December 26, 2004 Tsunami: 12 years on

Map of the Indian Ocean showing a computer-generated model from NOAA measuring maximum wave height for the 2004 tsunami.

The 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami or Christmas Tsunami, caused fatalities among large number of tourists because of the holiday season. Today marks the 12th anniversary of that devastating event.

Speaking to Indian Express on 10th anniversary of the Tsunami in 2014, Ministry of Earth Sciences Secretary Shailesh Nayak said, “The absence of an early warning system in India at that time was not because of any lack of capability or expertise, but because no one had thought that a tsunami of that size could ever hit India. Not much is known about the last major tsunami to hit India, in the 1880s. The tsunami that hit the western coast in 1945 too is poorly documented”.

Woman mourns the death of her relative (L) who was killed in tsunami in Cuddalore. (Source: REUTERS/Arko Datta/Files)

As per the official count, 10,136 people died in India with majority of the casualties reported from Tamil Nadu. However, unofficial estimates believe the actual number could have been over 18,000 people. The second most affected region in India was Andaman and Nicobar islands where official death toll reached over 1,300, with over 5,500 missing.

Millions were displaced and subsequent research work revealed that the environment also suffered damage because of it. The only active volcano of the country, Barren 1 on Andamad Islands, erupted on December 30 as a result of the seismic activity. However, nobody was harmed in the incident.

A Thai man searches for his relative amid hundreds of corpses in a temple off the coast of Ban Muan in this December 29, 2004 file photo. (Source: Reuters)

On January 1, 2005, Ministry of Home Affairs released a ‘Tsunami impact report’ which said: “The Tsunamis have caused extensive damage in Andaman & Nicobar Islands, the States of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu and UT of Pondicherry. 97 aftershocks of intensities between 5.0 to 7.0 on Richter scale have been reported so far. The death toll is now at 9575. This is likely to go up once confirmation regarding 5801 missing persons/feared dead (as per preliminary survey) in the Nicobar Group of Islands is received.”

According to the report, a total of 36,09,000 were impacted only in mainland states – Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. A concerted relief and rescue operation followed the catastrophic event and the world community donated over $14 billion in 2004 as aid. Apart from India and Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand were also severely impacted.

In this December 28, 2004 file photo, a boat passes by a damaged hotel, at Ton Sai Bay on Phi Phi Island, in Thailand. (AP Photo/Suzanne Plunkett, File)

Since the unfortunate incident in 2004, India and other countries along Indian Ocean belt have now advanced their security systems to respond quickly to any such warning in the future. Meanwhile, the 2004 Tsunami remains etched in memories of millions throughout the world as one of the most devastating natural disaster to have occurred in recorded history.