The Indian Ocean tsunami
A magnitude 9.1 earthquake kills 228,000 people in fourteen countries.
- When
- Era
- Contemporary, Holocene
The Sumatra-Andaman earthquake on 26 December 2004 is the third largest ever recorded and ruptures over 1,200 kilometres of fault. The tsunami reaches Indonesia within minutes and East Africa within hours, with no warning system in place in the Indian Ocean. Around 228,000 people die. The disaster produced the international warning network that now covers the basin, and unprecedented global donations.