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Monday, December 27, 2004

On 26th Dec - Tsunamis hit coastal areas of south India after an earthquake in Sumatra, Indonesia. Tamil Nadu worst affected.

26th December 2004
Earthquake and Tsunamis in India and South-East Asia.

Tsunamis hit the coast of South India on Sunday morning, after an earthquake measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale, caused large-scale death and destruction in Sumatra, Indonesia and parts of South-East Asia.


What is a Tsunami?
Tsunami is a Japanese term, which is used in English to describe a giant wave produced by an earthquake or an underwater volcanic eruption. These waves rise to great heights and cause catastrophic damage near coasts.


The coastal areas of Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Kerala, and Andhra Pradesh have been badly affected.

Chennai's popular Marina Beach was smashed by Tsunamis on 26th Dec., Sunday morning, around 09:30 IST.
Images of the damage caused at Marina Beach in Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, India.

I didn't feel the tremors here in Western India, but the loss is huge in coastal Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Coastal parts of Andhra Pradesh and Kerala have also been affected.

The epicentre of the earthquake was off the northwest of Sumatra, Indonesia and the tremors were felt in Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Maldives, and India, with coastal parts of South India rocked by huge killer waves on Sunday morning.

Read the latest news on the Earthquake in South-East Asia, and the Tsunamis that hit the coastline of south India.

Read Wikipedia on the Indian Ocean earthquake.

A report in The NYT's Science section says, 'Tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean could have prevented damage'.
Read NYT's report on the earthquake in South-East Asia. (Registration required).

An article in The Times of India says-


"Though the tsunami that hit Sumatra island took three hours to crash into the Indian coast, no measures to save life and property could be taken. The lack of knowledge on tsunami is to be blamed, says the government."


Links to earthquake news from The Hindu, NDTV, Rediff, and The Telegraph.


This is a personal blog and I'm not a journalist. However, if this helps people, then why not. If you want to know about the latest news in Chennai you may email bloggers from Chennai. Links to blogs from Chennai - Sumankumar, Kiruba, and Karthik.