THE BEGINNINGS OF AN UNPRECEDENTED DISASTER:
- On the morning of Sunday, December 26, 2004, a massive earthquake off the coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia
- The earthquake measured 9.0 on the Richter scale and was the world's largest in 40 years
- The quake shook the earth's crust for eight minutes
- It unleashed enormously powerful waves that hit Sumatra within 15 minutes and crossed the Indian Ocean at nearly 500 miles an hour
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- The waves reached the East African coastline seven hours later, some 3,100 miles away from the earthquakes epicentre
- These tsunamis devastated coastal communities in Indonesia and 11 other Indian Ocean countries: Sri Lanka, India, Maldives, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Somalia, Tanzania, Seychelles, Bangladesh and Kenya
- The United Nations estimates more than 225,000 people died, one million people were displaced and five million people were deprived of basic services
- Thousands of foreigners who were holidaying in coastal resorts died, among them 26 Australians
- In barely 24 hours, the disaster caused damage estimated at $10 billion.
- The Australian government made a commitment of $1 billion over 10 years
Source: Federal parliament report
