TSUNAMIS IN INDIA

PREPARED BY PONPURATH HAREESH VISHNU PRIYA

WHAT IS EARTHQUAKE?
● Tsunamis are caused by earthquakes or other seismic eruptions on ground of an oceans and can cause massive tidal waves, which run with enormous force on
land, causing great devastation.
● Especially in regions with only few tsunamis, the damage is often drastic, as the population does not expect tsunamis and thus hardly takes any protective
measures. Even relatively small flood waves can lead to high losses and financial damage.
●

EARTHQUAKE IN
INDIA
● A total of 8 tidal waves classified as a tsunami since 1762 have
killed 26,040 people in India. Compared to other countries,
Tsunamis therefore occur rather rarely.
● The strongest tidal wave registered in India so far reached a
height of 17.30 meters. On 12/26/2004, this tsunami killed a total
of 26,014 people.
● India has a database of devastating earthquake events since year
1500.
● However, there is no well-documented information on
prehistoric events of tsunamis in the region which caused
potential damage.
● Geographically, the seismic activity in the Indian continent can
be divided into four regions: (a) Himalaya (continent collision in
the north) (b) Andaman-Nicobar Islands (subduction zone in the
east) (c) Peninsular India (intra-plate activity) and (d) Makran
coast (subduction zone in the west).
HISTORIC TSUNAMIS IN THE INDIAN OCEAN

● The Indian coastal belt has not recorded many tsunamis in the past.

● Waves accompanying earthquake activity have been reported over the

north Bay of Bengal.

● During an earthquake in 1881, which had its epicentre near the centre of
the Bay of Bengal, tsunamis were reported.

● The earthquake of 1941 in Bay of Bengal caused some damage in the

Andaman region.

● This was unusual because most tsunamis are generated by shocks which
occur at or near the flanks of continental slopes.

● During the earthquakes of 1819 and 1845 near the Rann of Kutch, there
were rapid movements of water in the sea.

● There is no mention of waves resulting from these earthquakes along the

coast adjacent to the Arabian Sea, and it is unlikely that tsunamis were
generated. Further west, in the Persian Gulf, the 1945 Makran earthquake
(magnitude 8.1) generated a tsunami of 12 to 15 metres in height.

● This caused a huge deluge, with considerable loss of life and property at
Ormara and Pasi.
TSUNAMI THAT AFFECTED INDIAN COAST BEFORE
2004
INDIAN OCEAN TSUNAMI OF 2004

Indian Ocean tsunami of 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.

The tsunami caused one of the largest natural disasters in recorded history, killing at least
225,000 people

The direct results caused major disruptions to living conditions and commerce in coastal
provinces of surrounded countries, including Tamil Nadu
INDIAN OCEAN TSUNAMI OF 2004

On mainland India the December 2004 tsunami

struck the southeast coast of the state of Tamil
Nadu the hardest. The worst hit area was in the
district of Nagapattinam, where, as of mid January
2005, around 7,100 bodies had been recovered and
1,570 were missing.

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands lie north of

Sumatra and the epicenter of the earthquake, which
was so powerful it shifted some of the Nicobar Islands
100 feet to the southwest. The tsunami ripped apart
homes, tore up jetties, toppled coconut trees and
smashed fishing boats.

Most of the damage was in the Nicobar chain, which lies closest to the epicenter of the
earthquake. Katchal was the worst hit island. The island is barely above sea level and is believed
to have been almost completely inundated by water.

India declined offers of tsunami relief aid from other governments and the United Nations
and instead offered to help Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indians responded to this with pride
and said it was as an indication that India was no longer a weak Third World country but
was an emerging regional power.