The cruel numbers of nature: How the 2004 tsunami began

On the morning of Sunday, December 26, 2004, a massive earthquake hit off the coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. It was the largest quake to have struck the planet in 40 years and shook the earth's crust for ten minutes. The waves that were unleashed would claim more than 220,000 lives. This is how the 2004 tsunami unfolded.

1. The 2004 Boxing Day tsunami was triggered by an earthquake off the coast of the island of Sumatra, Indonesia.

2. The quake with an estimated magnitude of 9.2 struck just before midday Australian time (AEDT) on the 26th of December

3. This unleashed destructive waves which hit the Nicobar and Andaman Islands within ten minutes. Banda Aceh was struck ten minutes later.

4. The tsunami reached Thailand and Sri Lanka after two hours, and Somalia after seven hours.

5. According to the US Geological Survey 227,898 people were killed or listed as missing and presumed dead.

6. 1.7 million people were displaced in 14 countries in Southeast Asia.

7. Another report by the Indonesian Minister of Health estimated the death total to be as high as 220,000 in Indonesia alone, giving a total of 280,000 casualties.

8. 55 countries lost people to the tsunami, many of them tourists.

9. Up to 9000 foreign tourists were among the dead or missing. Germany and Sweden suffered the greatest loss of lives among countries not directly hit. Sweden’s death toll was 543l.

10. Five New Zealanders died along with 26 Australians.

11. Some estimates have put the top speed of the tsunami wave as high as 800km/h reaching a height of 30 metres.

12. The earthquake along the Indian and Eurasian plates was the third strongest quake ever recorded on a seismograph. The two stronger quakes - one in Alaska in 1964 (9.2) and another in Chile in 1960 (9.5) - both produced tsunamis.

13. It is estimated to have shifted a 1200km section of the earth’s crust releasing energy equivalent to 23,000 Hiroshima bombs.

14. The 2004 earthquake and resulting tsunami was the world’s deadliest natural disaster since the 1976 Tangshan earthquake. Reports put the death toll from this disaster anywhere between 240,000 to 650,000 people.

15. Flooding in Bangladesh in 2004 destroyed more than 1 million homes, displaced over 4 million people and was estimated to have affected 30 million lives.

16. In barely 24 hours, the disaster caused damage estimated at $10 billion.

17. The Australian government made a commitment of $1 billion over 10 years