250,000 people survived the 2004 Sumatra Tsunami. This is unusual since earthquakes of magnitude eight or more occur only about once per year on average. Up to four times as many women as men died in the Boxing Day Asian tsunami, according to a report published today by Oxfam International. One of the few coastal areas to evacuate ahead of the tsunami was on the Indonesian island of Simeulue, close to the epicentre. Because the 1,600km (1,000mi) fault affected by the earthquake was in a nearly northsouth orientation, the greatest strength of the tsunami waves was in an eastwest direction. It has been 10 years since the Indian Ocean tsunami and earthquake devastated . She and her parents warned others on the beach, which was evacuated safely. The highest-recorded tsunami run-up was measured 19.6m (64ft) at Ban Thung Dap, on the south-west tip of Ko Phra Thong Island and the second-highest at 15.8m (52ft) at Ban Nam Kim. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". Shortly before 08:00 on 26 December 2004, a magnitude-9.1 earthquake struck under the sea in northern Indonesia. Scientists investigating the damage in Aceh found evidence that the wave reached a height of 24m (80ft) when coming ashore along large stretches of the coastline, rising to 30m (100ft) in some areas when travelling inland. A second team found similar evidence of previous tsunamis in Aceh, a province at the northern tip of Sumatra; radiocarbon dating of bark fragments in the soil below the second sand layer led the scientists to estimate that the most recent predecessor to the 2004 tsunami probably occurred between A.D. 1300 and 1450. More than 100 survivors of the tsunami along with bereaved relatives f The tsunami in Khao Lak was bigger due to offshore coral reefs and shallow seafloor which caused the tsunami to pile-up. Kristina Frjmark, 47, Swedish reality TV star. On the east coast of Phuket Island, the tsunami height was about 2 m. In one river mouth, many boats were damaged. The sea was observed to rise suddenly before the onset of the first wave. [18] A 2006 study estimated a magnitude of Mw 9.19.3; Hiroo Kanamori of the California Institute of Technology estimates that Mw9.2 is representative of the earthquake's size. [66], A group of small islands: Weh, Breueh, Nasi, Teunom, Bunta, Lumpat, and Batee lie just north of the capital city. At this point, the India Plate subducts beneath the Burma Plate, which carries the Nicobar Islands, the Andaman Islands, and northern Sumatra. Miraculously, all five family members survived. I didn't know about the tsunami until then. [31], The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake is thought to have triggered activity in both Leuser Mountain[32] and Mount Talang,[33] volcanoes in Aceh along the same range of peaks, while the 2005 NiasSimeulue earthquake had sparked activity in Lake Toba, an ancient crater in Sumatra. At Koh Sriboya, the tsunami advanced inland as a turbulent medium bore, while at Koh Phayam, Ranong Province, the tsunami appeared as a wall of water. What I saw at first was just a flash flood that brought a massive amount of water. Deadly tsunami 1 26 December 2004 2 Triggered by 8.9 magnitude earthquake near Aceh, north Indonesia, at 07:59 local time (00:59 GMT) 3 Affected 14 countries 4 Nearly quarter of a million people died 5 Two million left homeless. Approximately 8,000 people were killed. Around 289 fatalities were reported in the Horn of Africa, drowned by four tsunami waves. On 9 February 2005, President Bush asked Congress to increase the U.S. commitment to a total of US$950 million. What is causing the plague in Thebes and how can it be fixed? All I knew was I had to help people. Just seven people survived the ten-meter wave that hurtled up . I noticed the temple ground covered in blood and lymph. As well, the tsunami was large enough to be detected in Vancouver, which puzzled many scientists, as the tsunamis measured in some parts of South America were larger than those measured in some parts of the Indian Ocean. This quickly elevated the height and increased the speed of waves, destroying the nearby Indonesian town of Lhoknga. What was the death toll in the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004? In recent years the fishery industry has emerged as a dynamic export-oriented sector, generating substantial foreign exchange earnings. Mara Beln I was shocked and worried since my son had gone to work in Khao Lak [on the mainland coast north of Phuket]. [36], The earthquake generated a seismic oscillation of the Earth's surface of up to 200300mm (812in), equivalent to the effect of the tidal forces caused by the Sun and Moon. The southernmost district of Thiruvananthapuram, however, escaped damage, possibly due to the wide turn of the diffracted waves at the peninsular tip. We provide high quality business cards, postcards, flyers, brochures, stationery and other premium online print products. [55] Tsunami detection is not easy because while a tsunami is in deep water, it has little height and a network of sensors is needed to detect it. This was similar to eyewitness accounts of the tsunami at Banda Aceh. I'd been a rescue worker all my life but I'd never experienced anything that huge before. Despite a delay of up to several hours between the earthquake and the impact of the tsunami, nearly all of the victims were taken by surprise. [21], Indonesia lies between the Pacific Ring of Fire along the north-eastern islands adjacent to New Guinea, and the Alpide belt that runs along the south and west from Sumatra, Java, Bali, Flores to Timor. [63], The level of destruction was extreme on the northwestern areas of the city, immediately inland of the aquaculture ponds, and directly facing the Indian Ocean. [75] Estimates based on the state of the shoreline and a high-water mark on a nearby building place the tsunami 7.59m (2530ft) above sea level and 23m (6ft 7in 9ft 10in) higher than the top of the train. [105] Sweden was the European country most severely affected both in absolute numbers, and by a wide margin when considered in relation to the country's population, with a death toll of 543. Before the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami reached Sri Lanka, many animals, like this elephant, moved to high ground and survived. Despite a delay of up to several hours between the earthquake and the impact of the tsunami, nearly all of the victims were taken by surprise. Just clear tips and lifehacks for every day. [38] It also caused the Earth to minutely "wobble" on its axis by up to 25mm (1in) in the direction of 145 east longitude,[39] or perhaps by up to 50 or 60mm (2.0 or 2.4in). 1,500-metre-high (5,000ft) thrust ridges created by previous geologic activity along the fault had collapsed, generating landslides several kilometres wide. The tsunami heights from the 2004 December earthquake were not more than 3m (9.8ft) along the Myanmar coast, the amplitudes were slightly large off the Ayeyarwaddy Delta, probably because the shallow delta caused a concentration in tsunami energy. Most of the victims were reported along the low-lying Xaafuun Peninsula. At that moment, everything was crazy. However, the huge demand has led to lower quality in the process, and some important materials were sacrificed to cut prices for those who were impoverished by the tsunami. The city of Pondicherry, protected by seawalls was relatively unscathed. My son's three friends told me he was missing. For example, the folklore of the Onges talks of "huge shaking of ground followed by high wall of water". The inundation was observed to extend 34km (1.92.5mi) inland throughout the city. A scene of devastation is seen in the 2004 tsunami hit Indonesian City of Banda Aceh Getty. Indonesian officials estimated that the death toll there alone ultimately exceeded 200,000, particularly in northern Sumatras Aceh province. Dont count on it being over after the first wave the first wave may not even be the biggest. The seismic waves of the earthquake were felt across the planet, as far away as the U.S. state of Oklahoma, where vertical movements of 3mm (0.12in) were recorded. She and her boyfriend were both injured but survived. She and her boyfriend were both injured but survived. [82] Velankanni a sea shore town with a Catholic Basilica and a popular pilgrimage destination was also one of the worst hit by this tsunami that struck at around 9.30 am on that Sunday, when pilgrims who were mostly from Kerala among others were inside the church attending the Malayalam Mass. Amateur video recorded taken at a resort beach showed the tsunami arriving as a large wall of water as it approached the coast and flooding it as it advanced inland. As the water came back, one food seller ran back and told everyone in that area to run away from the beachfront as far as possible. Which celebrity lost their parents in the tsunami? Theme: Envo Blog. The state of Kerala experienced tsunami-related damage in three southern densely populated districts, Ernakulam, Alappuzha, and Kollam, due to diffraction of the waves around Sri Lanka. A video, taken by a local restaurant manager from a hill adjacent to the beach, showed that the tsunami's arrival was preceded by a sudden retreat of the sea exposing the seafloor. . The significantly lower tsunami impact on the Maldives compared to Sri Lanka is mostly due to the topography and bathymetry of the atoll chain with offshore coral reefs, deep channels separating individual atolls and its arrival within low tide which decreased the power of the tsunami. Of all the moment released by earthquakes in the 100 years from 1906 through 2005, roughly one eighth was due to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. After a pause of about another 100 seconds, the rupture continued northwards towards the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. By the middle of the second day, I saw a mountain of dead bodies piling up and it was very sad to see. Inundation was observed, along the east coast of South Andaman Island, restricted to Chidiyatapu, Burmanallah, Kodiaghat, Beadnabad, Corbyn's cove and Marina Park/Aberdeen Jetty areas. I told my wife that it must be from the car outside. [12] It caused the planet to vibrate as much as 10mm (0.4in),[13] and also remotely triggered earthquakes as far away as Alaska. The second wave was the strongest. As well as the sideways movement between the plates, the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake resulted in a rise of the seafloor by several metres, displacing an estimated 30km3 (7.2cumi) of water and triggering devastating tsunami waves. I contacted him, but I was unable to reach him. There were no tsunami warning systems in the Indian Ocean to detect tsunamis or to warn the general population living around the ocean. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. I went out with my other sons and friends to look for my eldest son. Survivors walk through the debris on Phuket's Patong beach the day after the tsunami, Captain Sathaporn Sawangpuk's ship rode the tsunami wave, Emergency worker Wittaya Tantawanich: "I closed my eyes, prayed, and prepared to die", Somchai and Primpraow Jitpentom, who treated the injured while on holiday, Samran Chanyang was called to duty while knowing his son was missing, Dr Weerawit Sarideepan: "There were thousands of dead bodies waiting to be identified", Hundreds of coffins lie inside Yan Yao temple in December 2004, Russian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims. [82] The inundation distance varied between 1,006500m (3,3011,640ft) in most areas, except at river mouths, where it was more than 1km (0.62mi). A rise in sea level was observed before the first wave came within 5 minutes of the earthquake. VideoRussian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims, The children left behind in Cuba's mass exodus, Xi Jinping's power grab - and why it matters, Snow, Fire and Lights: Photos of the Week. The Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 lasted for seven hours and reached out across the Indian Ocean, devastating coastal areas of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Maldives, and Thailand, and as far away as East Africa. [35] This energy is equivalent to over 1,500 times that of the Hiroshima atomic bomb, but less than that of Tsar Bomba, the largest nuclear weapon ever detonated. The only other recorded earthquakes of magnitude 9.0 or greater were off Kamchatka, Russia, on 4 November 1952 (magnitude 9.0) and Thoku, Japan (magnitude 9.1) in March 2011. Can bowel problems cause urinary problems? It also slightly changed the shape of the Earth, specifically by decreasing Earth's oblateness by about one part in 10 billion, consequentially increasing Earth's rotation a little and thus shortening the length of the day by 2.68 microseconds.[163].