Taking Bearings

Chennai, India — On December 26, 2004,  a massive earthquake with a magnitude of 9.1 to 9.3 struck the seafloor off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The earthquake was one of the most powerful ever recorded, and it caused a series of tsunamis that devastated coastal areas around the Indian Ocean, affecting several countries including Indonesia, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, and many others.

The earthquake occurred at a depth of 30 km and caused the seafloor to shift by several meters, which in turn caused the tsunamis to form. The waves of the tsunami were up to 30 meters high and traveled up to 5 km inland, causing widespread destruction and loss of life.

One of the deadliest natural disasters in history, the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami killed an estimated 230,000 people killed. Millions were left homeless. The tsunami also damaged infrastructure, homes, and businesses in affected areas, leading to long-term economic and social impacts.

Years after the giant waves struck, along the Chennai and the Tamil Nadu coastline in Southern India, wave-like lines of shoes and the human possessions still lay scattered along high-tide and high storm storm surge beachlines. The shoes gave poignantly evidence that thousands of people were simply swept out to sea as the tsunami receded.

In Southern India around  Chennai (formerly known as Madras), a coastal city located in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The tsunami waves caused extensive damage to the city’s coastline, infrastructure (e.g., roads, bridges, buildings, etc.), homes, businesses, and other properties, and led to a large number of casualties and injuries. While the exact number of casualties is unknown, but it is estimated that over 8,000 people died. Thousands of people  forced to leave their homes and seek shelter in relief camps or simply live in temporary roadside shelters. The local fishing fleets were destroyed.

In the aftermath of the disaster, the government of India and various international organizations provided aid and support to the affected communities in Chennai and other parts of the country. The United States brought aircraft carriers with water desalinization plants that could also help secure local airspace for rescue efforts. Reconstruction efforts were undertaken to rebuild the damaged infrastructure and restore the livelihoods of those affected by the disaster.  Recovery efforts include improvements to tsunami warning systems and other disaster preparedness measures.

See:  https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/displacedbydisaster/displaced-disaster