2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami

On 26 December 2004, at 07:58:53 local time, a major earthquake with a magnitude of 9.1–9.3 Mw struck with an epicentre off the west coast of Aceh in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The undersea megathrust earthquake, known by the scientific community as the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, was caused by a rupture along the fault between the Burma plate and the Indian plate, and reached a Mercalli intensity of IX in some areas.

A massive tsunami with waves up to 30 m high, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami after the Boxing Day holiday, or as the Asian Tsunami, devastated communities along the surrounding coasts of the Indian Ocean, killing an estimated 227,898 people in 14 countries, violently in Aceh, and severely in Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu, and Khao Lak. The direct results caused major disruptions to living conditions and commerce in coastal provinces of surrounded countries.