- For related articles, including charities accepting donations, see Category:2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.
In India, at least 9,675 people (according to official figures) were killed and hundreds more went missing when a tsunami triggered by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake near the Indonesian island of Sumatra hit the southern peninsular coast on 26 December 2004. The earthquake registered 9.0 in moment magnitude and was the biggest in four decades. This was followed by strong aftershocks, including a 6.5 magnitude quake [1] http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/ussmbj.htm in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands at 2:50:01 PM Indian Standard time (GMT +5.30).
Disaster Snapshot
| Disaster Snapshot in India |
| S.No. |
State |
Official toll1 |
Estimated toll |
Injured |
Missing (Official)1 |
Missing (Estimated) |
Evacuees |
Refugees |
| 1 |
Tamil Nadu
|
7,921 |
8,000 |
— |
- |
— |
472,515 |
307,939 |
| 2 |
Andaman & Nicobar
|
900 |
7,000 http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=40101 |
200 |
6,010 |
7,000 http://www.rediff.com/news/2004/dec/30tsunami2.htm |
9,136 |
13,320 |
| 3 |
Pondicherry
|
579 |
574 |
— |
86 |
— |
70,000 |
8,140 |
| 4 |
Andhra Pradesh
|
105 |
106 |
— |
11 |
— |
33,864 |
0 (All returned) |
| 5 |
Kerala
|
140 |
166 |
700 http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=40066 |
- |
— |
55,557 |
55,557 |
| |
Total |
9,675 |
16,000 |
900 |
6,107 |
7,000 |
641,072 |
384,956 |
| Tsunami damage in India 1 |
| Factor |
Andhra Pradesh |
Kerala |
Tamil Nadu |
Pondicherry |
Total |
| Population affected |
211,000 |
2,470,000 |
691,000 |
43,000 |
3,415,000 |
| Area affected (Ha) |
790 |
Unknown |
2,487 |
790 |
4,067 |
| Length of coast affected (Km) |
985 |
250 |
1,000 |
25 |
2,260 |
| Extent of penetration (Km) |
0.5 - 2.0 |
1 - 2 |
1 - 1.5 |
0.30 - 3.0 |
|
| Reported height of tsunami (m) |
5 |
3-5 |
7-10 |
10 |
|
| Villages affected |
301 |
187 |
362 |
26 |
876 |
| Dwelling units |
1,557 |
11,832 |
91,037 |
6,403 |
110,829 |
| Cattle lost |
195 |
Unknown |
5,476 |
3,445 |
9,116 |
Number of Deaths reported by Media
Listed in the order of news reports coming in (latest first).
-
14.488 http://www.rediff.com/news/2005/jan/02toll.htm , Rediff
-
12,419 http://www.rediff.com/news/2004/dec/29toll.htm , Rediff
-
15,000 may have died in Andamans alone http://in.rediff.com/news/2004/dec/30an2.htm , Rediff
-
13,230 http://www.expressindia.com/print.php?newsid=40172 , Indian Express
-
12,419 http://us.rediff.com/news/2004/dec/29toll.htm , Rediff
-
12,500 http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=40124#compstory , Indian Express
-
Indian Govt Warns Toll to Rise to 9,400 http://www.reuters.com/printerFriendlyPopup.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=7189099 , Reuters
-
7,400 http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=40090 , Indian Express
- 6,000 http://www.ndtv.com/template/template.asp?template=Tsunami&slug=Tsunami+toll+tou
ches+6%2C000+in+south+India&id=15964&callid=0&category=National , NDTV
- 5,200 http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=13637434 , Sify
-
4,000 http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/ , The Hindu
-
4,000 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/971815.cms , Times of India
-
4,000 http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/971817.cms , The Economic Times
- 4,278 http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1170961,001301540000.htm , Hindustan Times
Affected States and regions
Andaman and Nicobar
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands comprise 572 islands (all land masses in both low and high tides) out of which 38 are inhabited, both by people from the mainland and indigenous tribes. The islands lie just north of the earthquake epicentre, and the tsunami reached a height of 15 m in the southern Nicobar Islands. The official death toll is 812, and about 7,000 are still missing. The unofficial death toll (including those missing and presumed dead) is estimated to be about 7,000.
The Great Nicobar and Car Nicobar islands were the worst hit among all the islands because of their proximity to the quake and relative flatness. Aftershocks continue to rock the area. [2] http://www.newkerala.com/news-daily/news/features.php?action=fullnews&id=55804 One fifth of the population of the Nicobar Islands is said to be dead, injured or missing ([3] http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/974230.cms ). Chowra Island has lost two thirds of its population of 1,500. Entire islands have been literally washed away, and the island of Trinket has been split in two ([4] http://in.news.yahoo.com/041229/137/2ipv4.html ). Communications have not been restored with the Nancowry group of islands, some of which have been completely submerged, with the total number of the population still out of contact exceeding 7,000 ([5] http://www.rediff.com/news/2004/dec/30tsunami2.htm ).
Among the casualties in Car Nicobar, 100 Indian Air Force personnel and their family members were washed away when the wave hit their air base, which was reported to have been severely damaged ([6] http://www.newkerala.com/news-daily/news/features.php?action=fullnews&id=509
10 ). The St. Thomas Cathedral (also known as the John Richardson church after John Richardson, a missionary and member of parliament) was washed away. The church, established in 1930 was one of the oldest and prominent churches in the region. A cricket stadium named after John Richardson and a statue dedicated to him were also washed away.
The majority of the population of Andaman Islands is made up of people from the mainland, mostly from West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. The natives of Andaman and Nicobar Islands are endangered tribal groups, such as such as the Jarawa, the Sentinelese, the Shompen, the Onge and the Andamanese. They are regarded to be anthropologically significant on account of being some of the world's most primitive tribes and considered the world's only link to ancient civilisation. Most of these tribes have maintained their aboriginal lifestyle for centuries, and government policy has been to not interfere with them unless absolutely essential.
It is reported that most of the native islanders survived the tsunami because they live on higher ground or far from the coast ([7] http://www.hindu.com/2004/12/31/stories/2004123106661100.htm ). The Onge (with a 2001 census population of 96), Jarawa (240), Sentinelese (39) and Andamanese (43) have been reached by survey teams and are confirmed to be safe although the number of dead is unknown. The Sentinelese live on a reserved island and are hostile to outsiders which is making it difficult for Indian officials to visit the island. They have shot arrows at helicopters sent to check on them. ([8] http://www.canada.com/components/printstory/printstory4.aspx?id=4d40b4df-f5ed-46
be-a0f4-5ff01938e6aa ,[9] http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4250294 ,[10] http://www.expressindia.com/print.php?newsid=40160 ). In the Nicobar Islands, the Nicobarese, a Mongoloid tribe (2001 population of 28,653), have lost about 656 lives with 3,000 still missing. Surveys are being conducted on the Shompen (2001 census count of 398) located on Great Nicobar island.
India's only active volcano, Barren 1, located at Barren Island 135 kilometres (80 miles) northeast of the capital Port Blair, erupted because of increased seismic activity on 30 December, 2004. People have been evacuated since then and there have been no reports of any casualties.
Andhra Pradesh
The current official toll is 105. The affected districts are Krishna (35 dead), Prakasam (35 dead), Nellore (20 dead), Guntur (4 dead), West Godavari (8 dead) and East Godavari (3 dead).
Kerala
The current official toll is 168. The affected districts are Kollam (131 dead), Alappuzha (32 dead), Ernakulam (5 dead).
Pondicherry
An estimated 30,000 people are homeless in the Union territory of Pondicherry. The current official toll is 560. The affected districts are Pondicherry (107 dead), Karaikal (453 dead).
Tamil Nadu
The state of Tamil Nadu has been the worst affected on the mainland, with a death toll of 7,793. Nagapattinam district has had 5,525 casualties, with entire villages having been destroyed. Kanyakumari district has had 808 deaths, Cuddalore district 599, the state capital Chennai 206 and Kancheepuram district 124. The death tolls in other districts were Pudukkottai (15), Ramanathapuram (6), Tirunelveli (4), Thoothukudi (3), Tiruvallur (28), Thanjavur (22), Tiruvarur (10) and Viluppuram (47).
Those killed in Kanyakumari include pilgrims taking a holy dip in the sea. Of about 700 people trapped at the Vivekananda Rock Memorial off Kanyakumari, 650 were rescued. In Chennai, people playing on the Marina beach and those who taking a Sunday morning stroll were washed away, in addition to the fisherfolk who lived along the shore and those out at sea. The death toll at Velankanni in Nagapattinam district is currently 1,500. Most of these people were visiting the Basilica of the Virgin Mary for Christmas, while others were residents of the town. The nuclear power station at Kalpakkam was shut down after sea water rushed into a pump station. No radiation leak or damage to the reactor was reported ([11] http://www.ndtv.com/template/template.asp?template=tsunami&id=15969&call
id=0 ). About 100 casualties were reported from Kalpakkam, all power plant personnel and their families.
Further Meteorological/Seismic Developments
The Indian Meteorological department has warned people in coastal areas to be careful. The seas are predicted to rough due to the after shocks with tidal waves in a few coastal areas. The detailed Met report http://education.vsnl.com/imdchennai/cslbltn.htm .
The Indian government issued a fresh tsunami alert across India's coastal areas http://www.ndtv.com/template/template.asp?template=Tsunami&slug=Fresh+tsunami+al
ert+across+coastal+areas&id=15982&callid=0&category=National . This alert triggered panic http://us.rediff.com/news/2004/dec/30panic.htm in some coastal areas http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=7205646 , subsequent to which the government had to issue clarifications http://www.ndtv.com/template/template.asp?template=Tsunami&slug=Govt+calms+fears
+over+fresh+tsunami&id=15982&callid=0&category=National to calm the people.
The Andaman region is still experiencing aftershocks of varying intensities.
| Aftershocks at Andaman |
| Date |
# of aftershocks |
Intensity
(Richter scale) |
| 26th December, 04 |
26 |
5.2 to 7.0 |
| 27th December, 04 |
16 |
5.0 to 5.8 |
| 28th December,04 |
9 |
5.0 to 5.4 |
| 29th December, 04 |
12 |
5.0 to 6.1 |
| 30th December, 04 |
6 |
5.2 to 5.5 |
| 31st December, 04 |
12 |
5.2 to 5.8 |
1st January, 05
(till 1600 hrs) |
3 |
5.0 to 6.3 |
The government has been asked to remain vigialnt in light of these after shocks without affecting the relief and rescue operations and normal life.
Government Ex Gratia
| Ex Gratia |
| S.No. |
Government |
Ex gratia |
| 1 |
Government of India http://goidirectory.nic.in/ |
The Prime Minister has announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs. 1,00,000
(one lakh rupees) to the next of kin of each deceased.
The ex-gratia payment will be made from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund. |
| 2 |
State Government of Tamil Nadu http://www.tn.gov.in |
The Chief Minister has announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs. 1,00,000 (one lakh) to the families of each of the victims.
Source: (The Hindu http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/001200412261810.htm ) |
| 3 |
State Government of Kerala http://www.kerala.gov.in/ |
Ex gratia of Rs. 50,000 to the next kin of those killed.
Assistance of Rs. 10,000 for the families of the deceased, to meet the funeral expenses.
|
| 4 |
Union Territory of Pondicherry http://pondicherry.nic.in/ |
The Chief Minister N Rangasamy has announced an ex gratia of Rs 1,00,000 (one lakh) to the next of kin of the dead.
The administration would also pay an ex gratia of Rs 5000 towards funeral expenditure.
For those injured in the disaster, the administration would provide Rs 5000.
A sum of Rs 10,000 to enable the homeless to reconstruct houses.
Source: (NewKerala http://www.newkerala.com/news-daily/news/features.php?action=fullnews&id=50351 ) |
Helping Out
This is a disaster of enormous magnitude. The disaster victims need your help. The following bodies and agencies are seeking public help and contributions:
- Indian Prime Minister's National Relief Fund
-
The Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has issued an appeal for contributions http://in.rediff.com/news/2004/dec/27quake2.htm . You can find more information about the relief fund http://pmindia.nic.in/relieffund.htm. You can find the form for contribution at http://pmindia.nic.in/formpmnrf.htm
- The Hindu Relief Fund - India's National newspaper http://pay.hindu.com/thrfpay/thrfpay.jsp
- Tamil Nadu Chief Minister's Public Relief Fund http://www.tn.gov.in/misc/cmprf2003.htm
- NDTV's trust fund http://www.ndtv.com/template/template.asp?template=tsunami&slug=PM+urges+donatio
ns+for+relief+fund&id=65860&callid=1&category=National
- A listing of News and information about resources, aid, donations and volunteer efforts http://tsunamihelp.blogspot.com by a volunteer team of bloggers. Fresh information can be posted here http://tsunamihelp.blogspot.com/2004/12/your-suggestions-and-links.html .
- A blog of India-related relief efforts http://indiatsunamirelief.blogspot.com
- Volunteers for India Development and Empowerment http://www.vide-us.org
requests on-line donations to provide for immediate relief to disaster victims
- A list of relief efforts in India for tidal wave relief http://www.vichaar.org/article134.html
- Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur is also reaching out to stand by its fellow citizens. http://www.cse.iitk.ac.in/~bhaskar/tsunami-relief/
India's assistance to other quake-affected countries
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs, along with the Indian defence forces and Home Ministry, is coordinating relief operations to Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia.
Operation Castor (Assistance to Maldives)
Three vessels have been launched for Male.
-
INS Mysore (two helicopters, reaching Male on Dec 28, 2004)
- INS Udaygiri (one helicopter, reaching Male on Dec 29, 2004)
- INS Aditya (one helicopter carrying water and a water purification plant, medical teams, reaching Male on Dec 30, 2004)
Operation Rainbow (Assistance to Sri Lanka)
Operation Ghambir (Assistance to Indonesia)
- INS Nirupak - The hospital ship leaves for Sumatra, Indonesia on 30th December 2004. It will be carrying emergency rations, medicines, tents and first aid kits. It will have 10 officers and 240 sailors on board.
See also
|
|
Wikimedia Commons has multimedia related to Impact of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake on India .
|
External links
Tsunami related pages & official sites of Affected Regions
- Andaman & Nicobar: Tsunami coverage http://www.and.nic.in/earthquake.htm | Govt. Website http://www.and.nic.in/ | Press releases http://www.and.nic.in/ipt/press_releases.htm
- Tamil Nadu: Tsunami coverage http://www.tn.gov.in/tsunami/default.htm | Govt. Website http://www.tn.gov.in/ | Press Releases http://www.tn.gov.in/pressrelease/default.htm
- Pondicherry: Tsunami coverage http://pondicherry.nic.in/tsunami/tsunamimain.htm | Govt. Website http://pondicherry.nic.in/ | Press releases http://www.and.nic.in/ipt/press_releases.htm
- Kerala: Tsunami coverage http://www.kerala.gov.in/news04/relief.htm | Govt. Website http://www.kerala.gov.in/ | Press releases http://www.prd.kerala.gov.in/news/nindex.htm
Indian Media Coverage
- Rediff.com http://in.rediff.com/news/tsunami.htm
- The Indian Express http://www.newindpress.com/coastalcalamity/index.asp
- [http://www.ptinews.com/pti%5Cptisite.nsf/$All/2CF42C9D942E236265256F76005AE4BC?OpenDocument Press Trust of India]
- Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/971815.cms
- The Hindu http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001hdline.htm
- NDTV (includes video footage) http://www.ndtv.com/template/template.asp?template=Tsunami&slug=Tsunami+toll+tou
ches+6%2C000+in+south+India&id=15964&callid=0&category=National
International Media Coverage
- [http://news.google.com/nwshp?hl=en&ned=in&ncl=http://in.rediff.com/news/2004/dec/30an2.htm&scoring=d Latest coverage from Google News India]
- BBC's coverage of the disaster (includes video footage) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/world/2004/asia_quake_disaster/default.stm
- Reuter's Alertnet's coverage http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/emergency/SA_TID.htm
Blogs and Websites
- Tsunamihelp http://tsunamihelp.blogspot.com - News and information about resources, aid, donations and volunteer efforts by a volunteer team of bloggers.
- Donateindia.com http://www.donateindia.com/ - Well organized lists of all essential information related to Indian relief efforts.
- TueNorthFoundation http://truenorthfoundation.blogspot.com/ - Reports of relief work and help required from Nagapattinam.
- Tsunamivictims.org http://www.tsunamivictims.org/ - Contact numbers and Contributions towards the relief efforts.
- Tsunami Locator http://www.tsunamilocator.com/ - list of resources to support the those searching for missing persons.
- Tsunami Help India http://tsunamihelpindia.blogspot.com/ spun off from Sumankumar's yak pad http://sumankumar.com/ out of Chennai, India
Other Aid Efforts Listings
- United with South East Asia http://southeastasia.united.co.uk - List of Aid organizations, hotlines and informations by countries.
India Tsunami impact Satellite Imagery
- National Remote Sensing Agency http://www.nrsa.gov.in/ Satellite Imagery http://www.nrsa.gov.in/tsunami/tsunami_files/frame.htm
- Global Security.org http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/india/car-nicobar-imagery.htm
- CRISP, Singapore http://www.crisp.nus.edu.sg/tsunami/tsunami.html
- NSPO, Taiwan http://www.nspo.org.tw/e60/news/n931228.html
Photographs of the Disaster
By location
=> Tamil Nadu
- Nagapattinam
- Cuddalore
- Kanyakumari
- Chennai
=> Andaman and Nicobar
- Andaman & Nicobar: Govt of India http://www.and.nic.in/images_of_earthquake.htm
=> Pondicherry
=> Kerala
=> Andhra Pradesh
- Visakapatnam
- Machilipatnam
Remote Sensing Images
Before and after images from the NRSA website [html viewer http://www.nrsa.gov.in/tsunami/tsunami.html ].
By Source
- Rediff Set1 http://specials.rediff.com/news/2004/dec/26pic1.htm Set2 http://specials.rediff.com/news/2004/dec/27sld1.htm
- Sify.com http://sify.com/news/imagegallery_slideshow.php?gid=13636943&imgidx=1&gname=Tsun
ami+shocks+Chennai&lid=1&gord=D&view=%20target=
- The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/971293.cms
- The Hindu http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/gallery/0281/0281i001.htm
- The Indian Express (6 albums) http://www.newindpress.com/coastalcalamity/gallery.asp
- BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/4125643.stm
- Portblair photos - Govt of India http://www.and.nic.in/images_of_earthquake.htm
- Tribune India http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20041228/quake/index.htm
Reports on Earthquakes in India
- India Seismicity Map http://www.imd.ernet.in/section/seismo/static/seismicity-map.htm
- Significant earthquakes in India http://www.imd.ernet.in/section/seismo/static/signif.htm
- National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Tsunami Page http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2004/s2357.htm
- Most Recent Seismic activity http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Maps/region/Asia_eqs.html
Related Organisations
Disaster Management in India
- Disaster Management in India http://www.sristi.org/english/dmis/dma.html
- National Disaster Management (Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India) http://www.ndmindia.nic.in/
- National Institute of Disaster Management http://www.nidm.net/
- UNDP's page on Crisis Prevention and Recovery for India http://www.undp.org/bcpr/disred/english/regions/asia/india.htm
- UNDP's Disaster Risk Index for India http://gridca.grid.unep.ch/undp/cntry_profile.php?selectedCountry=109
Meteorological Agencies
- Indian Meteorological Department - Southern region http://www.imd.ernet.in/
- Indian Meteorological Department http://www.imd.ernet.in/
Other Forums & Discussions
- AsianTsunami.org http://www.AsianTsunami.org A forum dedicated to the support of the on-going disaster relief work.
Notes
Note 1: Taken from the latest report at National Disaster Management Division's site http://ndmindia.nic.in .
Last updated: 02-20-2005 07:16:10
Last updated: 05-06-2005 01:27:49
