Devastation on Boxing Day in Indonesia: 10 years later
The Boxing Day, or Asian tsunami was triggered by an earthquake off the coast of the Island of Sumatra, Indonesia in 2004.
The Indian Ocean or the Sumatran-Andaman earthquake, hit just before 1pm NZ time on December 26, 2004.
The magnitude 9.3 quake occurred along the Indian and Eurasian plates and caused a 1,200km section of the earth’s crust to surge upward, displacing a large body of water.
In deep water waves travel quickly, but remain low. On reaching shallower water waves move slower but at a greater higher.
The tsunami reached speeds of up to 800km/h and heights of up to 30 metres.
The Nicobar and Andaman Islands were the first coastlines to be hit, less than 10 minutes after the quake. Banda Aceh was hit shortly after.
The tsunami reached Thailand and Sri Lanka after two hours, and Somalia after 7 hours.
The wave spread around the world, with tidal fluctuations being recorded as far away as Iceland and the Eastern United States.
Indonesia suffered the greatest number of casualties, with an estimated loss of nearly 168,000 people, and more that half a million left homeless.
Sri Lanka, India and Thailand also suffered heavy loss of life and destruction.
Casualties occurred in 12 countries and are estimated at around 230,000 with nearly 1.7 million people displaced.
55 countries lost people to the tsunami, many of them tourists. Germany and Sweden suffered the greatest loss of lives among countries not directly hit. Five New Zealanders died and 26 Australians.
Forensic work was used to attempt to identify many of the victims. DNA testing was also used in authenticating parents claiming lost infants.
The international response to the disaster was unprecedented with over $20m in aid being pledged.
