2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami
A magnitude 9.0 earthquake that struck off the west coast of the Indonesian Island of Sumatra on December 26, 2004 is the largest earthquake to occur in the world in 40 years. The earthquake generated a tsunami wave that spread across the Indian Ocean and devastated the coasts of Indonesia, south Asia, eastern Africa, and Madagascar.

NOAA 26 December 2004 Indonesian Earthquake and Tsunami Web-Link Compilation

Map showing the location of the earthquake epicenter and the countries most affected by the tsunami from the Waveofdestruction.org website.

The Earthquake, Tsunami, Damage, and Casualties

The Earthquake

USGS Official Measurements of the Sumatra-Andaman Islands Earthquake that caused the Indian Ocean Tsunami

Computer Simulation of Earth Movement that Spawned the Tsunami

The Tsunami

Tsunami Travel Time and Wave Heights

Chronology of NOAA’s Response to the Earthquake and Tsunami

Tsunami Predicted, Not Heeded

Ongoing Coverage of the Tsunami Disaster from BBC News

Tsunami Animations

Computer Animation of the tsunami wave propagation of the Dec. 26, 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami

Global Tsunami Propagation

Credit: U.S. National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

and U.S. National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program

Tsunami Propagation in the Indian Ocean

Credit: U.S. National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

and U.S. National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program

Tsunami Warning Systems

The Technology

The Next Big Wave – New Technology for Tracking Tsunamis

DART  (Deep-Ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami) Mooring System is a system designed as an effort of the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program (NTHMP) in the U.S. to develop an early tsunami detection and real-time tsunami reporting capability.

Tsunami Warning and Information Centers

International Tsunami Information Center

West Coast & Alaska Tsunami Warning Center

Pacific Tsunami Warning Center

Tsunami Response

Tsunami Readiness and Use of Watch and Warning Messages by Local Emergency Managers on the West Coast of the U.S. -- WSSPC Newsletter, EQ: Earthquake Quarterly, Summer 2003.

Indian Ocean Tsunami Images

These images show the impact of the tsunamis on parts of Sri Lanka, Thailand, India, and Sumatra.

Chenai, India

(IKONOS) image from Dec 29 2004 (Posted on Dec 30 2004 8:52PM)

Khao Lak, Thailand

(IKONOS) image from Dec 29 2004 (Posted on Dec 30 2004 7:00PM)

Sri Lanka

Indonesia

General Tsunami Information

Emergency Information and FAQs

Tsunami Fact Sheet

Tsunami! Weblinks

WSSPC Tsunami Center