Review how underwater earthquakes, volcanoes, or landslides can generate tsunamis, This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/event/Indian-Ocean-tsunami-of-2004, National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Impact of 2004 Tsunami in the Islands of Indian Ocean: Lessons Learned, Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). He told us to find a big ship and get up there. In Myanmar, the tsunami caused only moderate damage, which arrived between 2 and 5.5 hours after the earthquake. The water had gone down very far, to the middle of the sea, and there were many fish lying around all over the place. The flow depth at the city was just at the level of the second floor, and there were large amounts of debris piled along the streets and in the ground-floor storefronts. There was 10m (33ft) movement laterally and 45m (1316ft) vertically along the fault line. The size of a tsunami depends on where it originated, the geometry of the seafloor, and the orientation of the coastline. About 10 minutes later, the sea receded for a while before the tsunami arrived again as a large wall of water looming over the skyline and flooding the coast. Somchai Jitpentom - doctor on diving holiday with his wife. [135][136] In Sri Lanka, artisanal fishery, in which the use of fish baskets, fishing traps, and spears are commonly used, is an important source of fish for local markets; industrial fishery is the major economic activity, providing direct employment to about 250,000 people. The south bay opens to the south-east and faces in the opposite direction from the tsunami. The earthquake was the third-largest ever recorded based upon seismographic measurements, the largest in the 21st century and had the longest duration of faulting ever observed, between eight and ten minutes. The tsunami surprised many tourists at Koh Racha Yai, where it flooded the resorts. [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. She and her boyfriend were both injured but survived. The maximum tsunami wave height of 11m (36ft). [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. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. Notable people killed in the 2004 Asian tsunami: Jane Attenborough, 49, British arts administrator, daughter of actor Richard Attenborough. The aftershock would be considered a major earthquake under ordinary circumstances but is dwarfed by the mainshock. How many peoples survived tsunami 2004? [157] The announcement was a false alarm, and the Home Affairs minister withdrew their announcement. The volcanic activity that results as the Indo-Australian Plate subducts the Eurasian Plate has created the Sunda Arc. Some of them were still alive but many of them were dead. 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. 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. The tsunami was the most lethal ever to have occurred, with a death toll that reached a staggering figure of over 230,000, affecting people in 14 countries with Indonesia hit worst, followed by Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand. [152], In a poll conducted in 27 countries, 15% of respondents named the tsunami the most significant event of the year. Eyewitnesses described the tsunami as a "black giant", "mountain" and a "wall of water". As the flood got closer, it started to pick up speed. Mara Beln When we arrived, it wasn't something I expected. My son's three friends told me he was missing. ", Tsunami's salt water may leave islands uninhabitable, "Tsunamis Devastate Fisherfolk of Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea", "Impacts of the Tsunami on Fisheries, Aquaculture and Coastal Livelihoods", "Food supply and food security situation in countries affected by the Asia tsunami Indonesia", "Demand for FRP boats rise after tsunami", "The Indian Ocean Tsunami: Socio-Economic Impacts in Thailand", Tsunami redrew ship channels, ocean floor, "Piracy in the Strait of Malacca: The geopolitical background behind piracy and its impacts on Global Financial Centres", "Researchers uncover 2004 tsunami predecessor", "Scientists Find Evidence of Tsunamis on Indian Ocean Shores Long Before 2004", "Most Destructive Known Earthquakes on Record in the World (Earthquakes with 50,000 or More Deaths)", "Written records of historical tsunamis in the northeastern South China Sea challenges associated with developing a new integrated database", "Mental Health in Sumatra After the Tsunami", "Associated Press Tsunami survivors cling tightly to faith across ravaged region", "Memorandum of Understanding between Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement", "Asia Pacific Journalism Centre Home Page". Miraculously, all five family members survived. south east england accent; spend billionaires money game; kaplan data entry work from home. The 71 casualties can be attributed to poor housing infrastructure and additionally, the fact that the coastal residents in the surveyed areas live on flat land along the coast, especially in the Ayeyarwaddy Delta, and that there is no higher ground to which to evacuate. So many people were running away from the water. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. This may affect rehabilitation work to follow. The TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason-1 satellites happened to pass over the tsunami as it was crossing the ocean. Flooding occurred at the coast and low-lying areas inland, which were connected to open sea through creeks. It didn't take long before the whole city was in mayhem. Documentation of the impact of tsunami on people has not been properly carried out in many places. [5][71], The island country of Sri Lanka, located about 1,700km (1,100mi) from Sumatra, was ravaged by the tsunami around 2 hours after the earthquake. Major damage occurred in two narrow strips of land bound on the west by the Arabian Sea and on the east by the Kerala backwaters. All of a sudden, we lost the power and we felt the earthquake. [139], Countries in the region appealed to tourists to return, pointing out that most tourist infrastructure is undamaged. [64][65] Click to see full answer. Women in Aceh required a special approach from foreign aid agencies, and continue to have unique needs. On Karon Beach, Kamala Beach and Kata Beach, the tsunami came in like a surging flood inland carrying people and cars. [12] It caused the planet to vibrate as much as 10mm (0.4in),[13] and also remotely triggered earthquakes as far away as Alaska. Indonesian officials estimated that the death toll there alone ultimately exceeded 200,000, particularly in northern Sumatras Aceh province. Along the Mexican coast, the waves were 30-50 m. Some geologists suggest that the Chicxulub tsunami reached Chicago, Montana, or Canada. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. In recent years the fishery industry has emerged as a dynamic export-oriented sector, generating substantial foreign exchange earnings. Then I got hungry, so I drove toward the beach in order to find something to eat. But Lang survived. Uncountable wells that served communities were invaded by sea, sand, and earth; and aquifers were invaded through porous rock. The surface waves can be clearly seen to reinforce near the antipode (with the closest seismic stations in Ecuador), and to subsequently encircle the planet to return to the epicentral region after about 200 minutes. [72] In Sri Lanka, the civilian casualties were second only to those in Indonesia, with approximately 35,000 killed. Should a tsunami occur and you cannot get to higher ground, stay inside where you are protected from the water. "Environmental Issues Emerging from Wreckage of Asian Tsunami", "United Nations Environment Programme; Environment for Development", "Many mangrove restorations fail. 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. [125], The Colombo-based International Water Management Institute monitored the effects of saltwater and concluded that the wells recovered to pre-tsunami drinking water quality one-and-a-half years after the event. Then villagers here started talking about how villages along the beach here were all gone because of the wave. [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. Just seven people survived the ten-meter wave that hurtled up . [157] On further investigation, the India government learned that the consulting company Terra Research was run from the home of a self-described earthquake forecaster who had no telephone listing and maintained a website where he sold copies of his detection system. [145], The 2004 earthquake and tsunami combined is the world's deadliest natural disaster since the 1976 Tangshan earthquake. Anticipate slowdowns caused by traffic gridlock and hundreds of other boaters heading out to sea. [103], Relief agencies reported that one third of the dead appeared to be children. The construction of seawalls and breakwaters reduced the power of waves at some locations. [15] The plight of the affected people and countries prompted a worldwide humanitarian response, with donations totalling more than US$14 billion. But we didn't have a plan for something this big. 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. At Patong Beach, a popular tourist destination, the tsunami first arrived as a small flood, which swept away cars and surprised people. Theres so much debris in the water that youll probably get crushed.. The tsunami also reached Antarctica, where tidal gauges at Japan's Showa Base recorded oscillations of up to a metre (3ft 3in), with disturbances lasting a couple of days. Measurements from these satellites may prove invaluable for the understanding of the earthquake and tsunami. But, do not risk your life and attempt to motor your boat into deep water if it is too close to wave arrival time. [56] However, not all tsunamis cause this "disappearing sea" effect. 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. The northern rupture occurred more slowly than in the south, at about 2.1km/s (1.3mi/s; 7,600km/h; 4,700mph), continuing north for another five minutes to a plate boundary where the fault type changes from subduction to strike-slip (the two plates slide past one another in opposite directions). Because of the distances involved, the tsunami took anywhere from fifteen minutes to seven hours to reach the coastlines. On December 26, 2004, a 9.1 magnitude earthquake unleashed massive tidal waves across South Asia. [citation needed] Then-UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan stated that reconstruction would probably take between five and ten years. He was trapped and died inside the building where he was. We had no idea what happened, but my instinct told me to start the ship and head out to the middle of the sea. [148], Many health professionals and aid workers have reported widespread psychological trauma associated with the tsunami. Also to know is, how many families survived the 2004 tsunami? We had a plan to handle a disaster of a massive scale. Ahead of the 15th anniversary of the tragedy, BBC Thai's Chaiyot Yongcharoenchai visited southern Thailand, which was devastated by the tsunami. One such landslide consisted of a single block of rock some 100m (330ft) high and 2km (1.2mi) long. The high fatality rate in the area was mainly due to lack of preparation of the community towards a tsunami and limited knowledge and education among the population regarding the natural phenomenon. [74] In Hambantota, run-ups measured 11m (36ft) with the greatest inundation distance of 2km (1.2mi). In some areas drinking water supplies and farm fields may have been contaminated for years by saltwater from the ocean. The sea receded and exposed the seabed, prompting locals to collect stranded fish and explore the area. I saw the Mahidol ship was on its way out from the bay, so we stopped them and asked for help. As I looked toward the shore of the island, I saw one big wave hit the beach and sweep umbrellas and chairs down into the sea. That's when I realised something serious had happened. The deadliest-known earthquake in history occurred in 1556 in Shaanxi, China, with an estimated death toll of 830,000, though figures from this period may not be as reliable. Animation of how the tsunami moved around the Indian Ocean. A series of huge waves triggered by an earthquake killed more than 230,000 people in 14 countries. On the other side of the ocean, in Somalia, waves ranged in height from 11 to 31 feet (3.4 to 9.4 meters). In the hours that followed, a massive tsunami fanned out across the Indian Ocean, killing close to 230,000 people, most in Indonesia.