In the early morning hours of December 26, 2004, an event of unimaginable magnitude unfolded in the Indian Ocean. A powerful undersea earthquake with a magnitude of 9.1-9.3 struck off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia, sending shockwaves across the ocean floor. Known as the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, it was one of the most powerful seismic activities recorded in history. The earthquake’s epicenter was located in the subduction zone, where the Indian tectonic plate slides beneath the Burma plate. Little did anyone know, however, that this seismological event would unleash a series of catastrophic waves that would go on to claim hundreds of thousands of lives and devastate coastal communities across the Indian Ocean.
