The M w 9.0 Earthquake Off Sumatra & Indian Ocean Tsunami, 26 December 2004

1. Ms. Wisch’s 3rd-grade classroom Paradise Canyon Elementary School La Canada, California 4 January 2005 The Mw9.0 Earthquake Off Sumatra & Indian Ocean Tsunami, 26 December 2004 Ken Hudnut U. S. Geological Survey

2. Tilly Smith, 10 years old, saved people from the tsunami ! LONDON — A British schoolgirl who recognized the signs of a coming tsunami thanks to a recent geography lesson saved her family and some 100 other tourists at a Thai beach, a British newspaper reported.Tilly Smith, 10, realized they were in danger when she saw the tide suddenly rush out — an indication earthquake-driven tidal waves are only minutes away — and told her mother. She explained that she had studied tsunamis only two weeks before at her school in Oxshott, just south of London. Her parents, Penny and Colin Smith, warned nearby vacationers and staff at their hotel in Phuket, and the hotel swiftly evacuated Maikhao beach, minutes before the devastating waves struck.The beach was one of only a few in Phuket where no one was killed or seriously hurt. "I was on the beach and the water started to go funny," Tilly said. "There were bubbles and the tide went out all of a sudden. I recognized what was happening and had a feeling there was going to be a tsunami. I told mummy."

3. Motion between the plates causes earthquakes and volcanoes

4. This is really bad news for people (like us!) living around the Pacific Rim, also known as the Ring of Fire Motion between the plates causes earthquakes and volcanoes

5. Earthquakes & People Earthquakes sometimes hit big cities Istanbul Tokyo Mexico City Jakarta Santiago

6. Where the India plate is pushed down beneath the Banda micro- plate, it is being SUBDUCTED. Where the two plates’ surfaces are sliding past each other, it gets caught for hundreds of years and then the stored stress is released in a big earthquake.

7. Tsunami was started by the earthquake • The sea floor moves upwards and over • This pushes up the water up above Now the tsunami has begun and will travel

8. If you feel anearth-quake,get tohighground!

10. Sittwe, Myanmar Photo by Tom Nash

11. Changtha, Myanmar Photo by Tom Nash

12. Changtha, Myanmar Photo by Tom Nash

13. Changtha, Myanmar Photo by Tom Nash

14. Bay of Bengal, India Photo by Tom Nash

15. ‘Friends’ - Kenya Photo by Tom Nash

16. Your Questions (page 1): • What caused the earthquake? Fault slip between the plates caused a rapid sea floor shift that pushed the water to the west • When did the earthquake start? 7:58:53 a.m. local time • What part of the ocean near Indonesia did the earthquake happen in? Between the islands of Simeulue and Nicobar • GO TO MAP ON NEXT SLIDE… • What happened to animals in the area? • Did sea creatures die, too? • Did people feel the quake? • How far can the waves caused by the quake go? • Did it happen in the day or night?

17. Location • Epicenter near Simeulue Island • Aftershocks extend past the Nicobar and Andaman Islands

18. Your Questions (page 1): • What caused the earthquake? Fault slip caused a rapid sea floor shift • When did the earthquake start? In local time, it was 7:58:53 a.m. • What part of the ocean near Indonesia did the earthquake happen in? Between the islands of Simeulue and Nicobar • What happened to animals in the area? Many escaped! • Did sea creatures die, too? Yes, many could not escape. Some dolphins were being rescued from where they were trapped • Did people feel the quake? Yes, but not strongly in Sri Lanka • How far can the waves caused by the quake go? All around the world many times - the whole earth rang like a bell • Did it happen in the day or night? It happened in day light

19. Your Questions (page 2): • How deep was the water when it went over land? Several meters many places • How much land was covered by water, and was it all in Indonesia? Coastal strips along NW Sumatra and many small islands, as well as Sri Lanka and SE India and parts of Thailand’s coast • SEE NEXT SLIDE FOR A SATELLITE IMAGE OF THE DAMAGED AREA • How long did the tsunami last? • How many died? • How many survived (children and babies)? • Did some people live or work close to the water? • How tall was the tsunami?

20. Banda Aceh • Tsunami swept over land at the NW tip of Sumatra leaving a path of destruction in its wake

21. Your Questions (page 2): • How deep was the water when it went over land? Several meters many places • How much land was covered by water, and was it all in Indonesia? Coastal strips along NW Sumatra and many small islands, as well as Sri Lanka and SE India and parts of Thailand’s coast • How long did the tsunami last? • SEE NEXT SLIDE FOR A MAP OF TSUNAMI TRAVEL TIME • How many died? • How many survived (children and babies)? • Did some people live or work close to the water? • How tall was the tsunami?

22. After about 12 hours, the tsunami had run its course (travel time map) From Dr. Kenji Satake, GSJ

23. Your Questions (page 2): • How deep was the water when it went over land? Several meters many places • How much land was covered by water, and was it all in Indonesia? Coastal strips along NW Sumatra and many small islands, as well as Sri Lanka and SE India and parts of Thailand’s coast • How long did the tsunami last? About 12 hours • How many died? The current estimate is about 155,000 fatalities • How many survived (children and babies)? Millions of people safely survived • Did some people live or work close to the water? Yes, many of the people killed lived in low areas next to the ocean, and some worked as fishermen or in shipping along the coast. Others catered to tourists at the beaches and resorts. • How tall was the tsunami? In some places, the wave reached 10 meters tall

24. Your Questions (page 3): • How many houses were ruined? Probably many thousands • How many hotels were ruined? Probably dozens at the resorts • Was it possible for people to swim up to the surface if they were caught in the wave? For some people yes, for others, sadly no • How strong was the tsunami? (pressure) It flowed with about the force and speed of a deep, strong river current - people could not stand up • Did more adults or kids die? Many kids died if they couldn’t get away fast enough or if they could not swim or weren’t strong enough to hold onto some floating material for a very long time. Still, more adults died. • Did some buildings withstand the waves because of how they were made? Yes, strong buildings made it through but flimsy ones didn’t

25. Your Questions (page 4): • Why wasn’t it possible to warn people? There need to be good instruments on buoys and anchored on the sea floor to detect the tsunami and predict how it will hit the coastlines. In the Pacific Ocean we have this, but they did not have this in the Indian Ocean. There is now a plan to build such a network by the end of 2005. Our computer models need to be even better (this is what I and my colleagues are working on). There need to be good sirens along the shore. • Were any leaders of countries killed? No, I have not heard of any that were • How many countries did it affect? People were killed in each of eleven countries. Tourists who were traveling in these countries and who were killed in the disaster came from all over the world, so it affected at least 27 other countries. • What were the population losses in different countries? SEE NEXT SLIDE • Did all of Indonesia have people die? • Did hospitals get destroyed? Stores?

26. Fatalities in each country India; >9,400 Sri Lanka; >46,000 Myanmar; 59 Thailand; >4,900 Somalia; 114 Malaysia; 66 Maldives; 82 Indonesia; >94,000

27. Your Questions (page 4): • Why wasn’t it possible to warn people? There need to be good instruments on buoys and anchored on the sea floor to detect the tsunami and predict how it will hit the coastlines. In the Pacific Ocean we have this, but they did not have this in the Indian Ocean. There is now a plan to build such a network by the end of 2005. Our computer models need to be even better (this is what I and my colleagues are working on). There need to be good sirens along the shore. • Were any leaders of countries killed? No, I have not heard of any that were • How many countries did it affect? Thousands of people were killed in each of eleven countries • What were the population losses in different countries? (last slide) • Did all of Indonesia have people die? Most deaths were in the northwestern part of Sumatra, in Aceh province and especially the city of Banda Aceh. • Did hospitals get destroyed? Stores? I do not know about hospitals; certainly many stores would have been destroyed especially in the cities and coastal resort areas.

28. Your Questions (page 5): • How many people are still missing? Many thousands or tens of thousands of people, from what I have read about this. It may be hard to ever know. • Did trees get knocked down? Yes, one person reported looking back over his shoulder as he ran away, and he saw 4 big palm trees go ‘snap, snap, snap, snap’ crashing down behind him as the water came rushing towards him. • Is the sea around the earthquake or tsunami area a big mess? Yes, it is choked with debris and all of the ports and harbors are cluttered so that relief efforts cannot use ships to bring in supplies. They are using airplanes and helicopters. • Were Americans killed? Yes, 15 now known Europeans? Hundreds • How much water was in the tsunami? About 20 X Great Salt Lake • How much food and water was destroyed? Water was made salty and may now have bad germs in it such as Cholera. Nearly all drinking water was contaminated and is now unsafe to drink. Food and crops were extensively damaged in large areas since the lowlands were used for farming were inundated. • What did people do when it was happening? Some fled to safe high ground or a rooftop, some were caught in the wave and tried to swim or grab something that was floating, and some were hurt or knocked out by the debris in the water. • Did the water soak in on the land, or did it go back into the sea? Some amount sank in, but most flowed back to sea. A lot formed salt-water puddles, damaging the fields that had been good for farming beforehand.

29. Your Questions (page 6): • Did the tsunami push sand into people? Many people were killed by the force of the tsunami, and all kinds of debris and material crushing into them - including sand that sometimes covered them also • Did the tsunami affect any volcanoes? The earthquake was followed by re-awakening of Barren Island, a well-known volcano in the Andaman Islands that was active within the past 10 years. • SEE NEXT SLIDE OF BARREN ISLAND • How many people are homeless? • What was the weather like when it happened? • Did people think it was just a regular wave? • What was the history of tsunamis in that area? • Would people have seen water in ponds or lakes move during the earthquake?

30. Barren Island volcano

31. Your Questions (page 6): • Did the tsunami push sand into people? Many people were killed by the force of the tsunami, and all kinds of debris and material crushing into them - including sand that sometimes covered them also • Did the tsunami affect any volcanoes? The earthquake was followed by re-awakening of Barren Island, a well-known volcano in the Andaman Islands that was active within the past 10 years. • How many people are homeless? Probably hundreds of thousands • What was the weather like when it happened? Clear weather, full moon • Did people think it was just a regular wave? It sounds as if almost everywhere people realized something very unusual was happening - something bizarre • Would people have seen water in ponds or lakes move during the earthquake? Yes, that is called seiching and it is common to see this, even in swimming pools • What was the history of tsunamis in that area? Krakatoa, 1883 - SEE SLIDE

32. Krakatoa, 1883 • Tsunami killed 36,000 in southeastern Sumatra and Java • Wave heights of up to 37 meters • Volcano blown apart • Heard blast 2,908 miles away

33. ‘Vacationers at Sunset’ - Myanmar Photo by Tom Nash