36 minutes ago
- copy link
Date- 26 December 2004
Place- Sumatra Island of Indonesia
It was about 8 o’clock the next morning after Christmas. Many people had not woken up yet. At the same time, there was a strong movement in the Indian and Burman tectonic plates 30 km below the earth, west of Sumatra Island in Indonesia. This movement caused an earthquake of more than 9.1 magnitude in the Indian Ocean.
This earthquake was so strong that high waves arose in the Indian Ocean. These waves were moving at a speed of approximately 800 km/hour and were colliding with each other after hitting the shore. As they were shrinking, their height was increasing. As the height increased, the wave water was entering the cities and populated areas of many countries.
Waves with an average height of 57 feet had engulfed major cities of many countries. As the waves moved forward, the scene of death spread. More than 2 lakh people died in 14 countries including Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka and Japan. Maximum 1.72 lakh people were killed in Indonesia.
At many places the height of these waves was more than 100 feet. These waves that cause death are known as tsunami.
See the devastation caused by Tsunami, the scene of death and the pain of losing loved ones in these pictures…
Picture 1- Relief workers stacking dead bodies in Indonesia
In the picture, army soldiers engaged in relief work are collecting these dead bodies at one place. Relief workers used to pack the bodies of people killed in the tsunami waves in black polythene and transport them in trucks.
Picture 2 and 3- The pain of losing loved ones
The photo is of a woman in Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, India celebrating the death of her relative in the tsunami.
The picture is of Cuddalore itself, in which many women are crying over the loss of their loved ones.
Picture 4 – Scene of defeat in the battle of life
A woman clings to floating debris as a tsunami hits the city of Banda Aceh, Indonesia. An attempt was made to save the woman, but she had lost the battle of life.
Picture 5- Search for loved ones in the pile of dead bodies
More than 1,000 bodies were collected outside a Buddhist temple in Thailand’s Takua Pa district. People had come to search for their loved ones among these dead bodies.
Photo 6 and 7 – Mass burial of dead bodies
Tsunami victims were buried together in Takua Pa, Thailand.
The bodies were buried together in Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu.
Picture 8- Searching for loved ones in the pictures of the dead
In Velankanni, Tamil Nadu, photographs of the dead were put together so that people could identify their loved ones.
Picture 9- Recovery of dead bodies from the debris
The picture is of Indonesian soldiers, in which they are removing dead bodies from the pile of debris.
Pictures 10 and 11 – Only traces of the devastation remain
This is what the picture of devastation looked like after the tsunami in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
The entire area except the Lampuk Mosque in the Lhokanga area near Banda Aceh was destroyed in the tsunami. Later this mosque was made a relief centre.
Picture 12 – Homes were also destroyed
A building near Ton Sai Bay on Phi Phi Island, Thailand was completely destroyed. The photo shows fragments of the building.
Picture 13 – Beaches strewn with debris from the disaster
The beach in Patong, Phuket, Thailand, is strewn with mangled vehicles and debris after it was hit by a tsunami.
Picture 14- The dream of home, which was once a reality, was shattered.
In the photo, a man in Pandiruppu village on the east coast of Sri Lanka sits looking amid the debris of his house destroyed by the tsunami.
Picture 15- Amazing feats of destruction
In the photo, an Indonesian man looks towards a boat, which is floating above a damaged house after the disaster.