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.