Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004

December 27th, 2004

By GadgetManiac

We express our condolences to the peoples of south-east Asia on the loss of so many lives in this horrific tragedy.

The AFP is saying that estimates of the death toll from the tsunami triggered by the massive earthquake off Indonesia yesterday, are expected to reach 45000. More than 1000000 people are homeless.
Tidal waves wash through houses at Maddampegama, about 60km south of Colombo, Sri Lanka. (Gemunu Amarasinghe, AP)

Tsunami animation courtesy of National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Japan. Press Refresh if paused

The USGS is reporting that the magnitude 9.0 quake ocurred 255 km SSE of Banda Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia on Sunday, December 26, 2004 at 7:58:49 AM local time.
The devastating megathrust earthquake of December 26, 2004, occurred on the interface of the India and Burma plates and was caused by the release of stresses that develop as the India plate subducts beneath the overriding Burma plate. The India plate begins its descent into the mantle at the Sunda trench, which lies to the west of the earthquake's epicenter.

Wikipedia already has an excellent article on the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.

Arthur C. Clarke, the famous sci-fi writer who lives on hard-hit Sri Lanka, indicates on his website, that he is well:

I am enormously relieved that my family and household have escaped the ravages of the sea that suddenly invaded most parts of coastal Sri Lanka, leaving a trail of destruction.

But many others were not so fortunate. For hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankans and an unknown number of foreign tourists, the day after Christmas turned out to be a living nightmare reminiscent of The Day After Tomorrow.

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