What caused the tsunami on Boxing Day 2004?
A powerful undersea earthquake that struck off the coast of Sumatra island, Indonesia, set off the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, also known as the Christmas or Boxing Day tsunami, on Sunday morning, Dec. 26, 2004.
What was the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami called?
the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004
This quake caused the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, which reached out across the Indian Ocean, devastating coastal areas with waves that in some places reached a height of 30 feet (9 metres) or more when they hit the shoreline.
What happened on the day of the Boxing Day tsunami?
On December 26 2004, waves triggered by a massive earthquake slammed into the coastlines of countries ringing the Indian Ocean. The death toll was enormous. Worldwide, it is estimated that about 230,000 people died that day. Aceh province, on the northern end of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, was hit hardest.
Where did the Boxing Day Tsunami 2004 occur?
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami (also known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake) occurred at 07:58:53 in local time ( UTC+7) on 26 December, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia.
What was the most devastating tsunami in recent history?
Image credit: AAP/AP BOXING DAY – 26 December – marks ten years since the most devastating tsunami in recent history. It was on this day in 2004 that an earthquake under the Indian Ocean generated a series of tsunamis that is thought to have killed upto 230,000 people.
Why was the 2004 tsunami such a big deal?
One of the reasons the 2004 tsunami had such an impact was that the scientific community were caught unawares, says Phil. It wasn’t widely known that tsunamis of that size could occur in the area that it did. Scientists are now much more aware that tsunami events can be spaced thousands of years apart he says.
When did the 2004 Sumatra Tsunami happen?
Retrieved 20 December 2016. ^ Borrero, Jose C. (9 February 2005). “Field Survey northern Sumatra and Banda Aceh, Indonesia and after the Tsunami and Earthquake of 26 December 2004” (PDF). Los Angeles: Department of Civil Engineering, University of Southern California.