunami – Lessons from Chile, Hawaii, and Japan (http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/c1187/c1187.pdf) Scientific Background on the Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami (http://iri.columbia.edu/~lareef/tsunami/)

 

 

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Indian_Ocean_earthquake"

 

Categories: Current events | 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake | December 2004 news

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[Guest guest]

Bea is right!!!

- Bea Bernhausen

beabernhausen

Saturday, January 01, 2005 3:30 PM

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake---Copmplete up to date info

 

In case anyone thinks this event is over---it isn't.

Over 140 earthquakes (avg. mag. 6+ ) have happened since the big one steadily for the past six days. http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/bulletin/

 

****************************************

Indonesia Tsunami Animation Complete.gifAddress:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:2004_Indonesia_Tsunami_Complete.gif*****************************************

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Indian_Ocean_earthquake#India

 

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This article or section is about a current or ongoing event.Information may change rapidly as the event progresses.

 

For related articles, including charities accepting donations, see Category:2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.

 

Animation of the tsunami caused by the earthquake. (See also the full-length version)

The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was a magnitude 9.0 undersea earthquake on December 26, 2004 which generated tsunamis that caused one of the deadliest natural disasters in modern history.

This rare type of earthquake known as a megathrust earthquake struck at 00:58:53 UTC (07:58:53 local time) in the Indian Ocean off the western coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. It was the largest earthquake on Earth since the 9.2-magnitude Good Friday Earthquake of 1964, and tied for fourth largest since 1900.

The tsunamis devastated the shores of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and other countries with waves of up to 15 m in height. Even the east coast of Africa (especially Somalia) was hit, despite being located 4,500 km (2,800 mi) or more west of the epicentre.

The plight of the many affected people and countries prompted a widespread humanitarian response.

 

 

 

Contents

[showhide]

 

 

1 Quake characteristics

 

1.1 Aftershocks and other earthquakes1.2 Power of the earthquake

2 Tsunami characteristics

3 Damage and casualties

 

3.1 India3.2 Indonesia3.3 Malaysia3.4 Maldives3.5 Myanmar (Burma)3.6 Somalia3.7 Sri Lanka3.8 Thailand3.9 Other countries3.10 Casualties in historical context

4 Early warning systems

5 Post-tsunami humanitarian situation

 

5.1 Conflicting priorities

6 See also

7 External links

 

7.1 Ongoing news coverage7.2 Videos and photos7.3 Forums and discussion7.4 Background information

[edit]

 

Quake characteristics

 

 

Locations of the initial earthquake and aftershocks (Credit: USGS)

The quake was initially reported as 6.8 on the Richter scale. On the moment magnitude scale, which is more accurate for quakes of this size ([1] (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/faq/meas.html)), the earthquake's magnitude was first reported as 8.1 by the United States Geological Survey, but after further analysis they increased this first to 8.5 and 8.9 and finally 9.0 ([2] (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/usslav.htm)).

Since 1900, the only earthquakes recorded with a greater magnitude were the 1960 Great Chilean Earthquake (magnitude 9.5) and two Alaskan quakes: the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake in Prince William Sound (9.2) and a March 9, 1957 quake ([3] (http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eq_depot/usa/1957_03_09.html)) in the Andreanof Islands (9.1). The only other recorded earthquake of magnitude 9.0 was in 1952 off the southeast coast of Kamchatka ([4] (http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eq_depot/world/1952_11_04.html)). Each of these megathrust earthquakes also spawned tsunamis (in the Pacific Ocean), but the death toll from these was significantly lower, ranging from zero to a few thousand (see Top 10 earthquakes (http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/10maps_world.html)).

The hypocentre was at 3.316°N, 95.855°E, some 160 km (100 mi) west of Sumatra, at a depth of 30 km (18.6 mi) below mean sea level (initially reported as 10 km). This is at the extreme western end of the "Ring of Fire", an earthquake belt that accounts for 81% of the world's largest earthquakes ([5] (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/faq/hist.html#1)). The quake itself (apart from the tsunamis) was felt as far away as Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and the Maldives.

The earthquake was unusually large in geographical extent. An estimated 1,200 km (750 mi) of faultline slipped 20 m (60 ft) along the subduction zone where the India Plate dives under the Burma Plate. The seabed of the Burma plate is estimated to have risen several metres vertically up over the India plate, creating shock waves in the Indian Ocean that traveled at up to 800 km/h (500 mi/h), forming tsunamis when they reached land.

The India Plate is part of the great Indo-Australian Plate, which underlies the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal, and is drifting northeast at an average of 6 cm/yr (2 in/yr) (or 20 m (60 ft) per 330 years; i.e. this earthquake moved this fault 330 years worth). The India Plate meets the Burma Plate (which is considered a portion of the great Eurasian Plate) at the Sunda Trench. At this point the India Plate subducts the Burma Plate which includes the Nicobar, the Andaman Islands and northern Sumatra. The India Plate slips deeper and deeper beneath the Burma Plate until the increasing temperature and pressure turns the subducting edge of the India Plate into magma which eventually pushs the magma above it out through the volcanoes (see Volcanic arc). This process is interrupted by the locking of the plates for several centuries until the build up of stress causes their release resulting in a massive earthquake and tsunami. The volcanic activity that results as the Indo-Australian plate subducts the Eurasian plate has created the Sunda Arc.

 

 

Tectonic plates at epicentre (Credit: USGS)

[edit]

 

Aftershocks and other earthquakes

Numerous aftershocks of magnitude between 5.7 and 6.3 were reported off the Andaman Islands in the hours and days that followed. Aftershocks off the Nicobar Islands were also reported, including ones of magnitude 7.1 ([6] (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/ussmax.htm)), and 6.6 ([7] (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/ussmbj.htm)). Other aftershocks between magnitude 5.0 and 6.5 occurred near the location of the original quake. See also: USGS current earthquake information (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/quakes_all.html).

The earthquake came just three days after a magnitude 8.1 earthquake in a completely uninhabited region west of New Zealand's sub-Antarctic Auckland Islands, and north of Australia's Macquarie Island ([8] (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/ussjal.htm)). This would normally be unusual, since earthquakes of magnitude 8 or more typically occur an average of once per year ([9] (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/faq/hist.html#8)). Seismologists have speculated about a possible connection between these two earthquakes, saying that the former one might have been a catalyst to the Indian Ocean earthquake, as the two quakes happened on opposite sides of the Indo-Australian tectonic plate ([10] (http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11787870%255E28477,00.html)). Coincidentally, the earthquake struck almost exactly one year (within an hour) after a magnitude 6.6 earthquake killed an estimated 30,000 people in the city of Bam in Iran ([11] (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/uscvad.htm)).

[edit]

 

Power of the earthquake

The total energy released by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake is equivalent to 32,000 megatons of TNT ([12] (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/faq/meas.html#19)) or 133 exajoules (1.33×1020 joules). This exceeds the total amount of energy consumed in the United States in one year by 30%, or the energy released by the wind of a hurricane like Hurricane Isabel over a period of 70 days ([13] (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/10/031031062553.htm)). Using the mass-energy equivalence formula E = mc2, this amount of energy is equivalent to a mass of about 1500 kg (3300 lb). Equivalently, this amount of energy is enough to boil 10,000 litres (2,600 US gallons) of water for every person on Earth. Note that each unit of the magnitude scale represents a 31.6-fold increase in energy; every two units signifies 1,000 times more energy.

The shift of mass and the massive release of energy very slightly altered the Earth's rotation. The exact amount is yet undetermined, but theoretical models suggest the earthquake may have shortened the length of a day by as much as three microseconds (3 µs) and caused the Earth to minutely "wobble" on its axis by up to 2.5 cm (1 inch) ([14] (http://slate.msn.com/id/2111443/), [15] (http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/12/29/quake.wobble.reut/index.html)). However, due to tidal effects of the Moon, the length of a day increases by 15 µs every year, so any rotational speedup due to the earthquake will be quickly lost. Similarly, the natural Chandler wobble of the Earth can be up to 15 m (50 ft).

Based on one seismic model, some of the smaller islands southwest of Sumatra may have moved southwest up to 20 m (66 ft). The northern tip of Sumatra, which is on the Burma Plate (the southern regions are on the Sunda Plate), may also have moved southwest up to 36 m (118 ft). However, other models suggest that most of the movement would have been vertical rather than lateral. Onsite measurements using GPS will be used to determine the extent and nature of actual geophysical movement.

[edit]

 

Tsunami characteristics

 

See larger version

The earthquake triggered massive tsunamis that struck the coasts of the Indian Ocean, the deadliest tsunamis by far in all of recorded history.

 

See a full-length animation of how the waves travelled — large file (about 1 MB) — to see exactly how and why some countries were more badly affected than others

Because the 1200 km of faultline affected by the quake was in a nearly north-south orientation, the greatest strength of the tsunami waves was in an east-west direction. Bangladesh, which lies at the northern end of the Bay of Bengal, had very few casualties despite being a low-lying country regularly devastated by cyclones.

Coasts that have a land mass between them and the tsunami's location of origin are usually safe; however, tsunami waves can sometimes diffract around such land masses. Thus, the Indian state of Kerala was hit by tsunamis despite being on the western coast of India. Also, distance alone is no guarantee of safety: Somalia was hit harder than Bangladesh despite being much farther away.

The tsunamis took anywhere from fifteen minutes to ten hours to reach the various coastlines, due to the distances involved. Nevertheless, due to the rarity of tsunamis in the Indian Ocean and the resulting lack of an organized warning system, nearly all of the victims were taken completely by surprise.

Tsunamis usually occur along the Pacific Ocean coasts of the "Ring of Fire". The population and government authorities in these areas are better prepared to respond since there are tsunami warning systems in place. Several lethal earthquake-caused tsunamis have struck Pacific Ocean coasts and near the centre of the Indonesian archipelago in recent years: Flores (December 12, 1992), Java (June 3, 1994), Sulawesi (May 3, 2000). On this occasion, however, Pacific Ocean coasts were fully shielded behind large land masses and experienced only minor fluctuations in sea level as part of a global ripple effect.

Only the extreme western edge of the "Ring of Fire" lies within the Indian Ocean; nearly all of it is in the Pacific. Thus Indian Ocean tsunamis are rare; the last major tsunami near Sumatra, on the Indian Ocean side and western end of Indonesia, was caused by the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883. So the death toll of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake may be particularly high since this is the first large Indian Ocean tsunami to strike land in 100 years, leaving the affected countries unprepared and the people unable to recognise the telltale signs of an approaching tsunami (such as the sea receding from the coast in the minutes before the wave hits).

[edit]

 

Damage and casualties

 

 

Countries most directly affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.

The death toll from the earthquake, the tsunamis and the resultant floods was reported to be more than 150,000, with tens of thousands of people reported missing, and over a million left homeless. This is comparable to the number of casualties in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined. Early news reports about eight hours after the earthquake spoke of a toll only in the "hundreds", but the numbers rose steadily over the following week.

Relief agencies report that one-third of the dead appear to be children. This is a result of the high proportion of children in the populations of many of the affected regions and the fact that children were the least able to resist being dragged by the surging waters. Coastal fishing communities and their fisherfolk, some of the poorest people in the region, have been the most devastated with high loss of life as well as boats and fishing gear.

In addition to the large number of local residents, up to 5000 foreign tourists (mostly Europeans) enjoying the busy Christmas holiday travel season were among the dead, especially Scandinavians ([16] (http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/30/quake.scandinavia.reut/index.html)). The European nation hardest hit may have been Sweden ([17] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4134345.stm)).

States of emergency were declared in Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Maldives. The United Nations has declared that the current relief operation will be the costliest one ever. Governments and NGOs fear the final death toll may double as a result of diseases, prompting a massive humanitarian response.

In terms of total fatalities and economic damage, this is the worst tsunami in recorded history, the previous record being the 1703 tsunami at Awa, Japan that killed over 100,000 people ([18] (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/savageseas/neptune-side-tsunamis.html)) and one of the ten worst earthquakes ([19] (http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/eqsmosde.html)).

For purposes of establishing timelines of local events, the time zones of affected areas are: UTC+3: (Kenya, Madagascar, Somalia, Tanzania); UTC+4: (Mauritius, Réunion, Seychelles); UTC+5: (Maldives); UTC+5:30: (India); UTC+6: (Bangladesh, Sri Lanka); UTC+6:30: (Cocos Islands, Myanmar); UTC+7: (Indonesia (western), Thailand); UTC+8: (Malaysia, Singapore). Since the quake occurred at 00:58:53 UTC, add the above offsets to find the local time of the quake. A list of times can be found at a USGS site (http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/bulletin/neic_slav_tz.html).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Country

Deaths

Injured

Missing

Displaced

 

Confirmed

Estimated

 

Indonesia

* ~100,000 [20] (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/31/international/worldspecial4/31cnd-quake.html?hp & amp;ex=1104555600 & amp;en=c8572103d0616b0d & amp;ei=5094 & amp;partner=homepage)

Up to 400,000 [21] (http://snipurl.com/bo8i)

100,000+?

Thousands

100,000s

 

Sri Lanka

** 41,008 [22] (http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/31/asia.quake/)

Up to 50,000

8,200+ [23] (http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/29/asia.quake/index.html)

4,000+ [24] (http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/29/asia.quake/index.html)

~1.5 million [25] (http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/29/asia.quake/index.html)

 

India

8,942 [26] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Indian_Ocean_earthquake_in_India)

15,000

—

10,000 [27] (http://www.modbee.com/24hour/global/story/1957375p-9965057c.html)

100,000s

 

Thailand

4,510 [28] (http://www.turkishpress.com/world/news.asp?id=041231065856.jl3bhe4q.xml)

6,800 [29] (http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=370441)

9,810

6,475 [30] (http://www.turkishpress.com/world/news.asp?id=041231065856.jl3bhe4q.xml)

29,000+

 

Somalia

132 [31] (http://news./news?tmpl=story & amp;cid=1530 & amp;u=/afp/20041230/wl_asia_afp/asiaquaketoll & amp;printer=1)

100s

—

—

—

 

Myanmar (Burma)

96 [32] (http://www.irrawaddy.org/aviewer.asp?a=4252 & amp;z=24)

—

45 [33] (http://www.irrawaddy.org/aviewer.asp?a=4248 & amp;z=24)

14

788

 

Maldives

74 [34] (http://www.presidencymaldives.gov.mv/v3/pages/earthquakeupdates3.phtml)

—

—

30 [35] (http://www.presidencymaldives.gov.mv/v3/pages/earthquakeupdates3.phtml)

8,352 [36] (http://www.presidencymaldives.gov.mv/v3/pages/earthquakeupdates3.phtml)

 

Malaysia

66 [37] (http://a2gay.org.uk/portal/article.php/20041231164635120)

—

183

6

5,000

 

Tanzania

10 [38] (http://www.guardian.co.uk/tsunami/story/0,15671,1380677,00.html)

—

—

—

—

 

Seychelles

10 [39] (http://www.capetimes.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=271 & amp;fArticleId=2357542)

—

—

7

—

 

Bangladesh

2

—

—

—

—

 

Kenya

2

—

—

—

—

 

South Africa

2 [40] (http://www.capetimes.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=271 & amp;fArticleId=2357542)

—

—

—

—

 

Madagascar

0

—

—

—

>1,000 [41] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4129639.stm)

 

Total

~154,848

Up to 470,000

510,000 [42] (http://olympics.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews & amp;storyID=7199990)

22,000+

3-5 million [43] (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6765193/)

 

Note: All figures are approximate and subject to constant change.

[ edit (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:2004_Indian_Ocean_earthquake_casualties & amp;action=edit) ]

 

* Official count stopped due to chaos in affected areas.

 

** Includes 14,000 casualties from the regions controlled by Tamil Tiger rebels.

A description of the countries most affected by the earthquake and resulting tsunamis is below. In order to make the article easier to read, the description of nations whose casualty totals cannot be counted in the dozens, as well as the account of nations that have lost citizens who were travelling abroad are listed as other countries affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.

[edit]

 

India

 

 

Much of the area adjacent to the Marina Beach in Chennai was covered by water from the tsunami

 

Main article: 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake in India

The current official number of casualties in India is 8,942 ([44] (http://ndmindia.nic.in/)), the overwhelming majority of them being in the state of Tamil Nadu. There are still about 7,000 people missing in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The estimated number of casualties in India is between 14,000 and 15,000, split roughly equally between the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Indian mainland.

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands lie just north of the earthquake epicentre, and the tsunami reached a height of 15 m in the southern Nicobar Islands. The official death toll there is 712, and about 7,000 are still missing. The unofficial death toll (including those missing and presumed dead) is estimated to be about 7,000. One fifth of the population of the Nicobar Islands is said to be dead, injured or missing ([45] (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/974230.cms)). Chowra Island in the Nicobars has lost two thirds of its population of 1,500. Entire islands have been literally washed away, and the island of Trinket has been split in two ([46] (http://in.news./041229/137/2ipv4.html)). Communications have not been restored with the Nancowry group of islands, some of which have been completely submerged, with the total number of the population still out of contact exceeding 7,000 ([47] (http://www.rediff.com/news/2004/dec/30tsunami2.htm)). The Indian Air Force base in Car Nicobar, near the epicentre, is reported to have been severely damaged ([48] (http://www.newkerala.com/news-daily/news/features.php?action=fullnews & amp;id=50910)).

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are home to several aboriginal tribes such as the Jarawa, the Sentinelese, the Shompen, the Onge and the Great Andamanese. Most of these tribes have maintained their aboriginal lifestyle for centuries, and government policy has been to not interfere with them unless absolutely essential. The tribal population is extremely low (the largest tribe has about 1,000 individuals, while the smallest have less than 50) and tribal census data is not reliable (partly as a consequence of the no-interference policy). Most of the native islanders survived the tsunami because they live on higher ground or far from the coast ([49] (http://www.hindu.com/2004/12/31/stories/2004123106661100.htm)) and no tribe has been completely lost, though many individual tribe members were lost ([50] (http://www.newkerala.com/news-daily/news/features.php?action=fullnews & amp;id=52843)). Nearly all the tribes are of great importance and interest to anthropologists and linguists, due to their unique culture and language.

On mainland India, the entire eastern coast was affected, killing more than 7,000 and rendering thousands injured and/or homeless. Most of the people killed were fisherfolk who lived along the coast, and most of those missing on the mainland are those who were out at sea. The official death toll in Tamil Nadu, which was most affected, is 7,397. The official death toll in Pondicherry is 560. A total of 105 have died in Andhra Pradesh so far, and Kerala (though lying in the tsunami shadow region on the west coast of India) was also affected with 168 deaths and thousands rendered homeless.

The death toll in Tamil Nadu stands at 7,397, most of whom were women and children. It is reported that 5,500 were killed in Nagapattinam district alone, 600 in Cuddalore district, 800 in Kanyakumari district and 200 in the state capital of Chennai. It was reported that survey and rescue helicopters could not land immediately in Nagapattinam and Cuddalore districts due to floods and rains. Those killed in Kanyakumari include pilgrims taking a holy dip in the sea. Of about 700 people trapped at the Vivekananda Rock Memorial off Kanyakumari, 650 were rescued while the search is on for others. In Chennai along the Marina Beach, people taking part in various sports activities (including children) and those who were having a Sunday morning walk along the beach were washed away, in addition to the fisherfolk who lived along the shore and those out at sea. The death toll at Velankanni in Nagapattinam district is currently 1,500. Most of these people were visiting the Basilica of the Virgin Mary for Christmas, while others were residents of the town. The nuclear power station at Kalpakkam was shut down after water rushed into the plant. No radiation leak or damage to the reactor was reported ([51] (http://www.ndtv.com/template/template.asp?template=tsunami & amp;id=15969 & amp;callid=0)). About 100 casualties were reported from Kalpakkam, all power plant personnel and their families.

The Indian Army, Navy and Coast Guard were pressed into service for undertaking rescue operations and to air-drop food to the tsunami victims. The chief ministers of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh announced ex gratia relief for those affected by the tsunamis. The Indian Army, Navy and Coast Guard have also been helping variety of affected areas in Sri Lanka.

[edit]

 

Indonesia

 

 

Part of Banda Aceh shore before and after the tsunami, see also larger versions: before (http://www.digitalglobe.com/images/tsunami/banda_aceh_northernshore_june23_2004_dg.jpg), after (http://www.digitalglobe.com/images/tsunami/banda_aceh_northernshore_dec28_2004_dg.jpg) (Credit: DigitalGlobe).

Indonesia's Ministry of Health confirmed almost 80,000 dead, mainly in the northern province Aceh (officialy named Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam) of the island Sumatra. Nine thousand are reported dead in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh and nearby towns, where dozens of buildings were destroyed in the initial earthquake. The town of Meulaboh, which had a population of 120,000 before the tsunami, was struck by a series of seven waves, killing an estimated third of the town's population according to government officials. This preliminary figure does not include the rest of the badly damaged western coast of Sumatra. Northern Sumatra was unusual in the regional disaster in that it took damage from the earthquake itself as well as the tsunami. Hundreds of thousands of people have been rendered homeless ([52] (http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaillatestnews.asp?fileid=20041229210311 & amp;irec=1)).

Government officials are very concerned over the lack of reports from the many small islands dotting the western coast of Sumatra. These islands are among the poorest areas in Indonesia, among them the islands Simeulue and Nias. On Nias island alone official accounts gave the number 122 (source: Media Indonesia Online (http://www.mediaindo.co.id/berita.asp?id=54631) via the Ministry of Health (http://www.depkes.go.id/index.php?option=news & amp;task=viewarticle & amp;sid=708 & amp;Itemid=2)), while various unconfirmed sources (mostly from phone calls by relatives living in Jakarta) report death tolls of over 600; others say the number is more likely to go well over 1000. Confirmation and communications to the islands are further hampered by damage to telecommunication infrastructures, where phone lines are broken and radio networks have been said to be down due to bad weather (source: KCM (http://www.kompas.com/kompas-cetak/0412/28/utama/1464439.htm), updates from The Jakarta Post (http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaillatestnews.asp?fileid=20041229161906 & amp;irec=0)). This infrastructure damage has severely hampered the distribution of aid.

Reports have surfaced that the small islets off the coast of Nias island in the Sirombu district are still relatively intact ([53] (http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaillatestnews.asp?fileid=20041229194206 & amp;irec=1)), but high waves still prevent locals from attempting to reach the islands (niasisland.com (http://www.niasisland.com/home/news.php?file_option=../home/data/news.txt & amp;primary_key=2004-12-29%2013:57:40)). A report from an early aid flight to the island of Simeulue indicated that residents had escaped the tsunami, with only five killed by the earthquake, due in part to the residents' long experience with tsunamis in this quake-prone region ([54] (http://smh.com.au/articles/2004/12/29/1103996617216.html)).

Most of the damage was the result of the tsunamis that struck the coastal regions of Aceh and North Sumatra provinces. Ten metre tall tsunamis passed the tip of the island to race south down the Straits of Malacca and strike along the northeast coast near the town of Bireun. The west coast of Sumatra was about 100 km (60 mi) from the epicentre and is believed to have taken heavy damage. At least five villages were completely destroyed. Overflights of the region show that thousands of homes remain underwater. An Indonesian navy ship bringing aid supplies to Meulaboh was forced to turn away after it was unable to dock because of damage to the port. Reports indicate that survivors survived for days eating nothing but coconuts and looting has been reported in stricken Acehnese towns.

The unmanageably high number of corpses strewn all over the cities and countrysides, limited resources and time for identifying bodies, and the very real threat of cholera, diphtheria and other diseases have prompted emergency workers to create makeshift mass graves. One of the most urgently required medical supplies now are body bags ([55] (http://www.kompas.com/utama/news/0412/29/143804.htm)).

In addition, the Indonesian ambassador to Malaysia said that up to 400,000 may be dead in villages that "show no signs of life"; aerial helicopter surveys of the areas fail to make any contact so far ([56] (http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2004/12/31/nation/9784484 & amp;sec=nation), [[57] (http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/news_lite.php?id=111574)).

More information on the humanitarian situation in Indonesia may be found in the Indonesia section of the humanitarian response page.

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Malaysia

 

 

The wave crashing into the road at Tanjung Tokong, Penang

Despite its proximity to the incident, Malaysia escaped the kind of damage that struck countries thousands of miles further away. Since the epicenter was on the western coast of Sumatra, the island largely shielded the country from the worst of the tsunami. The country's worst affected areas were the northern coastal areas and outlying islands like Penang and Langkawi. Local TV stations broadcasting tsunami alerts within the hour of the quake and simple but effective red flag warning system used by lifeguards on beaches in some resort areas in Penang were credited to reducing the number of fatalities. The number of deaths currently stands at 66 with 52 in Penang, 10 in Kedah, 3 in Perak and 1 in Selangor. The deaths at Penang were reported to include many picnickers and children who were playing on open public beaches. No deaths are reported among foreign tourists yet. Houses in fishing villages along coastal areas were damaged in Batu Maung and Bayan Lepas in Penang. Coastal areas in Peninsular Malaysia e.g. 13 villages in Kuala Muda, Kedah and Kuala Triang in Langkawi island were also affected. About a quarter of holiday vessels anchored in Rebak and Telaga harbour in Langkawi were also damaged. The waves sent parked motorcycles crashing and cars washed with mud at stretches along Gurney Drive in Penang. The biggest loss from a single family was when 5 of Zulkifli Mohamad Noor's 7 children were killed when the tsunami struck at Pasir Panjang beach. The tremor of the quake was felt by office workers in the PETRONAS Twin Towers.

 

 

Cars struck by the tsunami in Pesiaran Gurney (Gurney Drive), Penang

Malaysian Prime Minister Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi cut short his diplomatic trip to Spain and returned to Malaysia. He instructed the government to cancel all New Year celebrations and urged all parties, including the private sector, to hold prayers and remembrance services instead. The government is also considering postponing the deportation of illegal immigrants and extending an amnesty so that they may exit the country by Jan 31 2005 instead of Dec 31 2004. The Malaysian government announced that MYR 1,000 (USD 263.16) would be given to the families of victims while MYR 200 (USD 52.63) would be paid to those who had sustained injuries from the tsunami. Displaced residents would be given MYR 200 to alleviate their hardship, MYR 2,000 for every house damaged, MYR 5,000 would for every destroyed house while fishermen whose boats were lost will be given MYR 1,000 for smaller boats and MYR 3,000 for larger boats.

Sinkholes which were reported in Kampar and Ipoh for 3 days running have been investigated and determined not earthquake related.

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Maldives

 

 

Malé, the capital island of Maldives was severely hit by the tsunamis.

In the Maldives, 74 were killed and 30 reported missing, with both figures expected to rise as communication links are restored. Two-thirds of the capital city Malé was flooded during the early hours of the day. Outlying low-level atolls were badly affected and some low lying islands were completely submerged, including some of the major resorts, during the high tide.

The government has declared a state of national disaster ([58] (http://www.presidencymaldives.gov.mv/v3/pages/News.php3?NewsID=2702)) and a special task force has been set up to provide aid and supplies. Rescue efforts have been hampered by loss of communication capability, as well as the lack of a prior rescue or relief plan for a disaster of this nature.

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Myanmar (Burma)

The United Nations reports at least 90 people killed by tsunamis in Myanmar. Most deaths were in the Irrawaddy Delta where several villages and a bridge were destroyed. There is a paucity of official information from Myanmar's ruling military dictatorship and state run newspapers, therefore exact numbers of casualties and homeless are difficult to obtain. The official death toll of the Myanmar government stands at 36 ([59] (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/B610265.htm)). Wave reconstructions and geography suggest coastal effects in southern Myanmar similar to those in adjacent Thailand, so the complete figure is likely significantly higher. The Bangkok Post estimates 800 citizens of Myanmar working in Thailand during the event have been lost (these are included in the Thai numbers).

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Somalia

Villages and coastal communities in Somalia, as far as 4,500 km (2,800 mi) from the epicentre of the earthquake, were swept away and destroyed by the huge waves. Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Gedi of the government-in-exile has stated that over 100 people are dead. Rising waters engulfed the town mosque of Brava and the villages of Beyla, Garacad, Muduy and Nugaal, all in Puntland, were reported destroyed.

According to Ali Abdi Awari, Minister of Rural Development, the final toll is believed to be much higher, as the number of fishermen caught on the sea has not been established by the local authorities. Much of the 1,000 km (621 mi) coast is controlled by various clan-based militias, making obtaining accurate information difficult. The United Nations is assisting 2,000 people in Hafun, a town 1150 km (715 mi) northeast of Mogadishu, who were made homeless by the tsunamis.

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Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan authorities report 27,268 confirmed deaths ([60] (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;?type=topNews & amp;storyID=7207349)), mostly children and the elderly. The south and east coasts were worst hit. One and a half million people have been displaced from their homes. The death toll continues to rise as the threat of infectious diseases breaking out has turned into a fact, with doctors confirming first cases of Cholera.

 

Before/after animation of Kalutara, Sri Lanka beach neighborhood. Credit: DigitalGlobe.(See also the large, interpreted version.)

1200 dead were counted at Batticaloa in the east and at Trincomalee in the northeast, where the tsunami reached more than 2 km (1.25 mi) inland, 800 were reported dead. In neighboring Amparai district alone, more than 5,000 dead. The naval base at Trincomalee is reported to be submerged. About 1000 more dead were counted in Mullaitivu and Vadamaradchi East ([61] (http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13 & amp;artid=13744)). A train, the "Sea Queen", moving between Colombo and Galle, with 1,600 passengers was struck by a tsunami, killing all but 300 on board.

Across the island collections are being taken for those who have lost everything, vans with PA systems driving around calling on people to give whatever they can. Even in the poorest, most remote areas people flock to the roadside to hand over money, clothes, bottles of water and bags of rice and lentils.

Apart from homes, many hotels were also reported to have been damaged. Hotels along the south coast were full of both foreign tourists and Sri Lankans making use of the long Christmas weekend. Twenty thousand soldiers were deployed in government-controlled areas to assist in relief operations and maintain law and order after sporadic looting. Curfews had been imposed in some areas to curb looting. Chinese light antipersonnel mines of type T-72A, left after the two-decade civil war, are feared to have been washed up and spread by the surge of water. The Norwegian Peoples' Aid Organization is currently assembling a team of mine sweepers to assess the situation.

It has been noted that in the Yala National Park, many animals seem to have moved to higher regions in order to escape the disaster. It is unclear how they detected the coming disaster, although a sixth sense, perhaps the ability to hear the infrasound rumble of the tremors or approaching tsunami, was mentioned in reports. Another possible reason is that many animals can run faster than people, enabling them to outrun the tsunami.

The test match ground at Galle, where international cricket is played, has been devastated.

For more on the humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka, see the humanitarian response page.

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Thailand

The Thai government reports 4,510 ([62] (http://www.turkishpress.com/world/news.asp?id=041231065856.jl3bhe4q.xml)) confirmed deaths, 8,953 injuries ([63] (http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3938222)) and 6,475 ([64] (http://www.turkishpress.com/world/news.asp?id=041231065856.jl3bhe4q.xml)) missing. The popular tourist resort of Phuket was badly hit. The smaller but increasingly popular resort area of Khao Lak some 80 km north of Phuket was hit far worse and there are said to be around 700 corpses on the beach in Khao Lak, while the total amount of dead in Khao Lak may exceed 2,000. The severity of the situation in Khao Lak is probably explained by the fact, that unlike the high-rising city of Phuket, the village of Khao Lak only had low built bungalows instead of high-rise concrete hotels. Khao Lak also has an extensive area of flatland only a few metres above the sea level, on which most bungalows were situated.

Thailand deputy interior minister Sutham Sangprathum reports over 700 tourists among Thailand's casualties. The bodies of 44 foreign tourists are reported to have been recovered at Phuket. Hundreds of holiday bungalows on the Phi Phi Islands were washed out to sea. Tuk-tuk drivers were quick to offer assistance, driving victims to hospital and higher ground and away from the surging waters. Local reports say many scuba divers were found dead, with their bodies torn apart by the tsunami. Bhumi Jensen, grandson of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej, is confirmed dead.

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Other countries

Main article: Other countries affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

A number of other countries were also affected either directly or indirectly by the earthquake. Countries such as Tanzania lost citizens as the tsunami struck its shores and other countries suffered significant property damage. Meanwhile, nations like Oman and Australia reported only non-deadly ocean swells. Citizens from countries from around the world have been killed, or remain missing, in the aftermath of the natural disaster. Many foreigners were visiting the famed beaches of Thailand and Sri Lanka during the Christmas vacation.

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Casualties in historical context

 

 

Regional map showing physiographic features, tectonic plate movements, and locations of volcanoes, earthquakes, and impact craters (Credit: USGS)

The earthquake was the fourth most powerful recorded since 1899, and the likely final death toll is quite high; estimations now range from 460,000 to 650,000, due to the highly populated areas affected by the ensuing tsunami. The deadliest earthquakes since 1899 were the Tangshan, China, earthquake of 1976, in which at least 255,000 were killed, the Ashgabat, Turkmenistan earthquake of 1948 (110,000), the Tsinghai, China earthquake of 1927 (200,000), the Great Kanto earthquake which struck Tokyo in 1923 (143,000), and the Gansu, China earthquake of 1920 (200,000). The deadliest known earthquake in history occurred in 1556 in Shaanxi, China, with an estimated death toll of 830,000, though figures from this time period may not be reliable ([65] (http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/eqsmajr.html)).

This 2004 tsunami appears to be the most deadly tsunami in recorded history. The most deadly tsunami in history prior to 2004 was the result of an earthquake near Awa, Japan in 1703 that killed 100,000. The tsunami created by the 1883 explosion of Krakatoa is thought to have resulted in 36,000 deaths. The most deadly tsunami between 1900 and 2004 occurred in the Messina, Italy where the earthquake and tsunami killed 70,000 in 1908. The most deadly tsunami in the Atlantic resulted from the 1755 Lisbon earthquake that, combined with the toll from the actual earthquake and resulting fires, killed over 100,000.

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Early warning systems

 

 

Relative size of a 10 m (33 ft) wave

See also: Tsunami - Warning systems

The nations of the Indian Ocean do not participate in a regional tsunami early warning system like that in the Pacific Ocean ([66] (http://www.prh.noaa.gov/ptwc/)); neither do the nations of the Atlantic Ocean. The first reaction of many to the the disaster has been to question governmental priorities in the region in not having constructed such a system, but as the region had not seen a large tsunami since the Krakatoa eruption of 1883, it was not previously felt justified.

In the Pacific, there is a system of sensors linked to monitoring stations so that local media can warn the populace to take action well before a tsunami arrives. The system dates back to 1965 and was a reaction to the tsunamis resulting from the magnitude 9.2 Good Friday Earthquake of 1964, which was the last quake of 9.0 or larger magnitude. Thailand is a member of the Pacific tsunami warning system, but all of its ocean buoys, which relay information from wave sensors on the ocean floor, are on the east coast of the country. A single wave station south of the epicentre measured a 0.6 m tall tsunami moving towards Australia. However wave fluctuations of 2.6 meters were measured off the coast of Mexico at Manzanillo, Colima state.

The US Geological Survey has stated that if a monitoring and warning system had been in place, the loss of life could have been reduced, especially in areas that were struck by tsunamis more than three hours after the initial tremor, such as Sri Lanka and India. Furthermore, in Pacific regions where tsunamis are better known, the receding of the sea from the coast would have warned many people of an impending ocean surge. In the Indian Ocean region, this rare sight has been reported to have induced people, especially children, to visit the coast to investigate and collected fish stranded in as much as 2.5 km of exposed beachland. Furthermore, the intensity of the tremors felt in India and Sri Lanka was too low to raise an alarm.

In the aftermath of the earthquake, the Indian government has decided to install equipment to warn about impending tsunamis, and to join a group of countries that would share information on tsunamis. The Malaysian government has also proposed to create a tsunami warning system, in cooperation with other countries in the region ([67] (http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2004/12/28/nation/9760871 & amp;sec=nation)).

Thailand's foremost meteorologists decided in a crisis meeting before the tsunami hit not to issue a warning "out of courtesy to the tourism industry". A key factor in failing to do so was reliance on an early estimate that the earthquake was of magnitude 8.1 rather than 9.0 as it turned out to be ([68] (http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=42170)).

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Post-tsunami humanitarian situation

Main article: Humanitarian response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

A great deal of humanitarian aid is needed due to widespread damage to infrastructure, food and water shortages, and economic damage to the fishing and tourism industries. Epidemics are of special concern, as they are highly likely due to the high population density and tropical climate of the affected areas. The United Nations has stated that the largest relief operation in history is underway. The overwhelming concern of humanitarian and government agencies is to provide fresh drinking water to contain the spread of diseases such as cholera, diphtheria, dysentery and typhoid. Nations all over the world have so far provided over 2 billion of US dollars in aid for damaged regions, with the United States offering the most at $350 million, the World Bank offering $250 million and UK government and public offering $140 million. Officials estimate that billions of dollars will be needed.

 

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Conflicting priorities

Significant effort is being spent in burying bodies hurriedly, explicitly to prevent the spread of disease. However, the public health threat of unburied trauma victims is not as great as that of those who die of infectious disease; the World Health Organization (WHO), characterises it as "negligible" in comparison. Furthermore, improperly buried corpses may contaminate underground water supplies. Many argue that the limited resources available should be focused on the survival and health needs of the living. On the other hand, religious and cultural practices, the aesthetic distaste of unburied bodies, and the negative impact on morale of leaving the dead unattended to, continue to motivate for prompt burial.

 

Mass burials do more harm than good—experts (http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/0/0fb1a0c8c4ca2bac49256e0d0006659c?OpenDocument) CNN — WHO: Corpses pose little threat (http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/29/quake.corpses/index.html) Slate — Are Dead Bodies Dangerous? (http://slate.msn.com/id/1003473/)

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See also

 

Donations for victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake Humanitarian response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake in India Other countries affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake List of islands in the Indian Ocean 1970 Bhola cyclone - probably the worst natural disaster of the 20th century Death tolls of other major disasters Earthquake List of earthquakes Tsunami Cumbre Vieja, a possible future megatsunami threat in the Atlantic Ocean

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External links

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Ongoing news coverage

Wikinews

 

Wikinews: Strongest earthquake in 40 years hits Southeast Asia Wikinews: Tsunami Help - Database by SEA-EAT bloggers giving details about persons missing/found, aid efforts and ways to donate

Other media sources

 

ABC News – Tsunami Disaster (http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Tsunami/) USA ABC News Online – Asian Tsunami Disaster (http://www.abc.net.au/news/indepth/tsunami/) Australia The Age – Waves of Destruction (http://www.theage.com.au/issues/asiatsunami/) Australia BBC News – In-Depth Report: Asia Quake Disaster (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/world/2004/asia_quake_disaster/default.stm) UK CBC News – Indepth: Disaster in Asia (http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/asia_earthquake/) Canada Channel News Asia – Special Coverage: Killer Waves (http://www.channelnewsasia.com/killerwaves) Singapore CNN – Special: Tsunami Disaster (http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2004/tsunami.disaster/) USA Financial Times News – In Depth: Asian Earthquake Disaster (http://news.ft.com/cms/e7abb2ca-5776-11d9-a8db-00000e2511c8.html) UK Guardian Unlimited – Special Report: Indian Ocean Tsunami Disaster (http://www.guardian.co.uk/tsunami/) UK Hindustan Times - The Killer Waves (http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/611_0,001301540000.htm) India MSNBC News – Asia's Deadly Tsunami (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6758619/) USA New York Times – Complete Coverage (http://www.nytimes.com/pages/world/worldspecial4/) USA News Interactive – Tsunami Disaster (http://www.news.com.au/index/0,8915,28477,00.html) Australia NPR – Tsunami Devastates Asian Nations (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4245761) USA Rediff – Tsunami: Waves of Destruction (http://www.rediff.com/news/tsunami.htm) India Reuters AlertNet – S. Asia Quake and Tsunamis (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/emergency/SA_TID.htm) UK Scotsman – Indian Ocean Earthquake (http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=1230) UK Sydney Morning Herald – Waves of Devastation (http://www.smh.com.au/specials/tsunami/) Australia Times (London) – Tsunami (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/section/0,,18690,00.html) UK Washington Post – Tsunami in South Asia (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/world/issues/tsunami/) USA W*USA 9 – Tsunami Disaster (http://www.wusatv9.com/news/tsunami.aspx/) television station in Washington DC, USA News – Asia Tsunami Disaster (http://story.news./fc?cid=34 & amp;tmpl=fc & amp;in=Science & amp;cat=Asia_Tsunami_Disaster) USA Guardian's World News Guide (http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldnewsguide/asia/) for finding local news sources Haveeru Daily (http://www.haveeru.com.mv/?page=english) Maldives TamilNet (http://www.tamilnet.com/) Sri Lanka

Headline links

 

ReliefWeb - South Asia Earthquake and Tsunami (http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/vLCE/B46020E42CECE0A3C1256F76003D51A4?OpenDocument & amp;StartKey=South+Asia:+Earthquake+and+Tsunami+-+Dec+2004 & amp;ExpandView) news stories EinNews Sri Lanka news links (http://www.einnews.com/srilanka/) International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) (http://www.icsf.net/jsp/english/flashnews/flashNews.jsp) frequent news updates of impact on coastal fishing communities, plus current links to resources, images etc TheAcademic (http://www.theacademic.org/) Sri Lanka News News from Sri Lanka (http://www.asinah.org/travel-guides/srilankanews.html) - Thailand (http://www.asinah.org/travel-guides/thailandnews.html) - Indonesia (http://www.asinah.org/travel-guides/indonesianews.html) and India (http://www.asinah.org/travel-guides/indianews.html)

Individual news articles (latest on top)

 

For latest Update of News Regarding Tsunami (http://www.rupya.com/chennai) Tsunami adds to belief in animals' "sixth sense" (http://news./news?tmpl=story & amp;u=/nm/20041230/od_uk_nm/oukoe_quake_animals_1) News, 2004-12-30 Why Thais avoided tsunami warning: Meteorologists decided against it 'out of courtesy to tourist industry' (http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=42170) WND 2004-12-30 Raw Data: How to Help (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,142750,00.html) FOXNews List of resorts on Phi Phi, Phuket, Koh Lanta, Khao Lak and Khao Sok badly damaged (http://www.asinah.org/travel-guides/thailandtsunami.html) Bodies litter Aceh as famine looms (http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailheadlines.asp?fileid=20041229.@01 & amp;irec=0) The Jakarta Post Death toll in tsunami rises to 22,000 in Sri Lanka (http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-12/29/content_2390146.htm) Xinhua News Agency 2004-12-29 Asia Struggles with Disaster Aftermath (http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=365697) ABC News Tsunami Caught on Video Camera (http://www.nbc10.com/news/4026938/detail.html) NBC Latest Updates from Minivan (Maldivian News Source) (http://www.minivannews.com/news/news.php?id=142) British tourist among 15 dead as tsunamis lash Maldives (http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/124175/1/.html) Channel News Asia, 2004-12-27 at 00:50 (GMT +8) Ten Killed in Burma (http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Tsunami-kills-10-in-Burma/2004/12/27/1103996445858.html?oneclick=true) 2004-12-27 Asia quake death toll nears 10,000 (http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/26/asia.quake/index.html) CNN, 2004-12-26 at 13:42 EST Over 1800 killed in South India (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/971320.cms) Times of India Tsunami hits south, southeast Asia; 9,000 feared dead (http://www.ndtv.com/environment/Earthquake.asp?id=15959 & amp;callid=0) New Delhi Television Sea surges kill thousands in Asia (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4125481.stm) BBC News World Edition, 2004-12-26 Huge earthquake wreaks havoc (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11785540%255E401,00.html) The Weekend Australian, 2004-12-26 List of organizations providing assistance and help to the victims of Indonesia Tsunamis (http://indonesia.united.co.uk/) Tsunami Leaving Asia All Shook Up (http://thanks4supporting.us/tsunami)

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Videos and photos

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wikimedia Commons has multimedia related to 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.

Videos

 

5 First-Hand Clips (http://www.thestatrix.com/archives/2004/12/tsunami_video.html) Torrents of the tsunami as it hit Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Malaysia. Requires Blogtorrent (free, 2.3M) or similar BitTorrent client. (thestatrix.com) 4 different videos (wmv and avi format) (http://video.contemporaryinsanity.org/) Torrent of 2 minute video (http://www.thestatrix.com/archives/2004/12/another_tsunami.html) of the tsunami overtaking a luxury resort. (thestatrix.com) Downloads include nearly all known footage (http://crackhouse.blogspot.com) 220MB worth using BlogTorrent for ease of use. Video from Patong beach hotel (http://snipurl.com/bnd0) (snipurl.com) Video from Sri lanka beach hotel (http://snipurl.com/bnd2) (snipurl.com) BBC video about the tsunami (http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/news_web/video/40667000/nb/40667325_nb_16x9.ram) (requires RealVideo codec) Tsunami in Penang Malaysia, video taken on 26 December. (http://www.sinchew-i.com/special/indonearthquake/video/tsunami128.wmv) Numerous amateur video clips available on eDonkey/eMule P2P networks. (use at own risk: eMule program download (http://prdownloads.sf.net/emule/eMule0.44d-Installer.exe) and installation support (http://www.emule-project.net/home/perl/help.cgi?l=1)) Photos and Videos from the aftermath of the Asia Tsunami. (http://www.waveofdestruction.org/)

Photos

 

Aftermath of the 2004-12-26 Tsunami in Sri Lanka (http://blog.ceneus.com/aftermath_12_26_tsunami_sri_lanka.html) A collection of photos from Male', Maldives (http://vakaruge.com/modules.php?op=modload & amp;name=My_eGallery & amp;file=index & amp;do=showgall & amp;gid=2) Slideshows - Asian Tsunami Disaster (http://snipurl.com/bo10) Kalutara, Sri Lanka (http://www.digitalglobe.com/images/qb/srilanka_kalutara_flood_dec26_2004_dg.jpg) Quickbird satellite image, DigitalGlobe Inc., 2004-12-26 Banda Aceh, Indonesia (http://www.digitalglobe.com/press/images_media.shtml) Quickbird satellite image, DigitalGlobe Inc., 2004-12-28 Photos after the destruction of Koh Phi Phi Island (http://www.digitalvoodoo.de/blog/archives/asien/phi-phi-island-verwuestet.php) AP photos from the affected areas (http://news.search./search/news/?ei=UTF-8 & amp;c=news_photos & amp;p=earthquake & amp;datesort=1) Photos from Malé, Maldives (http://www.senses0.org.mv/tsunami_aftermath/) More photos from Malé (http://www.darkmoon.mv/wave/) Photo sequence of tsunami flooding in Phuket (Thailand) resort. (http://www.pbase.com/issels/phuket_tsunami & amp;page=all) Photos from Phuket at the time of the disaster (http://www.pbase.com/issels/root) More photos and story from Phuket, Thailand from the beginning of the tsunami (http://www.jeffhock.com/pics/04_12b/index.html) The aftermath story and photos of several cities on Thailand (http://www.jeffhock.com/pics/04_12c/index.html) Satellite images of a few affected coasts and islands © CNES 2004 (http://www.crisp.nus.edu.sg/tsunami/tsunami.html)

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Forums and discussion

 

BCZ.com Classifieds (http://www.bcz.com/cgi-bin/members/class9990181764673.cgi?categoryid=9990181764730) to post information to search for your lost ones. BCZ.com Clubs (http://www.bcz.com/cgi-bin/members/clubs.cgi?clubid=9990181674293) News and Media / December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake ASIA TSUNAMI 2004 asia_tsunami_2004/

To assist in reuniting loved ones, family and friends devastated by the Sumatra earthquake and tsunamis. To inform where to *register* your loved ones at important databases, find survivor lists, and country links.

 

TSUNAMI WARNING tsunami_warning/

For the discussion of tsunami and tsunami warning systems.

 

Condolence Book (http://www.ceneus.com/tsunami/) Offer your condolences to the victims of the December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

Sites to help family and friends locate missing loved ones are listed here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Other_countries_affected_by_the_2004_Indian_Ocean_earthquake#Links_to_search_for_missing_people)

 

Please post your survival stories, missing persons, etc at the forum (http://surfandturf.biz/tsunami)

Blogs

 

Tsunami Disaster in Malaysia and Thailand Blog (http://tsunamipenang.blogspot.com/) Latest news,stories, and donation information for the tsunami victims in Malaysia. Rupya - Tsunami Relief measures and Updated News Blog (http://www.rupya.com) out of Chennai, India SEA-EAT South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami Blog (http://tsunamihelp.blogspot.com/) News and information about resources, aid, donations and volunteer efforts. Also redirected from http://asiaquake.org/ ProPoor Blog (http://nipun.charityfocus.org/pp) Information on grassroot ways to help. Indonesia HELP (http://indonesiahelp.blogspot.com/) Aid and donations information for earthquake and tsunami victims in Aceh & North Sumatra (Indonesia) Tsunami Help India (http://tsunamihelpindia.blogspot.com/) spun off from Sumankumar's yak pad (http://sumankumar.com/) out of Chennai, India This Way Please's Extra Extra (http://www.thiswayplease.com/extra.html) out of Jaffna, Sri Lanka PHUKET TSUNAMI first hand experiences (http://phukettsunami.blogspot.com/) Weblog from Rick Von Feldt who was in Pukhet during the tsunami. Includes first hand experiences, stories and photos urban75 (http://www.urban75.org/news/maldives.html) a first hand account from the Maldvies ceneus.blog (http://blog.ceneus.com) - Blogging a Tragedy, Sri Lanka primary0 (http://www.primary0.mv/) Views of a Maldivian. nomadlife.org (http://www.nomadlife.org) - AIESEC oriented coverage on the earthquake. DS AS http://believeinmagic91.blogspot.com/ Several videos.

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Background information

 

LookSmart - Tsunamis and Tidal Waves (http://search.looksmart.com/p/browse/us1/us317836/us317914/us53775/us221719/us1134460/) directory category Open Directory Project - Tsunami (http://dmoz.org/Science/Earth_Sciences/Geology/Geologic_Hazards/Tsunami/) directory category - Tsunamis (http://dir./Science/Earth_Sciences/Oceanography/Physical_Oceanography/Waves/Tsunamis/) directory category 1998 geoscientific investigations (http://www.bgr.de/b322/text/e_sunda.htm) of the active convergence zone between the east Eurasian and Indo-Australian Plates (GINCO I), carried out along the Sunda Arc PBS NewsHour - Predicting Earthquakes (http://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/earthquake/) British Foreign Office advice (http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage & amp;c=Page & amp;cid=1007029390590 & amp;a=KCountryAdvice & amp;aid=1013618386199) for the Maldives. BBC News: World helps - but will it forget? (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4130127.stm) Tsunami Experiment (http://www.bigelow.org/virtual/handson/tsunami.html)

Geological reports

 

Global Earthquake Report – chart updated with each new earthquake or aftershock (http://tsunami.geo.ed.ac.uk/local-bin/quakes/mapscript/demo_run.pl) National Institute of Oceanography, India - 26 December 2004 Tsunami (http://www.nio.org/jsp/tsunami.jsp) NOAA – Pacific Tsunami report (http://www.prh.noaa.gov/ptwc/wmsg) December 27 USGS - Magnitude 9.0 – OFF THE WEST COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/usslav.htm) USGS, December 26, 2004 at 00:58:50 UTC. USGS – Earthquake Hazards Program: Tectonic Summary (http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/bulletin/neic_slav_ts.html) USGS, December 26, 2004 at 00:58:50 UTC. USGS – Largest earthquakes in the world since 1900 (http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/10maps_world.html) USGS – Surviving a Tsunami – Lessons from Chile, Hawaii, and Japan (http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/c1187/c1187.pdf) Scientific Background on the Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami (http://iri.columbia.edu/~lareef/tsunami/)

 

 

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Indian_Ocean_earthquake"

 

Categories: Current events | 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake | December 2004 news

 

 

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