A 9.1-magnitude earthquake off the western coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra island triggered huge waves that swept into coastal areas of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and nine other nations around the Indian Ocean basin.
Here is a look back at the impact of the deadliest tsunami in history.
Faultline rupture
The tsunami was triggered by the longest faultline rupture from an earthquake ever observed, seconds before 7:59 am on December 26, 2004.
The ocean floor opened at least 1,200 kilometres (750 miles) in length between the India plate and Burma microplate.
It created waves more than 30 metres (100 feet) high, releasing energy equivalent to 23,000 Hiroshima atomic bombs and causing widespread destruction.
The magnitude was initially recorded at 8.8, before the United States Geological Survey gave its official magnitude of 9.1 and depth as 30 kilometres (18.6 miles).
The epicentre was located 150 miles from Sumatra’s coast.
Indonesia is a vast archipelago nation on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an arc of intense seismic activity stretching from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.
Huge death toll
