Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, tsunami that hit the
coasts of several countries of South and Southeast Asia
in December 2004. The tsunami and its aftermath were
responsible for immense destruction and loss on the rim
of the Indian Ocean.
On December 26, 2004, at 7:59 AM local time, an
undersea earthquake with a magnitude of 9.1 struck off
the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Over the
next seven hours, a tsunami—a series of immense ocean
waves—triggered by the quake reached out a...(+)
Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, tsunami that hit the
coasts of several countries of South and Southeast Asia
in December 2004. The tsunami and its aftermath were
responsible for immense destruction and loss on the rim
of the Indian Ocean.
On December 26, 2004, at 7:59 AM local time, an
undersea earthquake with a magnitude of 9.1 struck off
the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Over the
next seven hours, a tsunami—a series of immense ocean
waves—triggered by the quake reached out across the
Indian Ocean, devastating coastal areas as far away as
East Africa. Some locations reported that the waves had
reached a height of 30 feet (9 metres) or more when
they hit the shoreline.
The tsunami killed at least 225,000 people across a
dozen countries, with Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India,
Maldives, and Thailand sustaining massive damage.
Indonesian officials estimated that the death toll
there alone ultimately exceeded 200,000, particularly
in northern Sumatra’s Aceh province. Tens of
thousands were reported dead or missing in Sri Lanka
and India, a large number of them from the Indian
Andaman and Nicobar Islands territory. The low-lying
island country of Maldives reported more than a hundred
casualties and immense economic damage. Several
thousand non-Asian tourists vacationing in the region
also were reported dead or missing. The lack of food,
clean water, and medical treatment—combined with the
enormous task faced by relief workers trying to get
supplies into some remote areas where roads had been
destroyed or where civil war raged—extended the list
of casualties. Long-term environmental damage was
severe as well, with villages, tourist resorts,
farmland, and fishing grounds demolished or inundated
with debris, bodies, and plant-killing salt water.
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