The PowerPoint presentation which you are about to watch is sad
and, in places, you may find it shocking. It was made on the 30th
December 2004 by a Geography teacher who, like you, has
watched with horror as the events unfolded daily on our screens.
“This
is a human tragedy on a huge
scale – for once caused by the action
of Nature rather than Man”
William Rees Mogg 27.12.04
Indian Ocean Tsunami
26th December 2004
At GMT 00.59 a magnitude 9 undersea
earthquake shook the sea bed off the north west
coast of Sumatra. Within hours multiple tsunamis
had swept across the Indian Ocean ravaging
coastal regions and killing over 120,000 people.
The USGS (United States Geological Survey) record of the earthquake
The seismograph recording of the earthquake
Two tectonic plates, the
Australian and Eurasian
plates, meet just off
Sumatra's south-west
coast, grinding
together and sending
periodic seismic
tremors through the
region.
At 0059 GMT a violent
rupture occurred on the
sea floor along a fault
about 1,000km long.
Area affected
The 9.0 magnitude quake,
which was the strongest in
the world for at least 40
years, wreaked havoc across
the whole region.
Walls of water, tens of
metres high, slammed into
coastal resorts thousands of
miles apart.
Surging seas and floods were
reported as far away as east
Africa.
Deadly wave
All along the rupture
the seafloor was
shunted vertically by
about 10 metres.
This movement
displaced the overlying
water, generating a
massive tsunami, or
tidal wave.
The wave then fanned
out across the Indian
Ocean at enormous
speed.
The waves spread out on their voyage of destruction
Within half an hour the waves had reached Sumatra and Malaysia
and swept ashore in Thailand.
Two hours later they reached Sri Lanka and India.
Within four hours they had crossed the ocean to the east coast of Africa
The power of tsunamis only becomes clear as they
approach shallow water along the coast
But from the beaches few people recognised the danger
of the white line on the horizon
Hildasan, 50, net-maker
I was repairing some
fishing nets in the
harbour when I saw the
waters rising. I'd never
seen anything like it. I
began to run for my life I knew something was
very wrong. The
rumbling noise, the
rising water, just didn't
make sense. As I ran
inland the sea seemed to
be roaring in the
background.
Their full force is unleashed as they break on to land
Sundar Raj, 21,
fisherman
I was sleeping in our
boat when the sea
began making a
rumbling sound. I saw
the water level rising. I
jumped into the water
and tied my boat to
the wharf as the waves
began lashing me from
behind. I climbed on to
the jetty and ran.
The killer wave strikes Kalutara Sri Lanka
The Aftermath
Early reports gave no
hint of the scale of the
disaster…….
“Scale of devastation
Thousands are reported
to have been killed, but
there has been little
news from the worst-hit
areas where all
transport and
communication links
were destroyed. “
bbc.co.uk 27.12.04
Low lying coastal
areas were left
obliterated and
flooded as here in
Aceh province in
Sumatra, Indonesia
Current reports
indicate that the north
and west coasts of
Sumatra have
experienced the worst
destruction
Whole villages were flattened as here in Sri Lanka
Fishing boats, which provide essential food supplies for local
people here in India, have been washed ashore
Scenes which were
repeated across the
Indian Ocean
Sri Lanka
Phuket,
Thailand
Low lying areas have
been left flooded with
seawater which quickly
becomes contaminated
with sewage and
decomposing bodies
Male in the
Maldives
Banda Aceh in
Sumatra, Indonesia
Millions of people have
been left homeless
Cuddalore, south of
Madras, India
Penang, Malaysia
V Govindan, 55, fish
seller
My house was blown
nearly half a kilometre
inland when the waves
came. I started
running with my wife
and four children. I
returned to the coast
in the evening and
saw that my home had
been washed away.
The signboard is still
there - The board
says: "Live prawns
bought here". Now life
is so uncertain.
Valli, 20, fish seller
My family has lived for
generations by the sea.
Everything almost
ended on Sunday as
the waves lashed our
house. We managed to
drag most of our
belongings from our
huts. Then we ran and
ran until we reached
the fisheries office,
which is now my home.
A family survey what is left of their home south of Colombo, Sri Lanka
“Paradise Lost”
Idyllic beach resorts
like Galle in Sri
Lanka, photographed
here in March 2004,
have been turned
into scenes of horror,
devastation and
death,
Now Hell on Earth
Phi Phi Island, Thailand
Beach debris at
Phuket, Thailand
All that remains of luxury
holiday accommodation on Phi
Phi Island, Thailand
Devastation on Khao Lak – a once beautiful beach
resort in Thailand
Communications have
been completely
disrupted
Bus station in Galle, Sri
Lanka
800 people died in a train
derailed by the waves in Sri
Lanka – it is the worst train
disaster ever recorded.
The human toll is huge – on 30.12.04 it stands at 125,000
Scenes of grief in India,
Malaysia and Indonesia
Millions have been injured
In Aceh, Indonesia, so many doctors have been killed that
there are few trained medical workers to assist the injured.
Many children – foreign and
local – have lost parents
Increasing numbers of
homeless people need
shelter, food and water
Clean drinking water is required to avoid
the spread of disease
Armed police in Galle, Sri Lanka try to
prevent looting
Identifying victims is a
grim task
Many who died can only be
identified by photographs,
fingerprints or DNA tests
Tourists in Phuket make contact with
frantic family members
In all affected areas
survivors are hungry as
food supplies run out
The threat of disease
increases
Medicines are needed
desperately
The evacuation of
foreign tourists from
the beach resorts
begins
Many are severely
traumatised
A British holiday maker arrives home from
the Maldives three days after the tsunami
Other survivors, such as these women
and children from the Nicobar Islands,
leave to a more uncertain future
Relief efforts, which have been slow to start, gather pace
as the enormity of the disaster begins to be appreciated
German relief workers prepare
to depart for Sri Lanka
French relief workers from
the Medecins Sans
Frontieres organisation
Indonesian Red Cross
workers in Jakarta
South Korean Red
Cross assistance
Clean, bottled water supplies are
assembled in Penang, Malaysia
Clothes are collected in
Sri Lanka
Distribution of food in
Madras state, India
In some areas relief
supplies are piling up
Disruption of
communications means that
emergency supplies cannot
be distributed efficiently
Coffins await transport to remote areas near
Phuket in Thailand
Co-ordination of relief efforts from throughout
the world is proving to be a major challenge
Four days after the tsunami many of the worst
affected areas cannot be reached
at 30.12.04
The death toll stands at 125,000
By the time you watch this, it will be
much higher.
“We view with awe a release of power on this
scale. We know that this power is greater than
that of our species – Nature holds us in its
hands. We may be able to lessen some of its
consequences, sometimes we can give advance
warning of the threat but we are not in control.”
The tsunami has demonstrated
that Nature, and not Mankind, is
the real master.”
William Rees-Mogg 27.12.04