Tsunami Event

Date Tsunami Cause Tsunami Source Location Tsunami Parameters
Max
Water
Height		 Num. of
Runups		 Deposits Magnitude Tsu
Int		 Warn Status
Year Mo Dy Hr Mn Sec Val Code Country Name Latitude Longitude Abe Iida
2004 12 26 0 58 53.4 4 1 INDONESIA OFF W. COAST OF SUMATRA 3.295 95.982 50.90 1058 134 4
tsevent
Tsunami Effects Total Effects (Tsunami and Source)
Deaths Missing Injuries Damage Houses Destroyed Houses Damaged Deaths Missing Injuries Damage Houses Destroyed Houses Damaged
Num De Num De Num De $Mill De Num De Num De Num De Num De Num De $Mill De Num De Num De
226898 4 3 10000 4 3 227898 4 3 10000 4 3
Tsunami Comments

Comments for the Tsunami Event

Display listing of nearby tsunami events

The tsunami generated by the earthquake off the coast of northern Sumatra was recorded nearly world-wide and killed more people than any other tsunami in recorded history. More than 297,248 people were either killed or listed as missing and presumed dead and 1,126,900 were displaced by the earthquake and subsequent tsunami. The estimated economic losses exceed $10 billion (Reference #1610).

227898 dead or missing, $9.9 billion (reference #3969)

Reference #3757 lists approximately 250,000 lives were lost.

The estimates below are from References #1053 and #3969:

Indonesia:167,540 people killed or missing, 426,800 displaced in Aceh and Sumatera Utara Provinces. Wave heights of 30 m along the west coast of Sumatra.
Sri Lanka:35,322 killed or missing, 552,600 displaced. Wave heights of 5-10 m.
India:16,269 killed or missing, 112,500 displaced in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu and Andaman and Nicobar Is. Wave heights of 20 m in the Andaman Is. and 10 m on the east coast of India.
Thailand:8,212 killed or missing, 8,400 injured. Wave heights of 3-5 m in the Phuket area.
Somalia:289 killed, 5,000 displaced
Yemen:2 killed
Myanmar:61 killed or missing, 3,200 displaced
Tanzania:13 killed
Maldives:82 killed, 26 missing, 21,600 displaced
Malaysia:75 killed or missing, 4,200 displaced
Seychelles:2 killed
Bangladesh:2 killed
Kenya:1 killed
South Africa:2 killed
Madagascar:1,000 displaced
Mauritius:some damage
Mozambique:tsunami observed, no damage reported
Australia:tsunami caused minor damage at Geraldton and Mangles Bay. People swept into the ocean at Delambre Is and Geographe Bay, but all survived.

Seiches were observed in India and the United States. Subsidence and landslides were observed in Sumatra. A mud volcano near Baratang, Andaman Is. became active on December 28 and gas emissions were reported in Arakan, Myanmar.

NOAA/PMEL wave animations: Indian Ocean, Global

NOAA/PMEL calculated wave: Amplitude, Travel time

More information: NOAA Satellite Wave Height Measurements, NOAA/NGDC DMSP - OLS Light Detection

References for a Tsunami event ID

References for the Tsunami Event

ID Author Year Citation
1922 Australian Broadcasting Corporation 2004 Wave sweeps campers out to sea in WA, Retrieved May 10, 2006, from http://www.abc.net.au/cgi-bin/common/printfriendly.pl?http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200412/s1274000.htm
4400 Bahuguna, Anjali, Shailesh Nayak, Dam Roy 2008 Impact of the tsunami and earthquake of 26th December 2004 on the vital coastal ecosystems of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands assessed using RESOURCESAT AWiFS data. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, vol. 10, p. 229-237.
5209 Bunting, Tim; Singh, Satish; Bayly, Martin; Christie, Phil 2008 Seismic imaging of the fault that caused the great Indian Ocean earthquake of 26 December 2004, and the resulting catastrophic tsunami. Leading Edge, vol. 27, no. 10, p. 1272-1281.
2021 Candella, Rogerio 2005 Sea level at Arraial do Cabo, RJ, Brazil, Physical Oceanography Division, IEAPM - BRAZIL, Retrieved May 31, 2006 from http://nctr.pmel.noaa.gov/indo20041226/IEAPM.htm
5013 Chao, B. R. 2005 Did the 26 December 2004 Sumatra, Indonesia, Earthquake disrupt the Earth's rotation as the mass media have said? EOS Transactions, American Geophysical Union, vol. 86, no. 1, p. 1-2.
6617 Choowong, M., N. Murakoshi, K. Hisada, P. Charusiri, V. Daorerk, T. Charoentitirat, V. Chutakositkanon, K. Jankaew, P. Kanjanapayont 2007 Erosion and deposition by the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami in Phuket and Phang-nga Provinces, Thailand. Journal of Coastal Research, vol. 23, no. 5, p. 1270-1276. DOI:10.2112/05-0561.1
3968 Cosgrave, John 2007 Synthesis Report: Expanded Summary, Joint evaluation of the international response to the Indian Ocean tsunami, published by the Tsunami Evaluation Coaliton (TEC), January 2007, 42 p.
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5154 Feldens, P.; Schwarzer, K.; Szczucinski, W.; Stattegger, K.; Sakuna, D.; Somgpongchaiykul, P. 2009 Impact of 2004 Tsunami on Seafloor Morphology and Offshore Sediments, Pakarang Cape, Thailand. Polish Journal of Environmental Studies, vol. 18, no. 1, p. 53-68.
6687 Fritz, H.M., C.E. Synolakis, B.G. McAdoo 2006 Maldives field survey after the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Earthquake Spectra, vol. 22, no. S3, p. S137-S154. DOI:10.1193/1.2201973
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5360 Fujii, Yushiro, Kenji Satake 2007 Tsunami source of the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake inferred from tide gauge and satellite data. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, vol. 97, no. 1A, p. S192-S207.
5252 Geist, Eric L., Vasily V. Titov, Diego Arcas, Fred F. Pollitz, and Susan L. Bilek 2007 Implications of the 26 December 2004 Sumatra–Andaman earthquake on tsunami forecast and assessment models for great subduction-zone earthquakes. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, vol. 97, no. 1A, p. S249–S270. DOI:10.1785/0120050619
5017 Geological Survey of India 2005 A preliminary report on investigation of effects of the Sumatra - Andaman Earthquake of 26 December 2004 in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Geological Survey of India, Government of India, 22 p.
6693 Goff, J.; Liu, P.L.F.; Higman, B.; Morton, R.; Jaffe, B.E.; Fernando, H.; Lynett, P.; Fritz, H.; Synolakis, C.; Fernando, S. 2006 Sri Lanka field survey after the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Earthquake Spectra, vol. 22, no. S3, p. S155-S172. DOI:10.1193/1.2205897
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5541 Karlsson, J.M., A. Skelton, M. Sanden, M. Ioualalen, N. Kaewbanjak, N. Pophet, J. Asavanant, and A. von Matern 2009 Reconstructions of the coastal impact of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in the Khao Lak area, Thailand. Journal of Geophysical Research, vol. 114, C10023, DOI:10.1029/2009JC005516
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3725 Kawata, Yoshiaki, Yoshinobu Tsuji, Yoshio Sugimoto, Haruo Hayashi, Hideo Matsutomi, Yukinobu Okamura, Isao Hayashi, Hajime Kayane, Yuichiro Tanioka, Koji Fujima, Fumihiko Imamura, Tomoyuki Takahashi, Norio Maki, Shunichi Koshimura 2005 Comprehensive analysis of the damage and its impact on coastal zones by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami disaster, research was financially supported by Grant-in-Aid for Special Purposes Research Report, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Grant Number16800055, Leader Yoshiaki Kawata, Kyoto University), 186 p, retrieved December 2005 from http://www.tsunami.civil.tohoku.ac.jp/sumatra2004/report.html.
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6753 Kurian, N.P., K. Rajith, B.T. Murali Krishnan, N. Nirupama, and T.S. Murty 2006 Analysis of the Tsunami of December 26, 2004, on the Kerala Coast of India—Part III: Inundation and Initial Withdrawal. Marine Geodesy, vol. 29, no. 4, p. 277-281. DOI:10.1080/01490410601009018
3841 Lavigne, F., R. Paris, P. Wassmer, C. Gomez, D. Brunstein, D. Grancher, F. Vautier, J. Sartohadi, A. Setiawan, et al. 2006 Learning from a major disaster (Banda Aceh, December 26th, 2004): A methodology to calibrate simulation codes for tsunami inundation models. Z. Geomorph. N.F., Suppl. vol. 146, p. 253-265.
5330 Lay, Thorne; Kanamori, Hiroo; Ammon, Charles J; Nettles, Meredith; Ward, Steven N; Aster, Richard C; Beck, Susan L; Bilek, Susan L; Brudzinski, Michael R; Butler, Rhett; DeShon, Heather R; Ekstrom, Goran; Satake, Kenji; Sipkin, Stuart 2005 The great Sumatra-Andaman earthquake of 26 December 2004. Science, vol. 308, no. 5725, p. 1127-1133.
3975 Leonard, Mark 2006 Analysis of tide gauge records from the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 33, L17602. DOI:10.1029/2006GL026552
4307 Liu, P., P. Lynett, H. Fernando, B. Jaffe, H. Fritz, B. Higman, R. Morton, J. Goff, C. Synoplakis 2005 Observations by the International Tsunami Survey Team in Sri Lanka. Science, vol. 308, no. 5728, p. 1595. DOI: 10.1126/science.1110730
5026 Liu, Philip L.-F., Patrick Lynett, Harindra Fernando, Bruce E. Jaffe; Hermann Fritz, Bretwood Higman, Robert Morton, James Goff, Costas Synolakis 2005 The Great Sumatra Earthquake and Indian Ocean Tsunami of December 26, 2004. Learning From Earthquakes, EERI Special Earthquake Report, p. 1-4. Retrieved from http://www.eeri.org/lfe/pdf/sri_lanka_tsunami_eeri_survey.pdf
9474 Maheshwari, B.K., Sharma, M.L. and Narayan, J.P. 2006 Geotechnical and structural damage in Tamil Nadu, India, from the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Earthquake Spectra, vol. 22, no. S3, p. S475-S493.
2020 Melo, Eloi and Rocha, Cesar 2005 Sumatra tsunami detected in southern Brazil, reported by Eloi Melo & Cesar Rocha on January, 14th, 2005, Maritime Hydraulics Laboratory, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Retrieved May 30, 2006 from http://nctr.pmel.noaa.gov/indo20041226/tsunami-southern_brazil.pdf
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1610 Munich Re Group 2005 Annual Review: Natural Catastrophes 2004 in the Munich Re Group Knowledge Series, Topics Geo, 2005, 60 p.
540 NOAA West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center 2005 Retrieved January 5, 2005 from link
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6766 Okal, Emile A., Anthony Sladen, and Emily A.-S. Okal 2006 Rodrigues, Mauritius, and Reunion islands field survey after the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Earthquake Spectra, vol. 22, no. S3, p. S241-S261. DOI:10.1193/1.2209190
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3739 Rabinovich, Alexander B., Richard E. Thomson 2007 The 26 December 2004 Sumatra Tsunami: Analysis of Tide Gauge Data from the World Ocean Part 1. Indian Ocean and South Africa. In Tsunami and its Hazard in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, K. Satake, E.A. Okal, J.C. Borrero, eds., Pure Appl. Geophys., vol. 164, no. 2-3, p. 261-308. DOI:10.1007/s00024-006-0164-5
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4002 Stephenson, Frederick E., and Alexander B. Rabinovich 2009 Tsunamis on the Pacific Coast of Canada Recorded in 1994-2007. In Tsunami Science Four Years After the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, Part II: Observation and Data Analysis, Phil R. Cummins, Laura S.L. Kong, Kenji Satake, eds., Pure Appl. Geophys., vol. 166, no. 1-2, p. 177-210. DOI:10.1007/s00024-008-0440-7
2984 Supratid, S and N Shuto 2005 The 2004 Sumatra tsunami: tsunami intensity scale, damage assessments at the Kamala beach, Phuket, Thailand, Proceedings of the 22nd International Tsunami Symposium, June 27-29, 2005, Chania, Crete Island, Greece, Papadopoulos, GA and K Satake, eds., IUGG, p.215-220.
9299 Synolakis, Costas E. and Eddie N. Bernard 2006 Tsunami science before and beyond Boxing Day 2004. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, vol. 364, no. 1845, p. 2231-2265. DOI:10.1098/rsta.2006.1824
3451 Synolakis, Costas E., Laura Kong 2006 Runup measurements of the December 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. Earthquake Spectra, vol. 22, no. S3, p. S67-S91. DOI: 10.1193/1.2218371
3020 Synolakis,Costas, Okal, Emile and Eddie Bernard 2005 The Megatsunami of December 26, 2004. The Bridge. Volume 35, Number 2 - Summer 2005
3969 Telford, John, and John Cosgrave 2006 Synthesis Report: Joint evaluation of the international response to the Indian Ocean tsunami, published by the Tsunami Evaluation Coaliton (TEC), July 2006, 176 p.
3278 Thakkar, M.G. and Bhanu Goyal 2006 Historic submergence and tsunami destruction of Nancowrie, Kamorta, Katchall and Trinket Islands of Nicobar district: Consequences of 26 December 2004 Sumatra--Andaman earthquake. Current Science, vol. 90, no. 7, p. 989-994.
3815 Thomson, R.E, Rabinovich, A.B., Krassovski, M.V. 2007 Double jeopardy: Concurrent arrival of the 2004 Sumatra tsunami and storm-generated waves on the Atlantic coast of the United States and Canada
3757 United Nations Environment Programme 2005 After the Tsunami Rapid Environmental Assessment. Retrieved January 11, 2008 from http://www.unep.org/tsunami/reports/TSUNAMI_report_complete.pdf
5255 Vita-Finzi, Claudio 2008 Neotectonics and the 2004 and 2005 earthquake sequences at Sumatra. Marine Geology, vol. 248, no. 1-2, p. 47-52.
1455 Watts, Philip, Mansour Ioualalen, Stephan Grilli, M.ASCE, Gengyan Shi, and James T. Kirby, M.ASCE 2005 Numerical Simulation of the December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami using a Higher-order Boussinesq Model.
6474 Worachananant, Suchai; Carter, R.W.; Hockings, Marc 2007 Impacts of the 2004 Tsunami on Surin Marine National Park, Thailand. Coastal Management, vol. 35, no. 2-3, p. 399-412. DOI:10.1080/08920750601169667
5392 Yanagisawa, H. Koshimura, S. Goto, K. Miyagj, T. Imamura, F. Ruangrassamee, A. Tanavud, C. 2009 Damage to Mangrove Forest by 2004 Tsunami at Pakarang Cape and Namkem, Thailand. Polish Journal of Environmental Studies, vol. 18, no. 1, p. 35-42. Retrieved from http://www.pjoes.com/abstracts/2009/Vol18/No01/04.html
5164 Yeh, Harry; Francis, Mathew; Peterson, Curt; Katada, Toshitaka; Latha, G.; Chadha, R. K.; Singh, J. P.; Raghuraman, G. 2007 Effects of the 2004 Great Sumatra Tsunami: Southeast Indian Coast. Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal and Ocean Engineering, vol. 133, no. 6, p. 382-400. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-950X(2007)133:6(382)