When Mother Nature Gets Rough
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake struck the Indian Ocean off the western off the western coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia on 26 December 2004, registering a magnitude of almost 9.0 on the Richter scale. Usually, a scale of 8.5 on the scale indicates a very devastating earthquake.
The earthquake was the largest since the Good Friday Earthquake (magnitude of 9.2) which struck Alaska, USA on 27 March 1964.
The resulting tsunamis, some as high as 10 m (or 33 ft)in some locations, killed tens of thousands. Sri Lanka and the southern parts of India was hit hard. Other coastal regions all over the Indian Ocean, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and even as far as Somalia were not spared from the disaster as well. Altogether, 11 countries suffered heavy losses in lives and properties.
The earthquake was the largest since the Good Friday Earthquake (magnitude of 9.2) which struck Alaska, USA on 27 March 1964.
The resulting tsunamis, some as high as 10 m (or 33 ft)in some locations, killed tens of thousands. Sri Lanka and the southern parts of India was hit hard. Other coastal regions all over the Indian Ocean, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and even as far as Somalia were not spared from the disaster as well. Altogether, 11 countries suffered heavy losses in lives and properties.
Relative size of a 10 m wave as compared to human
Countries affected by the earthquake
Many people in the affected regions were certainly caught off guard, as there was no tsunami which struck the land in over 100 years, leaving them unprepared and unable to recognize the sign of a disastrous tidal wave.
Even the United Nations commented that this might be the costliest disaster in history, reaching billions of dollars.
As of press time, the number of death has risen to a staggering 55,000. It is expected that the number will increase steeply over the days. Below is the breakdown of the death toll:
Sri Lanka: 17,640
India: 8,523
Indonesia: 27,174
Thailand: 1,439
Malaysia: 65
Myanmar: 90
Maldives: 55
Bangladesh: 2
Somalia: 100
Tanzania: 10
Total: 55,098
I sincerely hope everyone can spend some time to pray for the dead victims . May their souls rest in peace.
