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Earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean, 26 December 2004

The tsunami that occurred on December 26, 2004 was the worst tsunami ever recorded, in terms of lives lost. In the hopes that disasters like this can be avoided in the future, we try to understand the mechanism and impact of this tsunami. The information presented here is focused on geologic aspects of the disaster.

• Tsunami Generation from the 2004 M=9.0 Sumatra Earthquake: view simulated animations
   
• The December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami:
  • Initial Findings on Tsunami Sand Deposits, Damage, and Inundation in Sri Lanka
    Features a photo gallery of the survey conducted January 9-15, 2005
  • The 26 December 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami: Initial Findings from Sumatra
    Features a photo gallery of the survey conducted January 20-29, 2005
     
• Sumatra Tsunami Field Reports, 30 March - 26 April 2005
  Read about the field studies of the effects of the 26 December 2004 and 28 March 2005 tsunamis in Sumatra.