2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was one of the largest ever recorded, with a moment magnitude of about 9.1 to 9.3, and it struck off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia, on 26 December 2004. It was caused by the sudden slip of the Indian plate beneath the Burma plate along a fault more than a thousand kilometers long. The rupture displaced the sea floor and generated a series of huge tsunamis that crossed the Indian Ocean within hours, devastating coastal areas of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and as far as the coast of Africa. The disaster killed well over two hundred thousand people in many countries, with the Aceh province of Indonesia hit hardest. It led to a major international relief effort and the creation of a tsunami warning system for the Indian Ocean.

Open on the timeline