Contemporary · Southeast Asia · Disaster
2004
Indian Ocean Tsunami
December 26, 2004
A magnitude-9.1 earthquake off Sumatra unleashed tsunamis that radiated across the Indian Ocean at jet speed, striking Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand within hours. Two hundred and thirty thousand people died in fourteen countries. There was no warning system. The disaster, captured on tourist cameras, produced the largest international relief effort in history.
In context
Also in 2004 (4 other events on record)
- Facebook founded in a dorm · North America · Technology
- EU expands eastward · Europe · Politics
- Madrid train bombings · Europe · War
- Beslan school siege · Europe · War
Before and after in Southeast Asia
Before and after in Disaster
Era
Contemporary (2001–2026), one of 196 events from that era on Saeculum.