Indian Ocean Tsunami Hits Hard
January 2, 2005
14 Countries Decimated
One week ago the worst Tsunami in recent history hit countries in Asia, Africa, and the Oceanic Islands. It resulted in over 10.73 billion dollars of damage and 350 thousand lives lost. The center of the 9.0 magnitude quake originated from the west coast of Sumatra, in the ocean, and had the energy of 23,000 Hiroshima atomic bombs. The 600 mile long crack in the earth moved trillions of tons of rocks and was the largest magnitude earthquake in 40 years. The result of all that energy was 50 foot waves that traveled 3000 miles from its epicenter to Africa.
Countries Affected by Earthquake and Tsunami
Powerful Waves Hitting Pedestrians
Waves Rushing Towards Mainland
An Act of Generosity
The one bright spot this horrid event gave us was that it was the most generously and most immediately funded international emergency relief effort ever. $13.6 billion dollars were pledged by generous donors for the damage caused by earthquake and tsunami.