2004 INDIAN OCEAN EARTHQUAKE AND

TSUNAMI(INDONESIA)
 INDIAN TSUNAMI (2004)
• Tsunami that hit the coasts of several countries of
South and Southeast Asia in December 2004. The
tsunami and its aftermath were responsible for
immense destruction and loss on the rim of the
Indian Ocean.
• On December 26, 2004, at 7:59 AM local time, an
undersea earthquake with a magnitude of 9.1
struck off the coast of the Indonesian island of 
Sumatra. Over the next seven hours, a tsunami—a
series of immense ocean waves—triggered by the
quake reached out across the Indian Ocean,
devastating coastal areas as far away as East Africa.
Some locations reported that the waves had reached
a height of 30 feet (9 metres) or more when they hit
the shoreline.
AN UNDERSEA EARTHQUAKE WITH A MAGNITUDE OF 9.1
STRUCK OFF THE COAST OF THE INDONESIAN ISLAND OF 
SUMATRA. OVER THE NEXT SEVEN HOURS, A TSUNAMI—A
SERIES OF IMMENSE OCEAN WAVES—TRIGGERED BY THE
QUAKE REACHED OUT ACROSS THE INDIAN OCEAN,
DEVASTATING COASTAL AREAS AS FAR AWAY AS 
EAST AFRICA. SOME LOCATIONS REPORTED THAT THE
WAVES HAD REACHED A HEIGHT OF 30 FEET (9 METRES) OR
MORE WHEN THEY HIT THE SHORELINE.

TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEMS ARE FAIRLY SIMPLE,

CONSISTING OF BUOYS AT THE OCEAN SURFACE THAT CAN
DETECT IRREGULAR WAVE MOVEMENT AND BOTTOM
SENSORS THAT CAN DETECT ABRUPT CHANGES IN SEA
LEVEL. 
 The Sumatra-Andaman
earthquake, which caused the
2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, is
estimated to have released
energy equivalent to 23,000
Hiroshima-type atomic bombs.
 In Banda Aceh, the landmass
closest to the quake’s epicenter, 
tsunami waves topped 100 feet.
 The tsunami’s waves traveled
across the Indian Ocean at 500
mph, the speed of a jet plane.
 .
 THE 2004 INDONESIA EARTHQUAKE CAUSED A SHIFT IN
THE EARTH’S MASS THAT CHANGED THE 
PLANET’S ROTATION.
TOTAL MATERIAL LOSSES FROM THE TSUNAMI WERE
ESTIMATED AT $10 MILLION.
NEARLY 230,000 PEOPLE WERE KILLED, MAKING IT ONE
OF THE DEADLIEST DISASTERS IN MODERN HISTORY

SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENTS INCLUDE REAL-TIME

ESTIMATION OF EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI SOURCE
PARAMETERS, IMPLEMENTATION OF EARLY WARNING
OF EARTHQUAKES AND TSUNAMIS, HISTORICAL AND
GEOLOGICAL STUDIES OF PAST EARTHQUAKES AND
TSUNAMIS, EXAMINATION OF PROBABLE MAXIMUM
EARTHQUAKE SIZE, LONG-TERM FORECAST OF
LARGE EARTHQUAKES, NEW TYPES OF TSUNAMI
OBSERVATIONS IN THE OPEN OCEAN AND ON THE
COAST, AND ACCURATE TSUNAMI MODELING AND
INVERSION
INDIAN EARTHQUAKE
The quake caused the ocean floor to
suddenly rise by as much as 40 meters,
triggering a massive tsunami. Within 20
minutes of the earthquake, the 
first of several 100-foot waves hit the shoreli
ne of Banda Aceh
, killing more than 100,000 people and
pounding the city into rubble. Then, in
succession, tsunami waves rolled over
coastlines in Thailand, India, and Sri
Lanka, killing tens of thousands more.

Eight hours later and 5,000 miles from its

Asian epicenter, the tsunami claimed its
final casualties on the coast of South Africa.
In all, nearly 230,000 people were killed,
making it one of the deadliest disasters in
modern history.
 INDIA HAS HAD A NUMBER OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST
EARTHQUAKES IN THE LAST CENTURY. IN FACT, MORE
THAN 50% AREA IN THE COUNTRY IS CONSIDERED PRONE
TO DAMAGING EARTHQUAKES. THE NORTHEASTERN
REGION OF THE COUNTRY AS WELL AS THE ENTIRE
HIMALAYAN BELT IS SUSCEPTIBLE TO GREAT
EARTHQUAKES OF MAGNITUDE MORE THAN 8.0.
 The 2004 earthquake that occurred in the Indian Ocean near
Sumatra, Indonesia triggered a series of tsunamis that killed over
200000 people in 14 countries.

 Tsunami warning systems are fairly simple, consisting of buoys at the ocean

surface that can detect irregular wave movement and bottom sensors that
can detect abrupt changes in sea level. As a tsunami passes the buoy, the
signal is then relayed to satellites and transmitted across the world. The
exact timing depends on how far out to sea the tsunami is generated and
how fast it moves, but for basinwide tsunami threats, it’s generally a matter
of minutes and at most hours between an earthquake and when a resulting
tsunami hits shore, granting a window of time to get word out about the
danger.