INDONESIA: The earthquake that triggered the December tsunami had a magnitude of 9.3. It struck at 7.58am on December 26th, 66km off the coast of northwest Sumatra, ripping apart the sea floor 24km beneath the surface.
The resulting wave travelled thousands of kilometres across the Indian Ocean, and when it struck land it claimed the lives of almost 300,000 people in countries as far apart as Indonesia, the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Somalia.
The first, and worst hit, was Banda Aceh in northern Sumatra where 200,000 are now thought to have been killed in just 15 minutes.
Tsunami waves radiated out, sweeping across Thai resorts as some Christmas revellers were rising and others were already on the beaches. They crossed the Indian Ocean, striking the coast of Sri Lanka, the Maldives and southeast India with devastating force. In early reports, Indonesia estimated that 26,000 had died. At least 12,000 were said to have died in Sri Lanka, and another 5,600 in India.
With fears that thousands more people could be trapped beneath ruined buildings and bridges, and with concerns about cholera and other diseases, relief agencies, the United Nations and western governments launched an unprecedented relief effort.
Nonetheless, as the days and weeks passed, relief agencies relentlessly revised their estimates of casualties upwards.
The final toll in Indonesia was about 126,000 dead and 93,000 missing. The number of homeless was estimated at 800,000. However, the exact number of victims may never be known.
The scale of the disaster captured the world's sympathy and prompted an unprecedented level of donations.
By mid-January $717m in aid had been been promised by donor countries. Japan, the biggest donor, pledged £215m.
A few days after the disaster there were calls for the establishment of a tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean. But officials said it would take at least six months to establish such a network.
In the interim, Japan and the US are providing alerts on seismic activity in the Indian Ocean region. The second step will see tidal movement gauges fitted near Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, while 15 gauges already in place will be upgraded. In the final phase, expected to be completed by the end of 2006, a regional warning centre will be built. - (Guardian Service)