Modern Histories Biggest Earthquake

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Largest earthquake in modern times breaks 625 miles of Andaman fault

line, creates 45 feet Tsunami and kills more than 25000 in South Asia

Balaji Reddy, Special Correspondent

December 27, 2004

 

 

http://216.132.172.240/indiadaily/editorial/12-27-04.asp

It is the largest earthquake known to modern civilization with a

reading of close to 9.2 in Richter scale. It started with a

precursor near the coastline of Sumatra, a series of shocks happened

one after the other and before all was done, 625 miles (1000

Kilometers) of Andaman thrust or fault line broke. The result was

devastation never seen before in modern times. 45 feet tall Tsunamis

(coastal tidal waves) originating from the epicenter of the

earthquakes, crushed onto the shores of Sri Lanka, India, Maldives,

Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and other countries in the region.

 

According to reports we are receiving, this is not a simple

earthquake, it is the mega quake that happens once every thousand

years. No one knows how much after shock will devastate the area.

Never ever in the known human history in modern times, an earthquake

happened that broke 1000 miles of fault line.

 

 

 

More than 25,000 people are dead or missing. The death toll

eventually can rise to 100,000. The damage to economy and crops can

be staggering.

 

No one is getting any information from Andaman Nicobar Islands,

which is affected the most. Indian Air Force is flying sorties to

help the affected in the region.

 

In addition, there is no information from many of the ships in the

region at the time.

 

The survey now says the quake centered off the west coast of

northern Sumatra, has been upgraded to a 9.2 magnitude, making it

the one of the largest earthquake since 1899 and may be the largest

since 1600.

It was the largest quake in the world since 1964, Reuters reports

Julie Martinez, geophysicist for the U.S. Geological Survey's

Earthquake Hazards Program in Golden, Colorado, as saying.

 

That year, an earthquake struck Alaska's Prince William Sound.

 

Sunday's quake, first struck at 7:59 a.m (0059 GMT) off the coast of

Aceh province on the northern Indonesian island of Sumatra and

appeared to swing north into the Andaman islands in the Indian

Ocean. It triggered a tsunami that killed hundreds in Sri Lanka,

Thailand, Indonesia and India.

"About 1,000 kilometers of the Andaman thrust (or faultline) broke,

which is a huge area," Martinez said. "This doesn't occur that

often. To have a break along that long of a faultline, that is more

unusual."

 

As the Earth moves and its plates hit each other, the Earth breaks

in one area and pressure is built up in a different area, Martinez

said. When that pressure builds up, another earthquake occurs, she

said.

 

The quakes that follow, or aftershocks, are minor readjustments

along the fault after the main shock or quake occurs, Martinez

explained.

 

"Usually, aftershocks are in more or less the same area," she

said. "Because of the size of this quake, you will see more quakes

in a larger area because the break or the faultline is larger."