A tsunami is a giant wave caused by an undersea earthquake, volcanic eruption, or landslide. Tsunamis are often mislabeled as tidal waves but are actually unrelated to tides. The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed over 200,000 people was caused by a massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Sumatra that shifted tectonic plates and displaced rock, generating huge waves that destroyed communities across East Africa and Southeast Asia within hours.

3. A tsunami is a giant wave (or series of
waves) created by an undersea
earthquake, volcanic eruption or
landslide . Tsunamis are often called
tidal waves, but this is not an accurate
description because tides have little
effect on giant tsunami waves.

4. -> Also called seismic sea wave .
->Generated by an undersea geologic event, such as a
great earthquake, volcanic explosion, or underwater
landslide .
->“Tsunami” in Japanese means “harbor wave” .
->Tsunamis are not “tidal waves” .

5. Subduction Zone Earthquake
-> Oceanic crust collides with continental crust and is forced downward .
-> Compression forces build until rock fractures and an earthquake occurs .

6. *
*REASON BEHIND THE 2004 TSUNAMI

7. 1. The December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was caused by an earthquake
that is thought to have had the energy of 23,000 atomic bombs.
2. The epicenter of the 9.0 magnitude quake was under the Indian Ocean near
the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
3. The tectonic plates in this area had been pushing against each other, building
pressure for thousands of years – they continue to do so and will likely cause
underwater earthquakes and tsunamis in the future.
4. The shifting of the earth’s plates in the Indian Ocean on December 26, 2004
caused a rupture more than 600 miles long, displacing the seafloor above the
rupture by perhaps 10 yards horizontally and several yards vertically. That doesn't
sound like much, but the trillions of tons of rock that were moved along hundreds
of miles caused the planet to shudder with the largest magnitude earthquake in
40 years.

8. 5. Within hours of the earthquake, killer waves radiating from the epicenter
slammed into the coastline of 11 Indian Ocean countries, damaging countries from
east Africa to Thailand.
6. The Indian Ocean tsunami traveled as far as 3,000 miles to Africa and still
arrived with sufficient force to kill people and destroy property.
7. The risk of famine and epidemic diseases was extremely high immediately
following the tsunami – bodies rotting in the tropical heat contaminated food and
water sources.
8. Many people in Indonesian reported that they saw animals fleeing for high
ground minutes before the tsunami arrived – very few animal bodies were found
afterward.

10. Dead and missing in countries hit by December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami
Country dead missing total
Indonesia 126,473 93,943 220,416
Sri Lanka 30,957 5,637 36,594
India 10,749 5,640 16,389
Thailand 5,595 3,001 8,596
Somalia 298 * - 298 *
Maldives 82 - 82
Malaysia 68 - 68
Burma 61 - 61
Tanzania 10 - 10
Bangladesh 2 - 2
Kenya 1 - 1
Total 174,296 108,221 282,517

11. Map contours: 1-hour intervals,
colored as : Red: 1-4 hour arrival times
Yellow: 5-6 hour arrival times
Green: 7-14 hour arrival times
Blue: 15-21 hour arrival times

13. REFERENCES :
-> worldatlas.com
-> dosomething.org
-> wikipedia.org
-> nationalgeographic.co.in