Effect of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake on Norway

**Norway**
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(In Detail Flag of Norway The flag of Norway is red with an indigo blue Scandinavian cross outlined in white that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog, the flag of Denmark.- History :... )

Overview

The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...

was an undersea megathrust earthquake

Megathrust earthquake

Megathrust earthquakes occur at subduction zones at destructive plate boundaries , where one tectonic plate is forced under another. Due to the shallow dip of the plate boundary, which causes large sections to get stuck, these earthquakes are among the world's largest, with moment magnitudes ...

of moment magnitude

Moment magnitude scale

The moment magnitude scale is used by seismologists to measure the size of earthquakes in terms of the energy released. The magnitude is based on the seismic moment of the earthquake, which is equal to the rigidity of the Earth multiplied by the average amount of slip on the fault and the size of...

9.5 that struck the Indian Ocean off the western coast of northern Sumatra

Sumatra

Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...

, Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

on 26 December 2004 at 00:58:50 UTC (07:58:50 local time in Jakarta

Jakarta

Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...

and Bangkok

Bangkok

Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...

Norwegian citizens in the affected region

Formally identified dead: 84 (updated 18 May 2005)
People who were in the affected areas at the time of the disaster: ca. 7 660

Problems in reporting

The first few days, the Norwegian Foreign office was in charge of collating names and information about people reported missing or with possible whereabouts in the environs of the hit areas. According their information, 21 Norwegian citizens were killed during the calamity, and about 1 600 were either missing or of unknown whereabouts presumptively in the general South and East Asia regions.

On 30 December the national police took over the lists, which actually had partial information (duplicate or triplicate listings etc.) on more than 8 000 entry lines.

Through the work of the police this was whittled down to below 300. On 3 January the police published a list with names of 279 missing persons, and that there in addition were 16 confirmed deaths (no list published). The drop from 21 to 16 was explained by more stringent demands as to legal presumption of death.

It soon transpired that there had been a fair amount of miscommunication, reporting snags and computer errors, even typing errors. Many people who learned that they were on their lists, were able to call in and were removed. By the afternoon of 5 January the names of missing persons had been lowered to 80, and it was furthermore stated that the number of "confirmed" deaths had been overreported by four (16 instead of 12) due to a typing error.

Apparently due to the stringency of presumed death declarations, a Norwegian Tamil woman who was killed in the waves in a part of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

controlled by the Tamil Tigers, found after one day, identified by local friends and relatives and buried in Sri Lanka on 2 January, remained listed as "missing" on the official list. But on 6 January her name was removed, and the statistics of confirmed dead increased from 12 to 13.

On 18 January the Police published numbers of dead and missing according to an altered system. The number of deceased (eight) included only those whose formal identification had been confirmed by the pertinent civic authorities. The number of missing (then eighty) thus included some people whose bodies had been identified by relatives or friends, but not yet by the authorities.

History

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

has been a Norwegian tourist destination of great popularity for many years. In recent years, more and more Norwegians have also started to celebrate Christmas in the warmth of the south Asian weather, instead of celebrating at home, where the weather can be rough, with temperatures far below zero degrees celsius as well as snow. In light of these facts, the impact of the catastrophe

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...

has a large psychological and personal impact on the small nation.

In Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

, there are reports of three Norwegians dead, one of them a Norwegian citizen born in the Tamil part of the country and doing volunteer work at an orphanage in her town of birth. The tradition of vacationing there is much more limited than Thailand. The Norwegian Embassy was in a state of emergency following the disaster.

Impact

This disaster exerted significant psychological impact everywhere in the world. Tourism is South-East Asia's biggest export and it was disrupted considerably. However, it is making a comeback with more and more tourists visiting each year.

A memorial for the victims of the tsunami catastrophe of 26 December 2004 was initiated by the Norwegian government. The memorial is meant to be a dignified place for reflection and contemplation for all people affected by catastrophes. The sculpture by John Audun Hauges entitled Interferens is located on the western shore of Bygdøy

Bygdøy

Bygdøy or Bygdø is a peninsula on the western side of Oslo, Norway. Administratively, Bygdøy belongs to the borough of Frogner.Bygdøy has several museums, like the Kon-Tiki Museum, which shows all year long the legendary expeditions of Thor Heyerdahl; the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History ; the...

in Oslo. It was officially unveiled by HM King Harald V of Norway

Harald V of Norway

Harald V is the king of Norway. He succeeded to the throne of Norway upon the death of his father Olav V on 17 January 1991...

on 19 October 2007.

Norwegian external links

English external links

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