2004 Indonesian Tsunami

    On December 26, 2004, one of the most lethal tsunamis ever recorded hit Indonesia. This was caused by a M 9.1 earthquake that struck off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia at 7:59 that morning.

    In less than an hour, the first waves, which were up to 32 ft. high, hit northern Sumatra claiming over 166,000 lives (Pickrell). Thailand, Sri Lanka, and India were hit about 90 minutes later and Somalia in 7 hours. 13 countries were affected total. Water traveled up to 6500 feet inland, destroying everything in its path. The shoreline of Sumatra was extensively eroded, leaving behind a few small islands (Keller, DeVecchio). Once the waves settled, close to 230,000 people had lost their lives, many of them being tourists. 

Satellite image of Sumatra before and after tsunami.

 Source. 

Damage was partially so severe because of the exposure. Many dense populations and tourist sites were located on the coast. The provincial capital of Indonesia, Banda Aceh, was completely leveled. Many water and sanitation sites were destroyed. Agricultural fields and forests in Sumatra were lost as well. Estimates show that up to 5 million people lost homes and access to food or clean drinking water. Communities today are still facing environmental problems from the tsunami such as toxic waste and debris (Srinivas).    

Banda Aceh (Indsonesian capital) 
10 years after tsunami.

 At the time, there was no tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean (Keller, DeVecchio). This is what made the first hours so devastating for areas closest to the epicenter. Scientists had considered a megathrust earthquake off the coast of Sumatra but most people were completely unaware of the risk (Fritz). The cost of a warning system in the Indian Ocean would have been about $20 million, whereas the cost in damages was about $7.5 billion (Pickrell). A warning system could have saved thousands of lives and millions of dollars in repairs. However, because of this disaster, scientists were able to put together detailed runup                            heights and inundation limit distributions for the                             area in hopes of being less vulnerable in the future                         (Fritz).

This live footage from the 2004 Indonesian tsunami shows just how devastating the event was. Tourists were on beaches with no idea anything was coming. Locals were going about business as usual, and in a matter of minutes everything changed. 

Sources

Fritz, H. (2014, December 19). What we've learned, 10 years after the Indian Ocean tsunami that killed 250,000 people. Retrieved October 14, 2020, from https://ce.gatech.edu/what-weve-learned-10-years-after-indian-ocean-tsunami-killed-250000-people

Keller, E. A., & DeVecchio, D. E. (2019). Chapter 4 Tsunamis. In Natural hazards: Earth's processes as hazards, disasters, and catastrophes. New York: Routledge.

Pickrell, J. (2005, January 20). Facts and Figures: Asian Tsunami Disaster. Retrieved October 14, 2020, from https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn9931-facts-and-figures-asian-tsunami-disaster/

Roos, D. (2018, October 02). The 2004 Tsunami Wiped Away Towns With 'Mind-Boggling' Destruction. Retrieved October 14, 2020, from https://www.history.com/news/deadliest-tsunami-2004-indian-ocean

Srinivas, H. (2015, June). The Indian Ocean Tsunami and its Environmental Impacts. Retrieved October 14, 2020, from https://www.gdrc.org/uem/disasters/disenvi/tsunami.html