Atlas · Today in history · earthquake
December 26 MMIV 2004
Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
Sumatra, Indonesia — death toll estimated at 227,898.
A M9.1-9.3 megathrust earthquake ruptured the Sunda subduction zone off northwestern Sumatra at 00:58:53 UTC on December 26, 2004, with a rupture length of roughly 1,300 kilometers — the longest ever recorded. The tsunami reached coastlines around the Indian Ocean basin within 2-7 hours; waves topped 30 meters in Aceh. Approximately 227,898 people died across fourteen countries, making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history.