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The undersea 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake occurred at 00:58:53 UTC (07:58:53 local time) on December 26 2004, generating tsunamis that were 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 it tied for fourth largest since 1900. Originating in the Indian Ocean off the western coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia, the tsunamis devastated the shores of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, and other countries with waves of up to 15 m (50 feet) high, even reaching Somalia on the east coast of Africa, 4,500 km (2,800 miles) west of the epicenter.

At least 150,000 people are known to have died as a result of the tsunamis and the count is still taking place. The true final toll may never be known due to bodies swept out to sea, but it is likely to be higher than the current estimate. Relief agencies warn of the possibility of more deaths to come as a result of epidemics and starvation. The plight of the many affected people and countries prompted a widespread humanitarian response.

Contents

1 Quake characteristics 1.1 Aftershocks and other earthquakes 1.2 Power of the earthquake 2 Tsunami characteristics 3 Damage and casualties 3.1 Countries affected 3.2 Casualties in historical context 4 Signs and warnings 4.1 Unfamiliarity with warning signs 5 Human component in magnitude of damage 6 Post-tsunami humanitarian situation 7 Environmental impact of the tsunami 8 See also 8.1 Wikinews 8.2 Tsunami Help 8.3 Ongoing news collections 8.4 Scientific reports 8.5 Videos 8.6 Photos 8.7 Forums and discussion 8.8 Further reading

Quake characteristics

The earthquake was initially reported as 6.8 on the Richter scale. On the moment magnitude scale, which is more accurate for quakes of this size [2] http://earthquake.usgs.gov/faq/meas.html , the earthquake's magnitude was first reported as 8.1 by the U.S. Geological Survey, but after further analysis the USGS increased this first to 8.5, 8.9, and finally to 9.0 [3] http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/usslav.htm .

Since 1900, the only earthquakes recorded with a greater magnitude were the 1960 Great Chilean Earthquake (magnitude 9.5) and two Alaskan quakes: the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake in Prince William Sound (9.2) and a March 9 1957 quake [4] http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eq_depot/usa/1957_03_09.html in the Andreanof Islands (9.1). The only other recorded earthquake of magnitude 9.0 was in 1952 off the southeast coast of Kamchatka [5] http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eq_depot/world/1952_11_04.html . (See Top 10 earthquakes http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/10maps_world.html ). Each of these megathrust earthquakes also spawned tsunamis (in the Pacific Ocean), but the death toll from these was significantly lower — a few thousand for the worst one — probably because of the lower population density along the coasts near affected areas and the much greater distances to more populated coasts.

The hypocentre was at 3.316°N, 95.854°E, some 160 km (100 mi) west of Sumatra, at a depth of 30 km (18.6 mi) below mean sea level (initially reported as 10 km). This is at the extreme western end of the "Ring of Fire", an earthquake belt that accounts for 81% of the world's largest earthquakes [6] http://earthquake.usgs.gov/faq/hist.html#1 . The quake itself (apart from the tsunamis) was felt as far away as Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and the Maldives.

The earthquake was unusually large in geographical extent. An estimated 1,200 km (750 mi) of faultline slipped 20 m (60 ft) along the subduction zone where the India Plate dives under the Burma Plate. The seabed of the Burma plate is estimated to have risen several metres vertically up over the India plate, creating shock waves in the Indian Ocean that traveled at up to 800 km/h (500 mi/h), forming tsunamis which, while less than a metre high in deep water, resulted in huge waves when they reached land.

The India Plate is part of the great Indo-Australian Plate, which underlies the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal, and is drifting northeast at an average of 6 cm/yr (2 in/yr) (or 20 m (60 ft) per 330 years; i.e. this earthquake moved this fault 330 years worth). The India Plate meets the Burma Plate (which is considered a portion of the great Eurasian Plate) at the Sunda Trench. At this point the India Plate subducts the Burma Plate which includes the Nicobar Islands, the Andaman Islands and northern Sumatra. The India Plate slips deeper and deeper beneath the Burma Plate until the increasing temperature and pressure turns the subducting edge of the India Plate into magma which eventually pushes the magma above it out through the volcanoes (see Volcanic arc). This process is interrupted by the locking of the plates for several centuries until the build up of stress causes their release resulting in a massive earthquake and tsunami. The volcanic activity that results as the Indo-Australian plate subducts the Eurasian plate has created the Sunda Arc.

Aftershocks and other earthquakes

Numerous aftershocks were reported off the Andaman Islands, the Nicobar Islands, and the region of the original epicenter in the hours and days that followed. The largest aftershock was 7.1 off the Nicobar Islands [7] http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/ussmax.htm . Other aftershocks of up to magnitude 6.6 continue to shake the region on a daily basis [8] http://wwwneic.cr.usgs.gov/neis/bulletin/ .

The earthquake came just three days after a magnitude 8.1 earthquake in an uninhabited region west of New Zealand's sub-Antarctic Auckland Islands, and north of Australia's Macquarie Island [9] http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/ussjal.htm . This is unusual, since earthquakes of magnitude 8 or more occur only about once per year on average [10] http://earthquake.usgs.gov/faq/hist.html#8 . Some seismologists have speculated about a connection between these two earthquakes, saying that the former one might have been a catalyst to the Indian Ocean earthquake, as the two quakes happened on opposite sides of the Indo-Australian tectonic plate [11] http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11787870%255E28477,00.html . However the USGS sees no evidence of a causal relationship [12] http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqinthenews/2004/usslav/neic_slav_faq.html .

Coincidentally, the earthquake struck almost exactly one year (to the hour) after a magnitude 6.6 earthquake killed an estimated 30,000 people in the city of Bam in Iran [13] http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/uscvad.htm .

Power of the earthquake

The total energy released by the earthquake in the Indian Ocean has been estimated as 2.0 exajoules (2.0×10¹⁸ joules) [14] http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqinthenews/2004/usslav/neic_slav_faq.html . Using the mass-energy equivalence formula E = mc², this amount of energy is equivalent to a mass of about 22 kg (49 lb). Note that each unit of the magnitude scale represents a 31.6-fold increase in energy; every two units signifies 1,000 times more energy.

The shift of mass and the massive release of energy very slightly altered the Earth's rotation. The exact amount is yet undetermined, but theoretical models suggest the earthquake may have shortened the length of a day by as much as three microseconds (3 µs) and caused the Earth to minutely "wobble" on its axis by up to 2.5 cm (1 inch) [15] http://slate.msn.com/id/2111443/ , [16] http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/12/29/quake.wobble.reut/index.html . However, due to tidal effects of the Moon, the length of a day increases by 15 µs every year, so any rotational speedup due to the earthquake will be quickly lost. Similarly, the natural Chandler wobble of the Earth can be up to 15 m (50 ft).

Based on one seismic model, some of the smaller southwest of Sumatra may have moved southwest up to 20 m (66 ft). The northern tip of Sumatra, which is on the Burma Plate (the southern regions are on the Sunda Plate), may also have moved up to 36 m (118 ft). Movement was likely both vertical as well as lateral. Measurements using GPS and satellite imagery are being used to determine the extent and nature of actual geophysical change.[http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/10574872.htm ]

Tsunami characteristics

The earthquake triggered massive tsunamis that struck the coasts of the Indian Ocean, the deadliest tsunamis by far in all of recorded history.

See a full-length animation of how the waves travelled — large file (about 1 MB) — to see exactly how and why some countries were more affected than others

According to Tad Murty , vice-president of the Tsunami Society, the total energy of the tsunami waves was about five megatons of TNT (20 petajoules). This is more than twice the total explosive energy used during all of World War II (including the two atomic bombs), but still a couple of orders of magnitude less than the energy released in the earthquake itself [17] http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=2257b78c-3897-
4594-ad86-18c0eb661bea .

Two radar satellites that happened to be overhead at the right moment recorded two wavefronts 500–850 km apart with a height of 50 cm. These are the first such observations ever made. [18] http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn6854

Because the 1,200 km of faultline affected by the quake was in a nearly north-south orientation, the greatest strength of the tsunami waves was in an east-west direction. Bangladesh, which lies at the northern end of the Bay of Bengal, had very few casualties despite being a low-lying country.

Coasts that have a land mass between them and the tsunamis' location of origin are usually safe; however, tsunami waves can sometimes diffract around such land masses. Thus, the Indian state of Kerala was hit by tsunamis despite being on the western coast of India, and the western coast of Sri Lanka also suffered substantial impacts. Also, distance alone is no guarantee of safety: Somalia was hit harder than Bangladesh despite being much farther away.

Due to the distances involved, the tsunamis took anywhere from fifteen minutes to seven hours (for Somalia) to reach the various coastlines (see travel time maps: [19] http://tsun.sscc.ru/tsulab/20041226trt.htm ). The northern regions of the Indonesian island of Sumatra were hit very quickly, while Sri Lanka and the east coast of India were hit roughly two hours later. Thailand was also struck about two hours later, despite being closer to the epicenter, because the tsunami travelled more slowly in the shallow Andaman Sea off its western coast.

Damage and casualties

The death toll from the earthquake, the tsunamis and the resultant floods totals to over 175,000 people with tens of thousands reported missing, and over a million left homeless. Early news reports after the earthquake spoke of a toll only in the "hundreds", but the numbers rose steadily over the following week.

Relief agencies report that one-third of the dead appear to be children. This is a result of the high proportion of children in the populations of many of the affected regions and the fact that children were the least able to resist being overcome by the surging waters.

In addition to the large number of local residents, up to 9,000 foreign tourists (mostly Europeans) enjoying the peak holiday travel season were among the dead, especially Scandinavians. The European nation hardest hit may have been Sweden [20] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4134345.stm .

States of emergency were declared in Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Maldives. The United Nations has declared that the current relief operation will be the costliest ever. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has stated that reconstruction would probably take between five and ten years. Governments and NGOs fear the final death toll may double as a result of diseases, prompting a massive humanitarian response.

Measured in lives lost, this is one of the ten worst earthquakes in history([21] http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/eqsmosde.html ). It is also the single worst tsunami in history; the previous record was the 1703 tsunami at Awa, Japan that killed over 100,000 people ([22] http://www.pbs.org/wnet/savageseas/neptune-side-tsunamis.html ).

For purposes of establishing timelines of local events, the time zones of affected areas are: UTC+3: (Kenya, Madagascar, Somalia, Tanzania); UTC+4: (Mauritius, Réunion, Seychelles); UTC+5: (Maldives); UTC+5:30: (India); UTC+6: (Bangladesh, Sri Lanka); UTC+6:30: (Cocos Islands, Myanmar); UTC+7: (Indonesia (western), Thailand); UTC+8: (Malaysia, Singapore). Since the quake occurred at 00:58:53 UTC, add the above offsets to find the local time of the quake. A list of times can be found at a USGS site http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/bulletin/neic_slav_tz.html .

Country	Deaths		Injured	Missing	Displaced
	Confirmed	Estimated
Indonesia	98,489 http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20050107/ap_on_re_as/tsunami	—	~100,000 http://www.channelnewsasia.com/killerwaves	10,000+ http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20050107/ap_on_re_as/tsunami	474,619 http://www.detiknews.com/index.php/detik.read/tahun/2005/bulan/01/tgl/05/time/10 1419/idnews/267462/idkanal/10
Sri Lanka	49,000 http://www.channelnewsasia.com/killerwaves 1	—	15,686 http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/29/asia.quake/index.html	4,000+ http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/29/asia.quake/index.html	~1.5 million http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/29/asia.quake/index.html
India	9,682 http://www.ndmindia.nic.in/Tsunami2004/sitrep22.htm	15,693 http://www.ndmindia.nic.in/Tsunami2004/sitrep22.htm	—	6,011 http://www.ndmindia.nic.in/Tsunami2004/sitrep22.htm	1,018,127 http://www.ndmindia.nic.in/Tsunami2004/sitrep22.htm
Thailand	5,291 http://www.channelnewsasia.com/killerwaves 2	11,000 http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200501/s1275176.htm	8,457 http://www.disaster.go.th/news01/12_47/news_after_shock_34.pdf	4,499 http://www.disaster.go.th/news01/12_47/news_after_shock_34.pdf	—
Somalia	298 http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/125915/1/.html	—	—	—	50,000 http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/s/D97BC073C9E9C25AC1256F7B004C6B73
Myanmar (Burma)	90 http://www.irrawaddy.org/default.asp	290 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4145489.stm –600 http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=2255	45 http://www.irrawaddy.org/aviewer.asp?a=4248&z=24	200 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4145489.stm	up to 30,000 http://www.examiner.ie/pport/web/world/Full_Story/did-sg3nE1qhdzaJ2sg7OWirIStPSk .asp
Malaysia	74 http://www.channelnewsasia.com/killerwaves	—	299 http://www.channelnewsasia.com/killerwaves	—	—
Maldives	74 http://www.presidencymaldives.gov.mv/v3/pages/media_release_01012005.phtml	—	—	30 http://www.tsunamimaldives.mv/?action=situationAssesment	12,000+ http://www.presidencymaldives.gov.mv/v3/pages/media_release_01012005.phtml
Seychelles	10 http://www.capetimes.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=271&fArticleId=2357542	—	—	—	—
Tanzania	10 http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200501/s1275702.htm	10+ http://www.guardian.co.uk/tsunami/story/0,15671,1380677,00.html	—	—	—
Bangladesh	2 http://www.channelnewsasia.com/killerwaves	—	—	—	—
South Africa	2 http://www.capetimes.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=271&fArticleId=2357542	—	—	—	—
Kenya	1 http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11839753%255E2,00.html	—	—	—	—
Madagascar	—	—	—	—	1,000+ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4129639.stm
Total	163,023	189,760	117,000+	14,000+	3-5 million http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=13948

Note: All figures are approximate and subject to constant change. Details are available on the country links.
¹ Iincludes approximately 19,000 casualties declared by Tamil Tiger authorities from regions under their control. [1] http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/COL141794.htm .
² Data includes at least 2,464 foreigners.

Countries affected

Main article: Countries affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

The earthquakes and resulting tsunamis affected a large number of countries in Southeast Asia and beyond including Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, the Maldives and Somalia, including citizens of many other countries travelling in the region.

Casualties in historical context

The earthquake was the fourth most powerful recorded since 1900, and the confirmed death toll so far is 175,000, in large part due to the ensuing tsunami. The deadliest earthquakes since 1900 were the Tangshan, China earthquake of 1976, in which at least 255,000 were killed, the earthquake of 1927 in Xining, Qinghai, China (200,000), the Great Kanto earthquake which struck Tokyo in 1923 (143,000), and the Gansu, China earthquake of 1920 (200,000). The deadliest known earthquake in history occurred in 1556 in Shaanxi, China, with an estimated death toll of 830,000, though figures from this time period may not be reliable ([23] http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/eqsmajr.html ).

This 2004 tsunami is the deadliest in recorded history. Prior to 2004, the deadliest recorded tsunami was the result of an earthquake near Awa, Japan in 1703 that killed 100,000. Forty-thousand people were killed in 1782 by a tsunami in the South China Sea, and the tsunami created by the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa is thought to have resulted in 36,000 deaths. The most deadly tsunami between 1900 and 2004 occurred in Messina, Italy on the Mediterranean Sea where the earthquake and tsunami killed 70,000 in 1908. The most deadly tsunami in the Atlantic Ocean resulted from the 1755 Lisbon earthquake that, combined with the toll from the actual earthquake and resulting fires, killed over 100,000.

The 2004 earthquake and tsunamis seems to be the worst natural disaster since the 1970 Bhola cyclone (Bangladesh), which is estimated to have killed 500,000.

Signs and warnings

Despite a lag of up to several hours between the earthquake and the impact of the tsunamis, nearly all of the victims were taken completely by surprise. This is because there is no tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean to detect tsunamis, and equally importantly, warn the general populace living around the ocean quickly. Tsunami detection is not easy because while a tsunami is in deep water it has a very low height and a network of sensors is needed to detect it. Setting up the communications infrastructure to issue timely warnings is an even bigger problem. [24] http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn6839

Scientists were also hampered by the fact that the initial estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake was 8.1. The determination that the earthquake had actually been much stronger (and the chance of a significant resulting tsunami much larger) was not made until after the tsunamis had already struck.

Tsunamis usually occur in the Pacific Ocean due to earthquakes in the "Ring of Fire", and an effective tsunami warning system has long been in place there. Although the extreme western edge of the "Ring of Fire" extends into the Indian Ocean (the point where this earthquake struck), no warning system exists in that ocean due to the rarity of tsunamis there — the last major one was caused by the Krakatoa eruption of 1883.

In the aftermath of the disaster there is a new awareness of the need for a tsunami warning system for the Indian Ocean. The UN aims to have a working East Asia and Southeast Asia early warning system within a year [25] http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=12932&Cr=tsunami&Cr1= . Some have even proposed creating a unified global tsunami warning system, to include the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean.

Unfamiliarity with warning signs

The first warning sign of a possible tsunami is the earthquake itself; however tsunamis can strike thousands of miles away, where the earthquake is only felt weakly or not at all. Also, in the minutes preceding a tsunami strike the sea often recedes temporarily from the coast. People in Pacific regions are more familiar with tsunamis and often recognize this phenomenon as a sign to head for higher ground. However, around the Indian Ocean, this rare sight reportedly induced people, especially children, to visit the coast to investigate and collect stranded fish on as much as 2.5 km of exposed beach, with fatal results. [26] http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4246573

One of the few coastal areas to evacuate ahead of the tsunami was on the Indonesian island of Simeulue, very close to the epicentre. Island folklore recounted an earthquake and tsunami in 1907 and the islanders fled to inland hills after the initial shaking — before the tsunami struck [27] http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,18690-1422835,00.html . On Maikhao beach in northern Phuket, Thailand, a 10 year old British girl named Tilly Smith had studied tsunamis in geography class at school and recognised the warning sign of the receding ocean. She and her parents warned others on the beach, which was evacuated safely [28] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/01/01/ugeog.xml&sSheet
=/portal/2005/01/01/ixportaltop.html .

Human component in magnitude of damage

An article in The Wall Street Journal by Andrew Browne (December 31, 2004) commented that human destruction of coral reefs that had formerly protected coastal areas was a significant factor in the loss of life and damage in the area. The article pointed to The Surin Island chain off Thailand's coast as an example of protection afforded by the still intact reefs of the area. Only a small handful of people perished in the protected areas. Many other reef areas around the Indian Ocean had been dynamited because they were considered impediments to shipping. Other factors have been the removal of coastal dunes and coastal mangrove forests.

Post-tsunami humanitarian situation

Main article: Humanitarian response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

A great deal of humanitarian aid is needed due to widespread damage of the infrastructure, shortages of food and water, and economic damage. The United Nations suggests that a further 150,000 at extreme risk of disease. [29] http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=12963&Cr=tsunami&Cr1= . Epidemics are of special concern, as they are likely due to the high population density and tropical climate of the affected areas. The overwhelming concern of humanitarian and government agencies is to provide sanitation facilities and fresh drinking water to contain the spread of diseases such as cholera, diphtheria, dysentery and typhoid.

Nations all over the world have so far provided over 3 billion U.S. dollars in aid for damaged regions, with the Australian federal government pledging $US 810 million^{[30] http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/125942/1/.html} , the German government offering $660 million, the Japanese government offering $500 million, the United States government offering $350 million, and the World Bank offering $250 million. Officials estimate that billions of dollars will be needed.

Coastal fishing communities and their fisherfolk, some of the poorest people in the region, have been the most devastated with high loss of life as well as boats and fishing gear.

Some economists believe that damage to the affected countries' economies will be minor because losses in the tourism and fishing industries are a relatively small percentage of the GDP. However, others caution that damage to infrastructure is an overriding factor. In some areas, drinking water supplies and farm fields may have been contaminated for years by salt water from the ocean. [31] http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn6840

Significant effort is being spent in burying bodies hurriedly to prevent the spread of disease and acquiesce to tradition and religious concerns. Some, including the World Health Organization, would argue that the public health risk of these unburied bodies is in fact minimal and this tremendous effort would be better spent attending to the urgent needs of the living. There is also a concern that hasty mass burials may contaminate water supplies. See the following links for more information on this issue.

• Health and safety information related to water purification, disease prevention, and management of dead bodies http://www.tsunamihelp.info/wiki/index.php/Health_&_Safety
• Infectious Disease Risks... Following Natural Distasters http://publications.paho.org/english/dead_bodies.pdf
• WHO guidelines on hygiene precautions when dealing with disposal of remains http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/hygiene/emergencies/em2002chap14.pdf
• CNN — WHO: Corpses pose little threat http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/29/quake.corpses/index.html

Environmental impact of the tsunami

Beyond the heavy toll on human lives, the Indian Ocean earthquake has caused an enormous environmental impact wich will affect the region for many years to come. It has been reported that severe damage has been inflicted to ecosystems such as mangroves, coral reefs, forests, coastal wetlands, vegetation, sand dunes and rock formations, animal and plant biodiversity and groundwater. In addition, the spread of solid and liquid waste and industrial chemicals, water pollution and the destruction of sewage collectors and treatment plants threathen the environment even further, in untold ways.

According to specialists [32] http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn6840 , the main effect is being caused by poisoining of the fresh water supplies and the soil by salt water infiltration and deposit of a salt layer over arable land. It has been reported that in the Maldives, 16 to 17 coral reef atols which were overcome by sea waves are totally without fresh water and could be rendered unhabitable for decades. Uncountable wells which served communities were invaded by sea, sand and earth; and aquifers were invaded through porous rock. Salted-over soil becomes sterile, and it is difficult and costly to restore for agriculture. It also causes the death of plants and important soils micro-organisms. Thousands of rice, mango and banana plantations in Sri Lanka were destroyed almost entirely and will take years to recover.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is working with governments of the region in order to determine the severity of the ecological impact and how to address them [33] http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=414&ArticleID=
4692&l=en . UNEP has decided also to earmark a US$ 1,000,000 emergency fund and to establish a Task Force with this aim.

See also

• Donations for victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
• Humanitarian response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
• Earthquake
• List of earthquakes
• Tsunami
• Tsunami warning system
• IRIS Consortium, the

Wikinews

• *Wikinews: [[Wikinews:2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami|2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami]] - Ongoing news reports about the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami.

Tsunami Help

• Tsunami Help Portal http://www.tsunamihelp.info - Disaster Relief Portal that lists humanitarian aid resources to help victims.
• The South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami Blog http://tsunamihelp.blogspot.com - aka the SEA-EAT blog. News and information about resources, aid, donations and volunteer efforts.
• Indonesia HELP http://indonesiahelp.blogspot.com/ aid and donations information on Tsunami victims in Indonesia
• Andaman and Nicobar Islands Environmental Team http://www.onesolutionconsulting.com/andaman/ to help in the Nicobar relief efforts
• Tsunami Disaster in Malaysia and Thailand http://tsunamipenang.blogspot.com Locate your friends, volunteer efforts, local and int news, and stories.

Ongoing news collections

• ABC News Online – Asian Tsunami Disaster http://www.abc.net.au/news/indepth/tsunami/ Australia
• BBC News – In-Depth Report: Asia Quake Disaster http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/world/2004/asia_quake_disaster/default.stm UK
• CBC News – Indepth: Disaster in Asia http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/asia_earthquake/ Canada
• Channel News Asia – Special Coverage: Killer Waves http://www.channelnewsasia.com/killerwaves Singapore
• CNN – Special: Tsunami Disaster http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2004/tsunami.disaster/ USA
• Guardian Unlimited – Special Report: Indian Ocean Tsunami Disaster http://www.guardian.co.uk/tsunami/ UK
• Hindustan Times - The Killer Waves http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/611_0,001301540000.htm India
• New York Times – Complete http://www.nytimes.com/pages/world/worldspecial4/ USA
• Rediff – Tsunami: Waves of Destruction http://www.rediff.com/news/tsunami.htm India
• Sydney Morning Herald – Waves of Devastation http://www.smh.com.au/specials/tsunami/ Australia
• Yahoo! News – Asia Tsunami Disaster http://story.news.yahoo.com/fc?cid=34&tmpl=fc&in=Science&cat=Asia_Tsunami_Disast
  er USA
• Guardian's World News Guide http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldnewsguide/asia/ for finding local news sources
• Mongabay's tsunami news links http://danger.mongabay.com/earthquake/2004/ for specific towns and islands USA
• Andaman and Nicobar Islands Environmental Team http://www.onesolutionconsulting.com/andaman/ to help Nicobar relief efforts
• Wave of Destruction: Worldwide Tsunami Relief Donations http://www.nakagawa.ca/ascorbic/tsunami/ for information on international donations to the relief effort

Scientific reports

• IRIS Seismic Monitor; USGS Data http://www.iris.edu/seismon/
• NOAA – NOAA and the Indian Ocean Tsunami http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2004/s2358.htm
• USGS – Magnitude 9.0 – off the west coast of northern Sumatra http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/usslav.htm
• USGS – FAQ for this earthquake http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqinthenews/2004/usslav/neic_slav_faq.html
• Tsunami Laboratory, Novosibirsk – travel-time map of tsunami waves http://tsun.sscc.ru/tsulab/20041226trt.htm
• Pacific Geoscience Center - Canada: Questions and Answers on megathrust earthquakes: http://www.pgc.nrcan.gc.ca/seismo/table.htm

Videos

Wikimedia Commons has multimedia related to 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake .

• Full Tsunami Video Footage - Edited master list of both amateur and mainstream news media video footage, clips and visual resources (Robin Good's MasterNewMedia) http://www.masternewmedia.org/2005/01/02/full_tsunami_video_footage_pictures.htm
• 5 Amateur Camcorder Videos http://www.thestatrix.com/archives/2004/12/tsunami_video.html Torrents of the tsunami as it hit Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Malaysia. Requires Blogtorrent (free, 2.3M).
• A dozen high-quality tsunami videos http://www.kuremo.net/content/tsunami just updated
• Video from Patong beach hotel http://snipurl.com/bnd0
• 2 minute video http://www.thestatrix.com/archives/2004/12/another_tsunami.html of the tsunami overtaking a luxury resort.
• Video from Sri Lanka beach hotel http://snipurl.com/bnd2
• BBC news report with video coverage http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/news_web/video/40667000/nb/40667325_nb_16x9.ram
• All Tsunami Amateur Home Videos http://www.punditguy.com/2004/12/horror.html

Photos

• Gallery of images: satellites ... http://www.futura-sciences.com/communiquer/g/showgallery.php/cat/543 .
• Satellite photos with DHTML image comparison http://www.waveofdestruction.org/satellite.php .
• AP photos from the affected areas http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news/?ei=UTF-8&c=news_photos&p=earthquake&da
  tesort=1
• 15 shocking videos of the tsunami http://www.kuremo.net/content/tsunami amateur videos
• Photos during and after the destruction of Koh Phi Phi Island http://www.digitalvoodoo.de/blog/archives/asien/phi-phi-island-verwuestet.php
• Satellite images of tsunami-affected areas (National University of Singapore) http://www.crisp.nus.edu.sg/tsunami/tsunami.html Updated on 6th January
• Yahoo! Slideshows - Asian Tsunami Disaster http://snipurl.com/bo10 .
• Tsunami Aftermath, Penang Island, Malaysia http://thanks4supporting.us/tsunami-aftermath-penang-island-malaysia.html
• Relief work in Kota Kuala Muda, Kedah, Malaysia http://thanks4supporting.us/visit-to-kota-kuala-muda.html
• Pictures of the Tsunami http://www.nst.com.my/nstpics/index_html
• Phuket Island, Thailand http://www.golakechelan.net/index.php?page_id=301
• Interactive Mapping of Affected Regions http://mapsherpa.com/tsunami/

Forums and discussion

Sites to help family and friends locate missing loved ones are listed on the "Links to search for missing people" section of the "Countries affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake" page.

• Float a Lotus Memorial http://special.bcz.com/cgi-bin/memorial/Dec26_2004/lotus.cgi Sign the memorial for tsunami victims here. You may also post blog for your thoughts.
• Condolence Book http://www.ceneus.com/tsunami/ Offer your condolences to the victims of the December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
• United for South East Asia message board http://southeastasia.united.co.uk Post a message.
• Talk about the tsunami in general, express your feelings on the donation situation, or just share your survival story. http://believeinmagic91.blogspot.com
• Tsunami Disaster in Malaysia and Thailand http://tsunamipenang.blogspot.com Locate your friends in Malaysia, share stories, and latest updates.

Further reading

• Yahoo! - Indian Ocean Earthquake 2004 http://dir.yahoo.com/Science/Earth_Sciences/Geology_and_Geophysics/Seismology/Hi
  storic_Earthquakes/Indian_Ocean___December_26__2004/ directory category
• Zeal - Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunamis 2004 http://zeal.com/category/preview.jhtml?cid=10233792 directory category
• Open Directory Project - Indian Ocean 2004 Earthquake http://dmoz.org/Science/Earth_Sciences/Geophysics/Earthquakes/Past_Earthquakes/I
  ndian_Ocean_2004/ directory category

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For related articles, including charities accepting donations, see Category:2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.