2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
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The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea earthquake of magnitude 8.9 that struck the Indian Ocean off the western coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia on December 26, 2004 00:58:50 UTC (or 07:58:50 local time in Jakarta and Bangkok). It was the strongest earthquake in the world since the Good Friday Earthquake which struck Alaska in 1964, and the fifth largest since 1900. Thousands were killed by the resulting tsunamis, which were as high as 10 metres (33 feet) in some locations.
Damage and Casualties
The earthquake triggered massive tsunamis (popularly known as "tidal waves"), which struck the coasts of the Indian Ocean. However Pacific Ocean coasts were not affected. The death toll from the tsunamis and the resultant floods was reported to be more than 4300, with hundreds of persons reported missing. Damage and casualties have been reported from:
- Sri Lanka - 2134 killed. 1 million considered affected. National emergency declared.
- India - 2200 feared killed in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. 400 fishermen feared missing.
- Indonesia - 600 killed in Sumatra
- Thailand - 158 feared killed. 100 tourists, especially divers missing. The popular tourist resort of Phuket was badly hit. Officially 99 confirmed dead and 1100 injured.
- Malaysia - 28 killed, 21 in Penang and 7 in Kedah.
- the Maldives - 7 killed. Two thirds of the capital city Malé was flooded. Outlying low-level atolls may be badly affected. State of emergency declared.
- Seychelles - 2 killed (unconfirmed report).
- Keeling Islands
In addition to the large number of local residents, some tourists during the busy Christmas holiday travel season were among the victims.
Quake characteristics
The quake was initially reported at magnitude 6.8 but this was soon updated to 8.5 and then 8.9. The largest recorded earthquake was the Great Chilean Earthquake of 1960, at magnitude 9.5.
The hypocenter was at 3.298°N, 95.779°E, some 160 kilometres west of Sumatra, at a depth of 10 km underwater, within the "Ring of Fire" zone of frequent earthquakes. The quake itself (apart from the tsunamis) was felt as far away as Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand.
The earthquake was unusually large in geographical extent, in that over 1000 km of faultline broke.
Numerous aftershocks of between magnitude 5.7 and 6.3 were reported off the Andaman Islands in the following hours. Aftershocks off the Nicobar Islands were also reported, including ones of magnitude 7.3 [1], and 6.5 [2]. (See USGS current earthquake information.)
The earthquake came just three days after a magnitude 8.1 earthquake in a completely uninhabited region off Macquarie Island near Antartica. Earthquakes above magnitude 8 are rare.
See also
External links
- Magnitude 8.9 - OFF THE WEST COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA USGS, December 26, 2004 at 00:58:50 UTC.
- Sea surges kill thousands in Asia BBC News World Edition, December 26, 2004.
- Huge earthquake wreaks havoc The Weekend Australian, December 26, 2004.
- Massive Earthquake Batters Southeast Asia Associated Press report on Fox News, December 26, 2004.
- Tidal Waves Kill More Than 3,000 in Asia ABC News International, December 26, 2004.
- Indonesia 8.9-Magnitude Quake Unleashes Killer Waves Bloomberg, December 26, 2004 at 1003 UTC.
- Death toll rises after quake, tsunamis strike southern Asia ABC News Online, December 26, 2004 at 1050 UTC.
- Quake, Tsunami Hit South Asia, 3,100 Feared Dead Reuters, December 26, 2004 at 1116 UTC.
- Asian quake kills thousands CNN International, December 26, 2004 at 1132 UTC.
- Tidal Waves Kill More Than 3,200 in Asia Associated Press report on The Guardian, December 26, 2004 at 1146 UTC.