December 26, 2004 Tsunami: 12 years on

On the night of December 26, 2004, a massive quake of magnitude 9.1-9.3 — with its epicentre in Bay of Bengal — triggered one of the biggest Tsunamis the world had ever witnessed. The massive waves, measuring up to 30 metres, created havoc in 15 different countries killing more than 200,000 people. 

More than half of those who perished in the calamity belonged to Indonesia.
In India, over 10,000 people were killed in the disaster, which is considered to be one of the deadliest in recorded history. The extent of damage it caused was attributed to a number of reasons, mainly poor infrastructure and warning systems and large population living in coastal areas.

As per the official count, 10,136 people died in India with majority of the casualties reported from Tamil Nadu. However, unofficial estimates believe the actual number could have been over 18,000 people. The second most affected region in India was Andaman and Nicobar islands where official death toll reached over 1,300, with over 5,500 missing.

Millions were displaced and subsequent research work revealed that the environment also suffered damage because of it. The only active volcano of the country, Barren 1 on Andamad Islands, erupted on December 30 as a result of the seismic activity. However, nobody was harmed in the incident.

Since the unfortunate incident in 2004, India and other countries along Indian Ocean belt have now advanced their security systems to respond quickly to any such warning in the future. Meanwhile, the 2004 Tsunami remains etched in memories of millions throughout the world as one of the most devastating natural disaster to have occurred in recorded history.

-Indian Express
-Agencies