The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, 26 December 2004, with an epicenter off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra - Andaman earthquake. The resulting tsunami was given various names, including the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, South Asian tsunami, Indonesian tsunami, the Christmas tsunami and the Boxing Day tsunami.

The earthquake was caused when the Indian Plate was subducted by the Burma Plate and triggered a series of devastating tsunamis along the coasts of most landmasses bordering the Indian Ocean, killing 230,000 people in fourteen countries, and inundating coastal communities with waves up to 30 metres (100 ft) high. It was one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history. Indonesia was the hardest-hit country, followed by Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand.

With a magnitude of Mw 9.1Ð9.3, it is the third-largest earthquake ever recorded on a seismograph. The earthquake had the longest duration of faulting ever observed, between 8.3 and 10 minutes. It caused the entire planet to vibrate as much as 1 centimetre (0.4 inches) and triggered other earthquakes as far away as Alaska. Its epicenter was between Simeulue and mainland Indonesia. The plight of the affected people and countries prompted a worldwide humanitarian response. In all, the worldwide community donated more than $14 billion (2004 US$) in humanitarian aid. Read more ..

20 years after the 9.3 earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Sumatra, Indonesia   BBC - December 26, 2024
On 26 December 2004 at 07:59 local time, a magnitude 9.1 undersea earthquake struck 240km west of Sumatra, Indonesia, rupturing the greatest fault length of any recorded earthquake (1,500km long), and releasing energy equivalent to 23,000 atomic bombs. The tsunami waves it triggered spread across the Indian Ocean at speeds of up to 800km/h (as fast as a jet airliner), devastating coastal areas in more than a dozen countries and killing 230,000 people in what would become one of the greatest natural disasters in modern history. But it was Aceh, Indonesia Ða province already blighted by decades of civil war that was hardest hit, particularly the capital Banda Aceh, where waves of up to 20-30m swept through the city, destroying more than 60% of its buildings and killing an estimated 61,000 people (around 25% of the population.) Twenty years on, Banda Aceh has been rebuilt and is thriving once more.

20 years after a devastating tsunami, a survivor celebrates what the disaster has given him   NBC - December 26, 2024 Watana Sittirachot was raised at an orphanage in Thailand for children affected by the 2004 Asian tsunami. Now, 20 years after the disaster changed the course of his life, heÕs running the place himself.

Thursday December 26, 2024

I remember a friend calling to tell me what happened as I drove home from my daughter Nikki's house after our annual Christmas celebration.

Focus was slowly turning to natural disasters and climate change as more than infrequent events. But it would be years before people said, "I never thought this could happen to me but ..."

Today we recognize climate change is global and there's no going back. It gives greater insight into the understanding that when something happens in one part of the world ... it affects every other part ... especially when it comes to the physical planet. It's all connected.

There really is nothing that can be done to stop what's coming - but with greater understanding of reality itself - people have come to realize it's all part of something much larger as we are part of a simulated experience that is completing.

This, in turn, means different things to different people based on their programming in the simulation of reality. Reality can only be processed through one's emotions. It's the 'place' you go after your mind connects with whatever or whomever ... until you realize you have no control over destiny and you let events play out.

2025 is going to be a wild ride not only because it's a 9 year but the 'signposts' for chaos are already in place.