The Indonesian Boxing Day Tsunami

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In 2004, the Boxing Day Tsunami caused by the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake took some 230000 lives in a matter of hours, becoming the deadliest recorded tsunami in history.

Destruction from the tsunami extended hundreds of meters inland and stretched for thousands of kilometers. Credit: Photographer’s Mate 1st Class Jon Gesch, USN. (Earth Magazine)


"At 7:59 AM, a 9.1-magnitude earthquake—one of the largest ever recorded—ripped through an undersea fault in the Indian Ocean, propelling a massive column of water toward unsuspecting shores. The Boxing Day tsunami would be the deadliest in recorded history, taking a staggering 230,000 lives in a matter of hours." (History)

National Geographic shared an incredible video taken from a hotel balcony of a wave generated from the tsunami off of the coast of Thailand.

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