New Delhi: It has been 20 years since the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami took place, but it is a memory that numerous people are finding hard to forget. On December 26, 2004, a major earthquake whose magnitude was measured 9.2 to 9.3 with an epicenter off the west coast of Aceh in Indonesia’s northern Sumatra took place. A rupture along the fault between the Burma plate and the Indian plate caused the undersea megathrust earthquake and brought about devastations in many parts of Asia.
The devastations of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami
The earthquake brought about numerous aftershocks off the Andaman Islands, the Nicobar Islands and the region of the original epicenter. But then, it also triggered a massively devastating tsunami with sea waves reaching up to 100 ft high. It ravaged communities along Indian Ocean’s surrounding coasts and killed an estimated 227,898 people in 14 countries.
There was a gap between the occurrence of the earthquake and the tsunami, and hence, it took everyone by surprise. In the Indian Ocean, there were no tsunami warning systems and the general population could not be warned. It is difficult to detect tsunami since it has little height while it is in deep water and a network of sensors is needed to detect it. In the 21st century, it has been recorded as the deadliest natural disaster and is also the worst tsunami disaster in history.
Which places were most affected by the earthquake and the tsunami?
While the tsunami affected 14 countries, there are some places which were more damaged than the others. The prominent places among them were Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand which witnessed its worst natural disaster and India was not spared either, with the tsunami causing havoc in our country.
Indonesia
In Indonesia, the tsunami severely devastated Aceh, which was located very close to the epicenter. The closes major city was Banda Aceh and it suffered severe casualties. The tsunami destroyed every structure towards the sea and even the dense construction in a commercial district was flooded. The place was devastated with large amounts of debris piled along the streets and in the ground-floor storefronts. A remote coastal city named Meulaboh was hit hard by the tsunami. Other towns which were hit hard by the tsunami included Lhokruet, Leupung, Lamno, Calang, Teunom and Patek. These places were severely affected since the general population had no knowledge about the tsunami or how to deal with it.
Sri Lanka
The tsunami damaged Sri Lanka greatly, destroying structures and killing numerous people. Infact, civil casualties in the island country was around 35,000. Moreover, the natural disaster destroyed 90,000 buildings and many wooden houses there. The country’s eastern shores were hit the hardest since it was facing the earthquake’s epicenter. According to reports, the high death toll in Sri Lanka was possibly a result of the degradation of the natural environment.
India
Who can forget the devastations of the tsunami in India? It reached Tamil Nadu, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, wreaking havoc in the southern part of India. The Marina Beach in Chennai was ravaged as people were caught unaware about the natural disaster. Tamil Nadu was possibly the worst affected states in India by the tsunami and the most damage occurred in the Nagapattinam district where 6,051 people died and in the Cuddalore district where many villages were destroyed. In the coastal town of Velankanni, a place with a Catholic Basilica and a popular pilgrimage destination, around 600 pilgrims died.
In Kerala, the tsunami mostly affected the districts of Ernakulam, Alappuzha, and Kollam, while in Andhra Pradesh, many villages were destroyed with Prakasam District being the most affected. In the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the tsunami affected the Andaman Islands moderately while the island of Little Andaman and the Nicobar Islands were greatly damaged. In the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the worst affected place was the Katchall Island where 303 people died as per official reports and 4,354 people went missing.
Thailand
Thailand was hit by the tsunami at a time when tourists were there in large numbers for Christmas holiday. They were caught off guard and the country had to endure immense devastation with around 8,000 people killed in the natural disaster. Among the major locations which were damaged in the country were Phuket island’s western shores, Phang Nga Province’s Khao Lak, Krabi, Ranong and Satun and many small offshore islands.
The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, triggered by a 9.2 magnitude earthquake, remains the deadliest natural disaster in recorded history. The tsunami devastated coastal communities across 14 countries, claiming over 227,000 lives. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
