The 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake

This was an undersea earthquake of moment magnitude 9.0 that struck the Indian Ocean off the western coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia o­n December 26, 2004 00:58:50 UTC



Location of the Earthquake, December 26th,  2004

It was the largest earthquake in the world since the 9.2-magnitude Good Friday Earthquake which struck Alaska, USA in 1964, and the fourth largest since 1900. Thousands were killed by the resulting tsunamis, which were as high as 10 m (approx. 33 ft) in some locations and struck within three hours of the quake.

The earthquake triggered massive tsunamis striking the coasts of the Indian Ocean. However, Pacific Ocean coasts were not affected.  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.

( The information above is derived from the free Open Source resource Wikipedia   Wikipedia contributors, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Indian_Ocean_earthquake, Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, 27th December, 0150 GMT, [accessed 27th December 2004] )

Updates : 30th December 2004


Support the relief efforts by the Red Cross (UK) or Red Cross (USA)

Support the Relief  Efforts

Disasters Emergency Committee
ActionAid
BAPS Care International
Red Cross Earthquake and Floods Appeal
Cafod
Care International
Christian Aid
Concern
Hindu Forum Disaster Task Force
Islamic Aid Emergency Relief Fund
Medair
Muslim Aid
Oxfam Earthquake and Floods Appeal
Unicef

Country	Deaths*	Damage	Support/Action
Andaman and Nicobar Islands	3000	Coastal villages and roads washed away	Air force planes delivering supplies. Many communities remain isolated
Bangladesh	2	Small regions. Most of the population live inland	No support requested
Burma	36	Very little information is being made available from the government. Reports of some islands being flooded....	The government has not requested international aid.
Indonesia	79940	Aceh, near the epicentre, suffered large building damage, and devastation by the Tsumanis.  Thousands left homeless	UN to send disaster teams. Political problems in this region could cause delays
India	4413	Coastal regions of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Keral affected. Fishing ports devastated.	Coordination of relief  is being reduced by the effects of the Tsunami o­n the capital city of  Tamil Nadu
Maldives	52	Significant damage to many islands. Some islands have been evacuated. Coastal tourist centres have been destroyed.	State of emergency issued by the government. Evacuation procedures for some islands in operation.
Malaysia	66	Many tourists have been reported to have been swept away from the beachers. Hotels and seaside resorts destroyed.	Australia is providing freight aircraft. The aircraft will carry fresh water, blankets and water purification supplies.
Somalia	200+	Almost 3750 miles from the epicentre, Somalia suffered extensive damage by the Tsunami. Coastal villages and towns reported to have been destroyed.	UNICEF sending teams to assist with relief procedures. Political instability in this country could give raise to problems with rapid and effective aid measures.
Thailand	4000+	Coastal resorts devastated. Estimated 7300 people have been injured	US offered to send troops to assist with aid and relief efforts.
Sri Lanka	24,673

(Original Source: The Guardian, December 28th 2004.   *Updated numbers  Dec. 28, 2004 02:35 PM)
The latest report (31/12/04) indicates that the total deaths exceed 125000)

More information about Tsunamis

A tsunami ( tsoo-nah-mee) is a wave of large amplitude, produced in a region of water by a large, sudden disturbance. This gives rise to vertical displacement of water. This is the start of the wave propagation from the epicentre. The Tsunamis can travel at hundreds of miles and hour. Given this enormous speed of propagation, it is hardly surprising that people have very little time to react to impending disasters.

The origin of this disturbance an arise from a number of sources including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and collisions of bodies from outer space, such as meteorites, with Earth.

The University of  Washington provides more useful information o­n their Tsunami website.
The information is divided into the following areas:

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