The Sumatra Earthquake

Created by :Amna Hamdani, Faneeze Jaswal, Izza Ghafoor, and Maheema Siddiqi

Geography VIIISupervised By: Ms. Maleeha

Beacon House School System SBGR

What was the Sumatra Earthquake?

-The sumatra Earthquake was taken place in Sumatra, Indonesia, have been the mercy of many recent major earthquakes.

-It happened on December 26, 20o4, it was one of the largest earthquakes recorded.

- A massive tsunami occurred when the earthquake happened.

- This enormous quake generated these most damaging and deadly tsunami in recorded history.

Location This earthquake and tsunami occurred in Sumatra, Indonesia

-- The epicenter was in the Indian Ocean, at some 500 kilometers, west from North sumatra Island, 30 kilometers North.

-The quake was perceived by scared people from Indonesia, Singapore and other places.

Magnitude - Magnitude is the greatness of size or amount.

- early reports gave Magnitude of M 8.0 - 8.5 for the 2004 quake - while quake location or epicenter, can be determined rapidly - accurate Magnitude is more problematic location based upon seismic wave arrival times at seismographic stations.

- Indonesia is located in the Ring of Fire.

Crustal Plates Movement.

The earthquake occurred at the margin of two crustal plates, where the Indian Plate subducts beneath the overriding Burma Plate. As two plates move towards one another, one plate typically will override the other. As you can imagine, two huge plates of rock moving against each other create a lot of friction and the movement typically is not smooth flow but rather a pattern of pressure building up and then sudden release and movement. Earthquakes set off seismic waves in the earth. These seismic waves in the crust are what people feel when they experience an earthquake. These types of waves are often described as shaking of the ground.

Intensity The intensity of an earthquake becomes weaker outward from the epicenters.

It was 9.3 on the moment magnitude scale (the third largest earthquake ever recorded on a seismograph). On the Mercalli scale it was rated as a 12.

- The earthquake lasted about ten minutes and caused a devastated tsunami.

- Indonesia was the hardest hit countries, including Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.

-Its epicentre was between Simeulue and mainland Indonesia.

Tsunami and Warning

-After the Earthquake, the seismic waves caused the Earth to shake so much that the water by Indonesia formed a Tsunami.

- After the Earthquake, everyone in the country was warned that there might be a tsunami.

Death Toll and Destruction 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. Indonesia, Bangladesh, Thailand, India, Somalia, South Africa and many more.

- It was one of the most devastating natural disasters in recorded history.

-Panic-stricken people on Indonesia's Sumatra island ran from homes, hospitals and schools as a strong earthquake struck Tuesday, killing at least 82 and destroying buildings, trapping many under rubble. Television images showed collapsed homes and offices, with others still standing but scarred by giant cracks and listing precipitously. The injured crowded under tents set up on hospital grounds, lying on mats and fanning themselves against the heat. Hospitals in the disaster zone were already working at full capacity, rescue coordinators said.

Bibliography - Wikepedia.com -Technotics.com - Nae.edu-eeri.org- Ngdc.edu