Major historic tsunami
On the morning of Sunday 26 December 2004, a massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia off the west coast of northern Sumatra. The epicentre was 30 kilometres under the seabed and approximately 250 kilometres south-southwest of Banda Aceh. In the nine hours following the enormous earthquake, 14 aftershocks with magnitudes between 5.7 and 7.3 occurred along the arc from Sumatra towards Nicobar and the Andaman Islands. There have been more than 100 aftershocks recorded since.
The quakes triggered powerful 10 metre high tsunami which moved through the Indian Ocean region at more than 500 km/h. The tsunami waves caused widespread death and injuries and devastated coastal areas, destroying towns, homes, infrastructure and the livelihoods for thousands of displaced people. The worst affected countries were India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Seychelles, Thailand and Somalia. Bangladesh, Kenya and Australia also absorbed some of the brunt of what is seen as the most devastating natural disaster in recent memory. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent report the human toll from the disaster, at 23 March 2005, was 273,636 dead, including 220,153 in Indonesia, 7,253 missing, more than 1,590,707 displaced and in excess of 507,496 made homeless. Source: Emergency Management Australia Database
The following links to events are all with courtesy of the Bureau of Meteorology.
The eruption and subsequent collapse and creation of the caldera in 1883 produced one of the largest explosions recorded on Earth, destroying much of Krakatau Island. Since 1927 small eruptions have been frequent and have constructed a new island, Anak Krakatau (Child of Krakatau). Source: University of North Dakota - Volcano World
This earthquake occurred on All Saint's Day while many of the 250,000 inhabitants of Lisbon were in Church. Stone buildings swayed violently before collapsing and fire ravaged the city. Many who sought safety on the river front were drowned by a large tsunami. In all, one quarter of Lisbon's population perished. Source: United States Geological Survey
Further Reading
Related Websites
- Emergency Management Australia - Tsunami
- Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre
- Japan Meteorological Agency - Tsunami Warnings
- Alaska Tsunami Warning Centre
- International Tsunami Information Centre
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - Tsunamis
- Russian Tsunami Laboratory
- Emergency Management Australia Library