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On the morning of Sunday 26 December 2004, a massive earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale struck Indonesia off the west coast of northern Sumatra. The epicentre was 30 kilometres under the seabed and approximately 250 kilometres south-southwest of Banda Aceh. In the nine hours following the enormous earthquake, 14 aftershocks with magnitudes between 5.7 and 7.3 occurred along the arc from Sumatra towards Nicobar and the Andaman Islands. There have been over a hundred aftershocks recorded since. The quakes triggered powerful tsunamis towering 10m in height that moved through the Indian Ocean region at over 500 km per hour. The tsunami waves caused widespread death and injuries, displaced thousands and destroyed towns, homes, infrastructure, and livelihoods and wrecked coastal areas. The worst affected countries were India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Seychelles, Thailand and Somalia. Bangladesh, Keyna and Australia also absorbed some of the brunt of the most devastating natural disaster in recent memory. Geoscience Australia stated that the earthquake was the result of plate collision at the boundary of two tectonic plates, creating a large fault or offset on the ocean floor. The displacement of the ocean floor generated the sea wave or tsunami, which spread from the epicentre across the Indian Ocean. A Seismologist with Geoscience Australia stated that "This is the largest earthquake in the world for forty years". The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent reports the human toll from the disaster, as at 23 March 2005, is: - Dead 273,636 (220,153 in Indonesia alone)
- Missing 7,253
- Displaced >1,590,707
- Homeless >507,496
It is possible that the true death toll from the event may never be known. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade reports that the current Australian death toll from the disaster stands at 21. Grave fears are still held for 6 people. The disaster prompted a momentous international humanitarian relief effort, sanctioned by the United Nations. An ASEAN Tsunami Disaster Summit was held in Jakarta on 5 and 6 January 2005, which the Prime Minister and Minster for Foreign Affairs attended. Key outcomes from the summit include: - agreement to urgently mobilise further, additional resources to meet the emergency relief needs of victims in the affected areas; and
- agreement to establish a regional early warning system such as a Regional Tsunami Early Warning Centre for the Indian Ocean Region.
The Australian Government initiated considerable relief operations, with relief effort being mobilised within the first 36 hours of the event. A high level strategic Inter-Departmental Emergency Taskforce (IDETF) was convened by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to manage Australia’s whole of government response. The Australian Government Overseas Assistance Plan (AUSASSIST PLAN) was activated, in conjunction with AusAID, and activities under the plan were coordinated by EMA. Examples of the activities undertaken include the deployment of specialist humanitarian relief supplies and specialist medical and public health teams for communities in Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. This was made possible by the significant cooperation and support from both Australian Government agencies and State/Territory Government agencies. The Australian Government has committed more than $1 billion to the ongoing relief efforts. The Australian community also rallied together to raise approximately $235 million to help tsunami victims. Relief operations are continuing. Related websites: |
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