Effect of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake on India

According to official estimates in India, 10,136 people were killed and hundreds of thousands made homeless when a tsunami triggered by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake near the Indonesian island of Sumatra struck the southern coast on 26 December 2004. The earthquake registered 9.1–9.3 M_w and was the largest in five decades. It was followed by strong aftershocks on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

This disaster affected a total of fourteen regions. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands comprise 572 islands (land masses at low and high tide), of which 38 are inhabited by people from the mainland and indigenous tribes. The islands were just north of the earthquake epicentre, and the tsunami reached a height of 15 metres (49 ft) in the southern Nicobar Islands. The official death toll was 1,310, with about 5,600 missing. The unofficial death toll (including those missing and presumed dead) was estimated at about 7,000. This ocean earthquake goes down in history as the deadliest of all time. It took the lives of over 230,000 victims throughout the fourteen regions and wounded more than double this number.

The Great Nicobar and Car Nicobar islands were the worst hit among all the islands because of their proximity to the quake and relatively flat terrain. Aftershocks rocked the area, and one-fifth of the population of the Nicobar Islands was reported dead, injured or missing.Chowra Island lost two-thirds of its population of 1,500. Entire islands were submerged, and Trinket Island was divided in two. Communications were cut to the Nancowry group of islands, some of which were submerged.

On Car Nicobar, 111 Indian Air Force personnel and their family members were washed away when the tsunami severely damaged their air base. St. Thomas Cathedral (also known as the John Richardson church after John Richardson, a missionary and member of parliament) was washed away. The church, established in 1930 was one of the oldest and prominent churches in the region. A cricket stadium named after John Richardson and a statue dedicated to him were also washed away.

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