Twenty years have passed since the massive earthquake and tsunami that devastated Southeast Asia on December 26, 2004, killing over 220,000 people and displacing millions more. The disaster was triggered by a 9.2-magnitude earthquake off Indonesia’s coast, which sent a 100-foot wall of water towards communities around the Indian Ocean.
Countries hit hardest included Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand, with entire villages collapsing and being washed away. Initial rescue efforts were stretched thin, leaving survivors isolated and vulnerable to disease. The international community responded with a massive $13 billion donation, making it the largest humanitarian response to any natural disaster at that time.
Today, researchers say signs of the disaster are still visible decades later, with affected regions continuing to lag behind economically compared to unaffected areas. Many survivors still live with post-traumatic stress, and experts warn that the region is not yet fully prepared for another tsunami.
The historic earthquake was caused by the subduction of the Indo-Australian tectonic plate beneath the Eurasian plate. While earthquakes like this are rare, occurring once every several hundred years, seismologists caution that their intervals can be highly irregular.
In response to the 2004 disaster, millions of dollars were spent on upgrading tsunami warning systems, including buoys and sirens. The Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System (IOTWS) became operational in 2011, but experts say there are still stretches of coastline that lack preparedness measures.
The United Nations aims to make 100% of at-risk communities tsunami-ready by 2030 through its Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. As Syarifah Nargis, a survivor of the disaster, recently said, “Disasters can strike at any time. Always stay alert, understand potential hazards, and know your evacuation routes.”
Source: https://www.foxweather.com/extreme-weather/indian-ocean-tsunami-earthquake-20-years-later