The earthquake is termed a ‘megathrust earthquake’, measuring 9.3 on a seismograph. This types of earthquake is the planet’s most powerful and the one which shook the Indian Ocean in 2004 occurred when the Indian Plate slid under the Burma Plate. The energy released by earthquake on the earth’s surface was 1.1×1017 joules, the equivalent of 1500 Hiroshima atomic bombs
The sudden vertical rise of the seabed by several metres during the earthquake displaced massive volumes of water, resulting in a terrifying tsunami. The tsunami took anywhere from fifteen minutes to seven hours to reach coastlines. The northern regions of Indonesia, primarily Aceh, was the first to be hit.
Nearly all of Indonesia’s 115 000 causalities were from within Aceh. The coastline was virtually destroyed. Only remnants of concrete buildings stood in the aftermath, with the majority of houses, being made from wood and corrugated iron, turned to debris. A US reconnaissance pilot described the scene as “You can’t really explain. There used to be towns and
cities there. All the people once had homes, lives. Now there is nothing.”
Beyond the loss of lives and property, the earthquake caused an enormous environmental impact. Ecosystems such as mangroves, coral reefs, forests, coastal wetlands, vegetation, sand dunes and rock formations, animal and plant biodiversity and groundwater were severely damaged. Furthermore, the spread of solid and liquid waste and industrial chemicals, water pollution and the destruction of sewage facilities introduces new dangers to the environment.