Tsunami-hit nations mark anniversary
A decade ago, one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded struck off the coast of Indonesia, triggering a tsunami that swept away entire communities around the Indian Ocean.
About 228,000 people were killed as a result of the 9.1 magnitude quake and the giant waves that slammed into coastlines on 26 December 2004.
The violent upward thrust of the ocean floor at 07:58 local time (00:58 GMT) displaced billions of tonnes of seawater, which then raced towards shorelines at terrifying speeds.
The waves stripped vegetation from mountain sides hundreds of metres inland, capsized freighters and threw boats into trees. The estimated cost of the damage was just under $10bn (£6.4bn).
Ten years on, many coastal towns and villages have rebuilt their communities and lives. The shores of Indonesia and Thailand, left ravaged by the tsunami, appear transformed.
Banda Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia
Teunom, Aceh Jaya district, Indonesia
Ko Phi Phi, Thailand
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After the quake struck, the resulting tsunami radiated across the Indian Ocean, from Indonesia to Sri Lanka and beyond.
The quake ruptured the greatest fault length of any recorded, spanning a distance of an estimated 1,500km (900 miles) – longer than the US state of California.
The rupture started beneath the quake’s epicentre and progressed northward along the fault at about 2km/sec (1.2 miles/second) – lasting about 10 minutes – according to the Tectonics Observatory at the California Institute of Technology.
The length of the rupture meant that the waves reached a wider geographical area – as far afield as Mexico, Chile, and the Arctic.
The waves travelled at speeds of up to 800km/h (500mph).
Computer modelling after the tsunami, estimated that waves had reached a height of almost 20m (65ft) in some areas.
However, scientists investigating damage in Aceh, Indonesia found subsequent evidence that waves had reached 20-30m (65-100ft) in places.
Despite there being several hours between the earthquake and the impact of the tsunami, nearly all the victims were taken completely by surprise. With no adequate warning systems in place, there was no alert issued to people to seek safety.
In the aftermath of the disaster, the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System was formed to detect seismological changes and provide warnings of approaching waves.
However, on the 10th anniversary of the disaster, risk experts and UN officials have warned weaknesses remain in the system, particularly regarding the communication of warnings at local level.
Produced by Lucy Rodgers and Gerry Fletcher.
At least they had the good sense to rebuild right in the kill zone. Stay tuned for Ver. 2.0.
I must say, the rebuilding effort is impressive.
Maybe some of those builder-folks can come to Camden? Nah, we’re just as efficient … it only took us ten fucking years to replace the twin towers.
I_S is 100% correct. Rebuilding in the kill zone?? What the fuck are they thinking? I thought Asians had high IQs.
Not as high as the American geniuses who keep rebuilding the stock market each time it crashes.
I looked for a visualization map similar to the one below of Japan’s 2011 earthquake/tsunami but could not find one.
Turn up your speakers on the video below–the “pings” by magnitude are terrifyingly stunning.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSBjEvPH2j4
“I_S is 100% correct. Rebuilding in the kill zone?? What the fuck are they thinking? I thought Asians had high IQs.”
—-Stucky
Uh, New Orleans?
I’ll bet I’ve watched hundreds of various videos of the 2004 and 2011 tsunamis, which are, in my view, nature’s most spectacularly destructive force. For total deaths, earthquakes win.
I lived through hurricane Hugo in 1989. I was 100 miles from the beach and my part of the state was D E S T R O Y E D. We wanted to leave but my wife was in the USAF at Shaw and she was not allowed to leave the area so we stayed. I decided two things right after that storm: 1. There would never be a next time. 2. If we came close to being in a “next time”, she was going AWOL. Hurricane Hugo was so nasty it went up the east coast, back out to sea and reformed as a tropical depression which crossed the Atlantic Ocean, went up the English channel and did almost as much damage to Suffolk County UK/ RAF Bentwaters/RAF Woodbridge as it did to SC. We didn’t know that at the time because we had no power and too much work to do cleaning up the mess in SC. Three months later we arrive at our new home in the UK to find it had been wiped out by the same storm system. Now we live 2594 miles from Shaw AFB and hurricanes are not an issue. Volcanoes are a bigger threat now but that won’t happen simply because I’d give my right nut to see a volcano erupt.
I’m with SSS though, tsunamis are quite a sight to behold. The slow motion of it all makes it very interesting to watch. In my area, ancient Glacial Lake Missoula broke loose in the Clark Fork Valley of north Idaho and flooded all of eastern and central Washington plus parts or Oregon including the Willamette Valley about 15,000 years ago. Giant chunks of Canadian granite bigger than my house are now scattered all over the area including the Willamette Valley and it all came from Canada. As I drive and hike around the area looking at the evidence of this flood I try to imagine how this entire region was scrubbed clean, all the way down to bedrock. No plants, trees, rocks, dirt or animals. Just magnificent desolation for as far as you could see. The former Glacial Lake Missoula would have been an immense quagmire of soft gooey mud. The Lake Bonneville floods in Utah were similar and carved out the Snake River Canyon.
If you can get close enough without getting killed, liquefaction of the Earth during an Earthquake is pretty cool to watch.
IS ,oh you can hike now ? Not in anymore pain?Then that’s why you have been such a jerky.