The scope of the tragedy
(from Time, January 10, 2005
The death toll has surpassed 150,000 and will surely climb. Thousands are missing, and millions have been left homeless, threatened by diseases that are spread through dirty water, mosquitos and over-crowing.
The Countries involved
The countries involved in the earthquake are the following: Tanzania, Kenya, Somalia, Maldives, India, Sri Lanka,
BanglaDesh, Burma, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia.
Was it a Tidal wave? (onda di marea)
Tsunamis are not tidal waves because they are not influenced by the gravitational effect of the moon. But their appearance from shore can be similar to a rapidly rising or falling tide, and severity of a tsunami can be affected by the level of the tide when the waves hit land.(from Time, January 10, 2005
La potenza e la pericolosità di uno tsumami può essere calcolata dal livello della marea quando le onde colpiscono la terra.
Remember! The Indian plate (placca) usually moves northeast about 6cm a year. Scientists estimate that in last week's quake, the two plates slid about 15m at once.
What causes a tsunami?
A tsunami (a Japanese word that translates as "harbor wave" is triggered (causata, scatenata) by the vertical disturbance in the ocean, such as an earthquake, landslide or volcanic eruption.(from Time, January 10, 2005
Definition of Tsuname for Wikipedia.
Earthquake of 26th December 2004
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC (07:58:53 local time) on December 26, 2004. The earthquake generated a tsunami that was among the deadliest disasters in modern history. At a magnitude of 9.0, it was the largest earthquake since the 9.2 magnitude Good Friday Earthquake off Alaska in 1964, and tied for fourth largest since 1900.
The earthquake originated in the Indian Ocean just north of Simeulue island, off the western coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The resulting tsunami devastated the shores of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and other countries with waves of up to 15 m (50 feet) high, even reaching the east coast of Africa, 4500 km (2,800 miles) west of the epicentre.
The causes of the Tsunami
The disaster was caused by a massive earthquake off the coast of Indonesia where two plates of the earth's crust grind against each other.(from Time, January 10, 2005A.