2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami

The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra - Andaman earthquake. The resulting tsunami was given various names, including the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, South Asian tsunami, Indonesian tsunami, the Christmas tsunami and the Boxing Day tsunami.

The earthquake was caused when the Indian Plate was subducted by the Burma Plate and triggered a series of devastating tsunamis along the coasts of most landmasses bordering the Indian Ocean, killing over 230,000 people in fourteen countries, and inundating coastal communities with waves up to 30 meters (100 ft) high. It was one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history. Indonesia was the hardest-hit country, followed by Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand.

Patong Beach, Phuket

PHUKET: People on Phuket should be prepared for the next tsunami, according to scientists who have settled the debate about whether another big wave will follow the one that smashed the region in 2004.
Nine years on, researchers have discovered a cave on the Indonesian island of Sumatra that provides a ''stunning'' record of Indian Ocean tsunamis over thousands of years.

It's only a matter of ''when'' not ''if '' another tsunami strikes, they say. 
Authorities on Phuket are notoriously lax at allowing awareness of the potential for a tsunami to dim with time. Most evacuation signs on Phuket are being allowed to fade.
Now, the scientific results indicate, resort managements and local Phuket officials would be wise to always advise guests to be prepared for the next big wave.
They say layers of tsunami-borne sediments found in the cave in northwest Sumatra suggest the biggest destructive waves do not occur at set intervals - meaning communities in the area should be ready at all times for a tsunami.
''It's something that communities need to know,'' research team leader Charles Rubin said, adding that the team wanted to ''promote safety of coastal communities''.
More than 240,000 people were killed around the Indian Ocean in the December 26, 2004 tsunami, including 5400 tourists and residents in Thailand.
Professor Rubin and other researchers from a Singapore institute were working with scientists from an Indonesian university when they discovered the cave, south of Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province.

Le Khao Lak Hotel knocked down

The popular tourist resort of Phuket was badly hit. The smaller but increasingly popular resort area of Khao Lak some 80 km north of Phuket was hit far worse with 3,950 confirmed deaths, however, the death toll in Khao Lak may have exceeded 4,500. The severity of the situation in Khao Lak is probably explained by the fact, that unlike the high-rise hotels of Phuket, the village of Khao Lak only had low instead of high-rise concrete hotels. There was no warning of the first wave so people had no idea it was coming. These days, Thailand is better prepared for tsunamis as they are 3 hours away from being hit again if there is a new tsunami

Khao Lak also has an extensive area of flatland only a few meters above the sea level, on which most bungalows were situated. Due to the naive idiocy of placing these bungalow on flood risk land hundreds possibly thousands died inside of their hotel rooms. Hundreds of holiday bungalows on the Phi Phi Islands were washed out to sea. Tuk-tuk drivers were quick to offer assistance, driving victims to hospitals, higher grounds and away from the surging waters.Bhumi Jensen, grandson of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej, was among those killed. The nearby Ko Lanta Yai, however, wasn't afflicted as badly. At some places in Phuket and Phang Nga provinces, elephants were used to move and lift heavy wreckage to search for victims and to clear roads. These included six male Indian elephants which had previously been used in making the movie Alexander. On a beach in Thailand, a man was leading an elephant to entertain tourists, when the tsunami came. The elephant's natural instinct to flee the sea saved the life of a young girl who was upon his back.

More than 240,000 people were killed