Background
Used with permission of geology.com
The December 26, 2004 earthquake and tsunami that devastated the area of Indonesia is one of the most cataclysmic natural disasters, in recorded history and the largest earthquake in thirty years. The monstrous waves (some reaching heights of 10 meters or 30 feet) that crashed into the coasts of the surrounding islands were caused by an enormous shift in the seafloor as a result of a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, and following aftershocks (geology.com). A 1200 to 1300 long rupture along the Sunda Andaman trenches in the Indian Ocean occurred due to the earthquake.
Used with permission of geology.com
The rupture allowed the underwater topography to shift both laterally and vertically. Peaks in the trench rose as much as 15 meters (50 feet) in seconds, lifting ocean waters above them and causing massive waves. The earthquake /tsunami combination is responsible for nearly 200,000 deaths, thousands of missing persons, over a million of homeless and displaced, and hundreds of millions of dollars of destruction (Grilli et al., 2006). The disaster was a truly global event with large waves reaching as far as the coasts of the Middle East, Africa, and Australia.
Much of the destruction due to the tsunami could have been prevented if more was understood about the behavior and warning signs of tsunamis. Better detection and construction methods along with more active evacuation protocols in areas such as Indonesia where tsunami activity is a legitimate concern can greatly reduce both material and human costs in another tsunami event.
