Southeast Asia Earthquake 2004

Strongest earthquake in 40 years• Occurred on

December 26, 2004• Magnitude 9.0

undersea mega thrust earthquake

• Struck off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia

• Over 140,000 confirmed deaths and around 160,000 estimated deaths

http://cubegod.hubpages.com/hub/Top-5-Deadliest-Natural-Disasters-In-History

After effects of earthquake• The strength of the earthquake

caused massive tsunamis to hit the coast of the Indian Ocean

• When the tsunami hit Thailand, the waves were around 10 feet tall

• The tsunami was estimated to have released the energy of 23,000 Hiroshima-type atomic bombs

• Left millions homeless• As of 1 January, 2005, there were

about 84 aftershocks with magnitudes ranging from 5.0 to 7.0 in the region of Northern Sumatra and the Nicobar and Andaman Islands. http://www.international.ucla.edu/calendar/showevent.a

sp?eventid=2512

Plate tectonics

• The earthquake occurred in the subduction zone where the India Plate slides under the overriding Burma Plate

• The slip didn’t happen all at one time, but took place in two parts over a period of a couple minutes

http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/hazards/events/12262004.html