December 26, 2004 - Indian Ocean Tsunami
Patong Beach (10 MB Video) | Phuket (11.7 MB Video) | Sri Lanka (7.8 MB Video) |
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The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an
undersea
earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53
UTC (07:58:53 local time) on
December 26,
2004.
The earthquake generated a
tsunami
that was among the
deadliest disasters in
modern history. At a
magnitude of 9.0, it was the largest earthquake
since the 9.2 magnitude
Good Friday Earthquake off
Alaska
in 1964,
and tied for fourth largest since
1900. The earthquake originated in the Indian Ocean just north of Simeulue island, off the western coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The resulting tsunami devastated the shores of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, South India, Thailand and other countries with waves of up to 15 m (50 feet) high. It caused serious damage and deaths as far as the east coast of Africa, with the furthest recorded death due to the tsunami occuring at Port Elizabeth in South Africa, 8 000km (5000 miles) away from the epicentre.
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Anywhere from 165,000 to 234,000 people are thought to have died as a result of the tsunami, and the count is not yet complete. The true final toll may never be known due to bodies having been swept out to sea, but current estimates use conservative methodologies. Relief agencies warn of the possibility of more deaths to come as a result of epidemics caused by poor sanitation, but the threat of starvation seems now to have been largely averted. The plight of the many affected people and countries prompted a widespread humanitarian response. | ||
Quoted from: http://en.wikipedia.org | ||
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