Strongest earthquake in 40 years hits Southeast Asia

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This story covers an ongoing event. Some information may be outdated. For details about relief efforts and how you can help, see the Tsunami Help page.

Animation of Indonesia tsunami

31 December 2004

Indian Ocean - The death toll continues to grow and millions face a homeless life in the new year as coastal communities in south Asia struggle against continued aftershocks and flooding caused by the largest earthquake to strike the planet in more than a generation.

The magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake struck off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia on December 26, 2004, at 00:58:50 UTC .

The earthquake was the strongest in the world since the 9.2-magnitude Good Friday Earthquake which struck Alaska, USA in 1964, and the fourth largest since 1900. More than 140,000 deaths[1] were caused by resulting tsunamis, which in Thailand were up to 10 meters tall, and struck within three hours of the initial event.

Multiple tsunamis struck and ravaged coastal regions all over the Indian Ocean, devastating regions including the Indonesian province of Aceh, the coast of Sri Lanka, coastal areas of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the resort island of Phuket, Thailand, and even as far away as Somalia, 4,100 km west of the epicenter.

While the earthquake and the tsunamis are no longer ongoing , the humanitarian and economic crisis generated by the disaster is still ongoing. This report will attempt to cover the crisis as it continues to develop.

1 Damage and casualties
2 Quake characteristics
3 Post-tsunami humanitarian situation
- 3.1 Humanitarian assistance
4 Related stories
5 See also
6 External links
- 6.1 Aid efforts
- 6.2 Video and Pictures of the devastation
7 Video
8 Pictures

Damage and casualties

In Chennai, India, the force of the waves threw cars off the coast road. Several hundred are feared dead in Tamil Nadu state. CountryDeathsInjuredMissingDisplacedConfirmedEstimatedIndonesia 79,940 [2] 100,000 [3] 100,000+? 1,240 [4] 100,000s Sri Lanka *41,008 [5] Up to 50,000 8,200+ [6] 4,000+ [7] ~1.5 million [8] India 14,244 [9] 15,000+ — 10,000 [10] 100,000s Thailand 5,187 [11] 6,800 [12] 8,457 [13] 3,810 [14] 29,000+ Somalia 132 [15] 100s — — — Myanmar 90 [16] — 45 [17] 14 788 Maldives 73 [18] — — 31 [19] 6.697 [20] Malaysia 66 — 183 6 5,000 Tanzania 10 [21] — — — — Seychelles 3 — — 7 — Bangladesh 2 — — — — Kenya 2 — — — — South Africa 2 [22] — — — — Madagascar 0 — — — 1,200 Total140,082 160,000+. 510,000 [23] 22,000+ 3 - 5 million [24] []

Note: All figures are approximate and subject to constant change. * Includes 14,000 casualties from the regions controlled by Tamil Tiger rebels.

Widespread damage to infrastructure

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

The Aceh province of Indonesia is the most affected. Officials in Sri Lanka estimate the death toll to be over 40,000. Much of the capital Colombo is flooded and high number of casualities are feared in the North East of the country around the town of Trincomalee. The New York Times estimated that at least 2 hours passed from the time of the earthquake before the island was affected. The tragedy has caused at least some Sri Lankans to ask what precautions could have allowed more people to avoid harm.

In India, the islands of Andaman and Nicobar and the southern states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are the most affected. The police have said that there are 100 dead in Chennai city alone. Mild tremors were experienced in Chennai, Bangalore and Cochin cities. The Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh has expressed concern over the disaster and said that all directions were given to the different agencies including the Navy for quick relief work. The meteorological department has warned people in coastal areas in southern India to stay away as there are possibilities of more waves due to after-shocks for the next 3 to 4 days.[25]

In addition to the large number of local residents, numerous tourists vacationing during the busy Christmas holiday travel season were among the victims. In a press conference on December 31, Swedish prime minister Göran Persson reported that the number of Swedes that are confirmed dead is 59 and the number of missing Swedes is 3 559. Most of these were on vacation in Thailand, primarily in Khao Lak and Phi Phi Island.

As of December 31, 2004, the death toll is estimated by the United Nations to be up to 150,000. However, water-borne diseases are expected to kill nearly twice as many people.

Quake characteristics

Map of activity along India and Burma plates with detailed legend Image:TSUNAMI animation.gif Active Fault Research Centre

The quake was initially reported at magnitude 6.8 but soon upgraded to 8.5, and then 8.9 and finally 9.0. The largest recorded earthquake was the Great Chilean Earthquake of 1960, at magnitude 9.5.

The hypocenter was measured at 3.298°N, 95.779°E, some 160 kilometres west of Sumatra, at a depth of 10 km underwater, within the "Ring of Fire" zone of frequent earthquakes.

The quake was felt as far away as Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Maledives Singapore and Thailand.

The earthquake was unusually large in geographical extent. 1,125 km of faultline slipped 15 m along the subduction zone where the India Plate dives under the Burma Plate. This formed a shock wave in the Indian Ocean, creating tsunamis that traveled at up to 800 km/h .

Numerous aftershocks of between magnitude 5.7 and 6.1 were reported off the Andaman Islands in the following hours. Aftershocks off the Nicobar Islands were also reported, including ones of magnitude 7.3 [26], and 6.5 [27].

Based on one seismic model, some of the smaller islands southwest of Sumatra have moved southwest up to 20 m . The northern tip of Sumatra, which is on the Burma Plate as opposed to the southern regions on the Sunda Plate, may also have moved southwest up to 36 m . Other models suggest that most of the movement would have been vertical rather than lateral. Further measurement is needed to determine the nature of the actual movement. The massive release of energy and shift in mass also caused the earth to wobble slightly on its axis. [28]

One year ago to this day, over 30,000 Iranians were killed by an earthquake with a 6.6 magnitude. The Indian Ocean Earthquake came just three days after a magnitude 8.1 earthquake in a completely uninhabited region off Macquarie Island near Antartica.

Earthquakes above magnitude 9 occur, on average, only about once every twenty years.

Post-tsunami humanitarian situation

Large amounts of humanitarian aid are needed due to widespread damage to infrastructure, food and water shortages and economic damage to the fishing and tourism industries. Epidemics are of special concern, as they are highly likely due to the high population density and tropical climate of the affected areas. The United Nations has stated that the largest relief operation in history is underway.

The overwhelming concern of humanitarian and government agencies is to quickly identify and bury the dead before they become a health issue and contribute to the spread of diseases such as cholera, diphtheria, dysentery and typhoid . Other high priorities are delivery of medical supplies and personnel to overwhelmed hospitals and clinics, tent shelters and clothing to people who have lost their houses and belongings, and potable water. Many usual sources of water were spoiled either by salt water, broken by the force of the tsunami, or contaminated with bodies of dead people or livestock, requiring water purification equipment or trucking potable water into the affected region.

Humanitarian assistance

Governments and humanitarian organisations around the world are scrambling to offer aid and technical help after the quake and tsunamis that killed thousands of people in southern Asia and northwest Africa and caused wide-spread devastation. The World Bank estimates the amount of aid needed at USD 5 billion. [29]

Numerous organizations are also asking businesses and individuals to contribute towards relief efforts:

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