Sumatra, Indonesia Earthquake of 26 December 2004, Mw=9.1
On December 26, 2004, a large earthquake of magnitude Mw=9.1 occurred 160 km off the western coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia at 00:58:53 UTC. The epicenter of the earthquake was located in the Indian Ocean at the coordination of 3.295N and 95.982E. The earthquake was followed by a wide hazardous tsunami which intensified the catastrophic consequences of the disastrous earthquake.
Since 1900, the 2004 Sumatra earthquake with magnitude of Mw=9.1 is considered as the third-largest earthquake ever recorded on a seismograph and had the longest duration of faulting ever observed, between 8.3 and 10 minutes. From the view point of seismology, the earthquake was caused by a subduction activity at a depth of 30 km below mean sea level. The earthquake triggered a series of devastating tsunamis along the coasts of most landmasses bordering the Indian Ocean, inundating coastal communities with waves up to 30 meters high. In December 26, 2004, there were no tsunami warning systems in the Indian Ocean to detect tsunamis or to warn the general populace living around the ocean which could save many lives in the time interval between the earthquake and tsunami.
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history, killing 230,000 people in 14 countries. In addition, about 125,000 were injured, 45,752 were missed and more than 600,000 became homeless and displaced. The earthquake intensity was estimated to be about IX which affected several countries including Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Maldives and Somalia.
