December, 26 December 2004 : Aceh Tsunami Disaster

On 26 December 2004 (07:58:53 am local time) a giant Earthquake of 9.3 on the Richter Scale occurred off the coast of Indonesia’s Aceh province. The undersea earthquake generated a Tsunami which killed hundreds of thousands of people, displaced over ½ million people and tens of thousands still missing. The disaster is also known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and is the deadliest Tsunami in recorded history.

In May 2005, scientists reported that the earthquake itself lasted close to ten minutes when most major earthquakes last no more than a few seconds; it caused the entire planet to vibrate at least a few centimetres. It also triggered earthquakes elsewhere, as far away as Alaska. The earthquake originated in the Indian Ocean just north of Simeulue Island, off the western coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The resulting tsunami devastated the shores of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, South India, Thailand and other countries with waves up to 30 m (100 ft). It caused serious damage and deaths in the Maldives, Malaysia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Yemen, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, and as far as Port Elizabeth in South Africa, 8,000 km (5,000 mi) away from the epicentre. See an animation of how the waves travelled to see why some countries were more affected than others.

Casualty numbers

One year later, officials still aren't exactly sure how many people died in the tsunami, but a tally of conservative government figures estimates the number of dead and missing at more than 216,000 in 12 countries. Tens of thousands of bodies were washed out to sea, local government offices were destroyed and personal records lost. In some places, census details that formed the basis of missing-persons lists are hopelessly out of date.

In relation to Indonesian fatalities the Indonesian Red Cross -- considered the more reliable by international aid agencies -- lists 131,338 dead and 25,016 missing in Aceh, which suffered the most. Indonesia’s Ministry of Health confirmed 131,029 deaths on June 18th 2005, mainly in the northern province Aceh of the island of Sumatra. The number of people missing are some 37,000.

Source : www.communitywebs.org