Post by Banana Cat on Dec 26, 2008 0:49:52 GMT -5
The Indian Ocean Tsunami/Earthquake happened 4 years ago on 26 December 2004. I've seen areas that were hit by that Tsunami before, directly after, and again this year, and I can personally tell you that it was indeed the worst natural disaster ever recorded. The devastation was unbelievable and areas of certain countries are still recovering from it.
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Countries where deaths occurred (Confirmed, Estimated):
Indonesia 130,736, 167,736
Sri Lanka 35,322, 21,411
India 12,405, 18,045
Thailand 5,395, 8,212
Somalia 78, 289
Myanmar 61, 600
Maldives 82, 108
Malaysia 68, 75
Tanzania 10, 13
Seychelles 3, 3
Bangladesh 2, 2
South Africa 2, 2
Yemen 2, 2
Kenya 1, 1
Total ~184,168 ~230,210
This earthquake was the biggest in the Indian Ocean, in some 700 years, or since around A.D. 1400. In 2008, a team of scientists working on Phra Thong, a barrier island along the hard-hit west coast of Thailand, reported evidence of at least three previous major tsunamis in the preceding 2,800 years, the most recent from about 550 to 700 years ago. A second team found similar evidence of previous tsunamis during the last 1,200 years in Aceh, a province at the northern tip of Sumatra. Radiocarbon dating of bark fragments in soil below the second sand layer led the scientists to estimate that the most recent predecessor to the 2004 tsunami probably occurred between A.D. 1300 and 1450.
This earthquake was the fourth most powerful earthquake recorded since 1900, and the confirmed death toll is just under 200,000 due to the ensuing tsunami. The deadliest earthquakes since 1900 were the Tangshan, China earthquake of 1976, in which at least 255,000 were killed; the earthquake of 1927 in Xining, Qinghai, China (200,000); the Great Kanto earthquake which struck Tokyo in 1923 (143,000); and the Gansu, China, earthquake of 1920 (200,000). The deadliest known earthquake in history occurred in 1556 in Shaanxi, China, with an estimated death toll of 830,000, though figures from this time period may not be reliable.
The 2004 tsunami is the deadliest in recorded history. Prior to 2004, the deadliest recorded tsunami in the Pacific Ocean was in 1782, when 40,000 people were killed by a tsunami in the South China Sea. The tsunami created by the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa is thought to have resulted in 36,000 deaths. The most deadly tsunami between 1900 and 2004 occurred in 1908 in Messina, Italy, on the Mediterranean Sea, where the earthquake and tsunami killed 70,000. The most deadly tsunami in the Atlantic Ocean resulted from the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, which, combined with the toll from the actual earthquake and resulting fires, killed over 100,000.
The 2004 earthquake and tsunami combined have been described as the deadliest natural disaster since either the 1976 Tangshan earthquake or the 1970 Bhola cyclone, or could conceivably exceed both of these. Because of uncertainty over death tolls, it might never be known for sure which of these natural disasters was the deadliest.
Source: Wikipedia
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Countries where deaths occurred (Confirmed, Estimated):
Indonesia 130,736, 167,736
Sri Lanka 35,322, 21,411
India 12,405, 18,045
Thailand 5,395, 8,212
Somalia 78, 289
Myanmar 61, 600
Maldives 82, 108
Malaysia 68, 75
Tanzania 10, 13
Seychelles 3, 3
Bangladesh 2, 2
South Africa 2, 2
Yemen 2, 2
Kenya 1, 1
Total ~184,168 ~230,210
This earthquake was the biggest in the Indian Ocean, in some 700 years, or since around A.D. 1400. In 2008, a team of scientists working on Phra Thong, a barrier island along the hard-hit west coast of Thailand, reported evidence of at least three previous major tsunamis in the preceding 2,800 years, the most recent from about 550 to 700 years ago. A second team found similar evidence of previous tsunamis during the last 1,200 years in Aceh, a province at the northern tip of Sumatra. Radiocarbon dating of bark fragments in soil below the second sand layer led the scientists to estimate that the most recent predecessor to the 2004 tsunami probably occurred between A.D. 1300 and 1450.
This earthquake was the fourth most powerful earthquake recorded since 1900, and the confirmed death toll is just under 200,000 due to the ensuing tsunami. The deadliest earthquakes since 1900 were the Tangshan, China earthquake of 1976, in which at least 255,000 were killed; the earthquake of 1927 in Xining, Qinghai, China (200,000); the Great Kanto earthquake which struck Tokyo in 1923 (143,000); and the Gansu, China, earthquake of 1920 (200,000). The deadliest known earthquake in history occurred in 1556 in Shaanxi, China, with an estimated death toll of 830,000, though figures from this time period may not be reliable.
The 2004 tsunami is the deadliest in recorded history. Prior to 2004, the deadliest recorded tsunami in the Pacific Ocean was in 1782, when 40,000 people were killed by a tsunami in the South China Sea. The tsunami created by the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa is thought to have resulted in 36,000 deaths. The most deadly tsunami between 1900 and 2004 occurred in 1908 in Messina, Italy, on the Mediterranean Sea, where the earthquake and tsunami killed 70,000. The most deadly tsunami in the Atlantic Ocean resulted from the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, which, combined with the toll from the actual earthquake and resulting fires, killed over 100,000.
The 2004 earthquake and tsunami combined have been described as the deadliest natural disaster since either the 1976 Tangshan earthquake or the 1970 Bhola cyclone, or could conceivably exceed both of these. Because of uncertainty over death tolls, it might never be known for sure which of these natural disasters was the deadliest.
Source: Wikipedia