Humanitarian response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
Overview
The humanitarian response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
was prompted by one of the worst natural disaster
s of modern times. On 26 December 2004, the earthquake
, which struck off the northwest coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra
, generated a tsunami
that wreaked havoc along much of the rim of the Indian Ocean. Particularly hard-hit were the countries of India
, Indonesia, Sri Lanka
, and Thailand
. Nearly 230,000 people were killed, tens of thousands more were injured, and 10 million became homeless and displaced.
Governments, humanitarian organisations, Asian expatriates and individuals around the world scrambled to offer aid and technical support.
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 prompted by one of the worst natural disaster
Natural disaster
A natural disaster is the effect of a natural hazard . It leads to financial, environmental or human losses...
s of modern times. On 26 December 2004, the earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
, which struck off the northwest coast of the Indonesian island of 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...
, generated a tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
that wreaked havoc along much of the rim of the Indian Ocean. Particularly hard-hit were the countries of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Indonesia, 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...
, and Thailand
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...
. Nearly 230,000 people were killed, tens of thousands more were injured, and 10 million became homeless and displaced.
Governments, humanitarian organisations, Asian expatriates and individuals around the world scrambled to offer aid and technical support.
