Earthquake and Tsunamis - Dec 26,
Aceh, North Sumatra

Click here to view Aceh Province (Humanitarian Reference Map)

Background
* Courtesy Source from Relief Web

The magnitude 9.0 earthquake that struck the area off the western coast of northern Sumatra on Sunday morning, 26 December , at 7:59 am local time (00:59 GMT) triggered massive waves, or tsunamis, that inundated coastal areas in countries all around the Indian Ocean rim - from Indonesia to Somalia. Sri Lanka, the Indonesian province of Aceh, four states of southern India, the Maldives, and coastal areas of Thailand, Malaysia, and Myanmar were the most severely affected. The earthquake epicentre was located at 3.30N, 95.78E at a depth of 10 kilometres. The area is historically prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the margins of tectonic plates. However, waves of this magnitude are rare and therefore the level of preparedness was very low.

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