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2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami

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Countries affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea earthquake of moment 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 largest earthquake in the world since the Good Friday Earthquake which struck Alaska, USA in 1964, and the fifth largest since 1900. Thousands were killed by the resulting tsunamis, which were as high as 10 m (33 ft) in some locations.

Damage and casualties

The earthquake triggered massive tsunamis (sometimes mistakenly called "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 11,800, with thousands of persons reported missing.

In addition to the large number of local residents, some tourists during the busy Christmas holiday travel season were among the casualties. States of emergency were declared in Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Maldives.

India

In Chennai, India, the force of the waves threw cars off the road.

Over 3,200 killed (1724 in Tamil Nadu, over 1000 in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, 280 in Pondichery, 121 in Kerala and 61 in Andhra Pradesh). Hundreds feared missing (800 in Andhra Pradesh alone). Most of the people killed were fisherfolk who lived along the coast. Many fishermen, both at home and at sea were missing.

Initial reports hinted at very few casualties from the Andaman and Nicobar islands, but after many subsequent earthquakes near Nicobar, thousands were feared to have been killed. Communication with the Nicobars was also reported to be lost.

The worst damage, however was in Tamil Nadu, where the official toll was 1724, mostly women and children. Over 690 were killed in the Nagapattinam district alone, over 300 in the Cuddalore district, over 280 in the Kanyakumari district and over 200 in Chennai city. It was reported that there was no space for even helicopters to land in Cuddalore district.

Those killed in Kanyakumari include pilgrims taking a holy dip in the sea. 650 of about 700 people trapped at the Vivekananda Memorial in an island off Kanyakumari 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 morning walk along the beach, were washed away. It being a Sunday there were more people than usual in the beach.

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.

More coverage in 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake India

Indonesia

Some 4,422 killed on the island of Sumatra. Dozens of buildings destroyed in the initial earthquake, especially in the city of Banda Aceh on the northern tip of Sumatra. However, most deaths were the result of the tsunami that struck, in particular, western coastal regions of Aceh and North Sumatra provinces. An accurate picture of the damage is difficult due to the ongoing insurgency of the Free Aceh Movement, which means that there are few journalists, government offices, or aid workers in the region. Indonesian government officials are concerned at the lack of communication with towns along the southwestern coast of Sumatra.

Malaysia

53 killed, 38 in Penang, 12 in Kedah, 2 in Perak and one in Selangor, 34 missing.

Maldives

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

15 killed and the death toll is expected to rise. 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 during the high tide. The government has declared a state of emergency and a special task force has been setup to provide aide and supplies to the needy in the islands. Communications services has been badly affected and there was no prior rescue or relief plan whatsoever for a disaster like this.

British Foreign Office advice for the Maldives.

Sri Lanka

At least 4,500 killed, mostly children and elderly. One million people have been displaced from their ruined homes. At Trincomalee, the tsunami reached more than 2 km inland. The government states that it has little information on the situation in the northern regions controlled by the rebel Tamil Tigers. 20,000 soldiers were deployed in government-controlled areas to assist in relief operations and maintain law and order after sporadic looting. Local media reported that landmines left after the two decade civil war had been washed up and spread by the surge of water.

The government reports at least 3000 dead in the south, while an official Tamil Tiger website reports 1500 dead in rebel areas.

Thailand

400 feared killed, 289 confirmed, 1,100 injured. 100 tourists, mainly scuba divers, are reported missing. The popular tourist resort of Phuket was badly hit. Hundreds of holiday bungalows on the Phi Phi Islands were washed out to sea.

Other countries

  • Bangladesh: 2 killed due to the tremors. No reports of tsunamis.
  • Cocos (Keeling) Islands: After earlier scares, no casualties were reported.
  • Réunion: Many boats sunk.
  • Seychelles: 2 reportedly killed.
  • Somalia: 9 drowned and fishing boats were capsized. The only African nation to report casualties, though alerts were issued for the coasts of eastern Africa.

Quake characteristics

File:2004 indian ocean earthquake big.jpg
Seismology of the region
Locations of the earthquake and further aftershocks

The quake was initially reported at magnitude 6.8 in the Richter scale but this was soon updated to 8.5 and then 8.9 on the moment magnitude scale. The largest recorded earthquake was the Great Chilean Earthquake of 1960, at a magnitude of 9.5.

The hypocenter was at 3.298°N, 95.779°E, some 160 km (100 mi) west of Sumatra, at a depth of 10 km (6.2 mi) 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, Thailand and Maldives.

The earthquake was unusually large in geographical extent. Over 1,000 km (600 mi) of faultline slipped along the subduction zone between the Indo-Australian Plate and the Philippine Plate that carries Sumatra. (See also: Sunda Arc, Volcanic arc).

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 also: 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 Antarctica [3]. Earthquakes above magnitude 8 are rare.

Coincidentally, it struck almost exactly one year (within an hour) after a magnitude 6.6 earthquake killed 30,000 people in the city of Bam in Iran [4].

See also

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