TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - In the early morning of December 26 of 2004, a mega-tsunami hit the Indonesian province of Aceh caused by a magnitude 9.1 earthquake. In just under 10 minutes, thousands of cubic meters of ocean water were displaced into the land and killed over 170,000 people in Indonesia with thousands more in surrounding countries that were unfortunately in the tsunami’s path.
The cause of the 2004 Aceh Tsunami
The undersea earthquake that triggered the deadly tsunami took place in the western area off the coast of Aceh. This single tsunami is still recorded as one of the strongest of this century. A number of scientific literature recorded the quake between magnitudes of 9.1 to 9.3. Meanwhile, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) recorded the violent quake at a magnitude of 9.1.
The fault that stretches from the west Aceh sea up to the Andaman Sea registered as the Eurasian and Indo-Australia plates is considered to be the longest-stretching fault, according to the National Science Foundation.
A number of tsunami waves entered Aceh’s mainland in just 6 minutes, driven by the shallow nature of the quake which had a hypocenter, or depth, of only 10 kilometers. Scientific reports suggest the earthquake fracture consisted of between six segments to 11 segments along a length of 1,155 kilometers where the Eurasian and Indo-Australia plates meet.
The Global Effects Caused by the Tsunami
The first earthquake happened at 07:59 Western Indonesia Time (WIB) and caused multiple tsunami waves to hit a number of coastal countries in Southeast Asia such as Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, and a number of South Asian countries such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and India. The incredible energy from the waves even reached countries on the Eastern coast of Africa such as Somalia and Seychelles, reportedly killing 303 people.
There were 16 countries affected by the earthquake with Indonesia suffering the worst due to the country's close range of its epicenter. Strong waves devastated cities such as Banda Aceh, Aceh Besar, West Aceh, Aceh Jaya, Pidie, Bireun, and Lhoksumawe.
Overall, the 2004 tsunami claimed 226,308 lives across the list of countries that were affected. Meanwhile, in Indonesia, 173,741 people were killed while another 394,539 people were displaced and forced to live in refugee camps. Among the victims in Indonesia, as many as 534 Swedish nationals were killed in the disaster, making it the European country with the most citizens killed in Indonesia during the disaster.
A book titled ‘Aceh Post-Fifteen Years of the Tsunami’ written by Syamsidik and colleagues recorded that the Aceh tsunami also caused losses in several sectors. According to data from the February 2005 evaluation conducted by the government and the donor community, 1,488 schools were ruined and around 150,000 students were affected.
As many as 26 health community centers (Puskemas), nine harbors, and 230 kilometers long of public highway sustained heavy damages. The agriculture sector also took a massive hit after the 2004 Aceh tsunami damaged 11,000 hectares of land with 2,900 hectares among them permanently damaged. Meanwhile, around 90 percent of coral reefs around Aceh waters were also damaged. All these damages weakened Aceh’s economy down to 15 percent in the following year.
HENDRIK KHOIRUL MUHID
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