An earthquake measuring 9.0 magnitudes struck the western end of Indonesia's Sumatra Island on December 26th 2004.
The earthquake was caused by subducion and triggered a series of devastating tsunami along the coasts of most landmasses bordering the India Ocean, killing nearly 230,000 people in eleven countries, and inundating coastal communities with waves up to 30 metres high. It was one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history. Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand were the hardest hit.
This earthquake unleashed a series of tsunami Sunday that crashed into coastal towns, fishing villages and tourist resorts from Sri Lanka to India, Thailand and Malaysia, killing more than 13,000 people in at least nine countries and leaving thousands missing. This earthquake was also flattening buildings and sending a wall of water higher than the tops of coconut palms into the towns and villages in the province of Aceh.
With a magnitude of between 9.1 and 9.3, it is the second largest earthquake ever recorded on a seismographc. This earthquake had the longest duration of faulting ever observed, between 8.3 and 10 minutes. It caused the entire planet to vibrate as much as 1 cm (0.4 inches) and triggered other earthquakes as far away as Alaska.
The plight of the many affected people and countries prompted a widespread humanitarian response. In all, the worldwide community donated more than $7 billion in humanitarian aid.
Adapted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Indian_Ocean_earthquake
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