Source: Recover Lanka
Photo: TamilNet, 26 December 2004
Photo: TamilNet, 26 December 2004
Photo: TamilNet, 26 December 2004
On this day, ten years ago, a magnitude 9.1 earthquake struck beneath the Indian Ocean near Indonesia, generating a massive tsunami that claimed more than 230,000 lives in fourteen different countries, one of the deadliest natural disasters ever recorded. Today, many of the communities have recovered, though painful memories and some ruined structures remain in place. Across Asia today, memorials were held in remembrance of the thousands of victims. Amid the commemorations, continued warnings from earthquake experts that early-warning systems need even more development and funding in the region. Gathered here are images of the 2004 event, a series of then-and-now comparison images, and photos from today’s memorials.
by Alan Taylor, ‘The Atlantic,’ New York, December 26, 2014
Waves wash through houses at Maddampegama, about 60 kilometers (38 miles) south of Colombo, Sri Lanka, on December 26, 2004. Tsunami waves triggered by earthquakes crashed into villages along a wide stretch of Sri Lankan coast, killing more than 35,300 people and displacing millions. # AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe
Waves crash through houses at Maddampegama, Sri Lanka, on December 26, 2004. # AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe
A natural color satellite image shows the coastline of the southwestern city of Kalutara, Sri Lanka on December 26, 2004 at 10:20 a.m. local time, slightly less than four hours after the 6:28 a.m. (local Sri Lanka time) earthquake and shortly after the moment of tsunami impact. # AP Photo/DigitalGlobe