LiveScience Image Gallery

Wave of Destruction: Asian Tsunami Disaster

Digital Globe

Kalutara, Sri Lanka (Before)

This image shows the area detail of the coast of Kalutara, Sri Lanka prior to the Tsunami disaster. This before photograph was taken almost a year earlier, on January 1, 2004. Click to enlarge.
USGS

Map Overview: Earthquake Spawns Tsunamis

The Earth’s solid surface floats on a layer of softer rock as a collection of interlocking, movable puzzle pieces called tectonic plates. At 7:58 a.m. (local time), on December 26, 2004, beneath the Indian Ocean west of Sumatra, Indonesia, pent-up energy from the compressional forces of one tectonic plate grinding under another found a weak spot in the overlying rock. The rock was thrust upward, and the Earth shook as a 9.0 magnitude earthquake sent its vibrations out into the ocean. The epicenter of the recent quake is marked with a red star in the image. The blue arrows along the plate boundary show the direction of subduction. Tsunamis spread out in all directions; the massive waves washed over islands and crashed against coastlines in Sri Lanka, Southern India, and even the east coast of Africa. Click to enlarge.
Digital Globe

Moment of Impact: Kalutara, Sri Lanka

This natural color, 60-centimeter (2-foot) high-resolution QuickBird satellite image, shows receding waters from the Tsunami, which struck on December 26, 2004, on the southwestern coast of Sri Lanka. Imagery was collected at 10:20 a.m. local time, slightly less than four hours after the 6:28 a.m. (local Sri Lanka time) earthquake and shortly after the moment of tsunami impact. Click to enlarge.
Digital Globe

Beach Damage: Kalutara, Sri Lanka

This natural color, 60-centimeter (2-foot) high-resolution QuickBird satellite image of the southwestern coast of Sri Lanka, shows the receding waters and beach damage from the Tsunami. There was extensive coastline flooding, high water was evident at least a kilometer inland, and churning ocean resulted from the receding water. Click to enlarge.
AP Photo/Eric Skitzi

Tsunami Waves Pound Malaysia

In this photo taken by a tourist Eric Skitzi from England, tourists watch as tsunami waves hit the shore from a safe place inside Casuarina Beach Hotel resort in Penang, northwestern Malaysia around 1:00pm in local time (0500GMT) Sunday, Dec. 26, 2004. The resort hotel lifeguards noticed waves were huge and sounded warning to all tourists around the hotel beach area to run to the safety area. The Malaysian government on Wednesday canceled New Year celebrations nationwide, urging people to pray this weekend that the country will be spared from future disasters such as the recent tsunamis that killed at least 65 Malaysians. Click to enlarge.
AP Photo/ J.T. and Caroline Malatesta via Birmingham News

Killer Waves Approaching

Caroline and J.T. Malatesta of Mountain Brook, Ala. survived the killer Asian tsunami while on vacation in Thailand. This mountain top photo was taken December 26, 2004 from about 400 feet above the sea on December 26, 2004. Click to enlarge.
AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe

Water Flows through the streets of Sri Lanka

Tidal waves wash through houses at Maddampegama, about 60 kilometers (38 miles) south of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Sunday, Dec. 26, 2004. Massive waves triggered by earthquakes crashed into villages along a wide stretch of Sri Lankan coast on Sunday, killing more than 2,100 people and displacing a million others. Click to enlarge.
Space Imaging

Aerial Photos Reveal Ruin

Space Imaging's IKONOS satellite took this high-resolution satellite image of Nagappattinam, India December 29, 2004. The image shows the extensive flooding and mass destruction of the land area. India, along with Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand was among the countries that suffered the worst damage due to the Tsunami. The port city, also called Negapattinam, is situated on the low plain of the Coromandel Coast, in central Tamil Nadu state, 260 km (162 mi) south of Chennai (Madras). Although Nagappattinam has only a small wharf, the port is an important one of the Kaveri delta. The city's population is about 90,000. Click to enlarge.
Space Imaging

Wrath of Tsunami Ravages Male International Airport

Before and after satellite photos show extent of tsunami damage at Male International Airport in the Maldive Islands located south of India. The comparative photos were taken by Space Imaging's Ikonos remote sensing spacecraft. The "after" image is cloudy and hazy so the level of detail is not as good as in the "before" image. Male is the capital of the Maldives. The imagery shows sand and debris on the runway, debris and damage to the coastline, damage to the boat marina located near the airport, and damage to structures on the sand jetties. The airport is located in the center of a small island called Hulule and is the first point of contact for every visitor coming from overseas. Click to enlarge.
Space Imaging

Tsunami Destroys Lhoknga, Indonesia

The Indonesian province of Aceh was hit hardest by the earthquake and tsunamis of December 26, 2004. Aceh is located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra. On December 29, estimates of the death toll in Indonesia were over 80,000—more than half the global total. The town of Lhoknga, on the west coast of Sumatra near the capital of Aceh, Banda Aceh, was completely destroyed by the tsunami, with the exception of the mosque (white circular feature) in the city’s center. The satellite images show Lhoknga before (lower/left) and after (top/right) the earthquake and Tsunami. Almost all the trees, vegetation, and buildings in the area were washed away. Behind the town, low-lying agricultural areas remained covered with water four days after the disaster, and sand on the nearby beaches was completely removed. The wave height might have exceeded 15 meters (50 feet) when it struck the shore. Click to enlarge.
Department of Defense photo by Michael L. Bak

A City in Ruin

Two children ride a bike along the roads of Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia (Jan. 1, 2005) - Trash and debris line the streets while locals check on the aftermath in down town Aceh, Sumatra following a massive Tsunami that struck the area on the 26th of December 2004. Click to enlarge.
Department of Defense photo by Michael L. Bak

Ship Wreck

Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia (Jan. 1, 2005) - Boats washed ashore near local businesses in down town Aceh, Sumatra following a massive Tsunami that struck the area on the 26th of December 2004. Click to enlarge.
Department of Defense photo by Michael L. Bak

Land of Devastation

Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia (Jan. 1, 2005) – Vast amounts of trash and debris (note the vehicle in the middle of the picture) line the streets near local homes in downtown Banda Aceh, Sumatra. This area was heavily affected by the Tsunami. Click to enlarge.
Department of Defense photo by Michael L. Bak

Beyond Imagination…

Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia (Jan. 1, 2005) – One can really get a grasp of the impact and mass destruction caused by the Tsunami on. Trash debris, rubble fill the area; only the ruins of a house remain standing after the Tsunami crashes through the town of Aceh, Sumatra. Click to enlarge.
AP Photo/Bullit Marquez

Picking Up the Pieces

Survivors try to save Friday, Dec. 31, 2004, whatever is left from the rubble of the devastated commercial district of Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province, six days after the earthquake-triggered Tsunami killed at least 80,000 people in the province alone in northwest Indonesia and raised the death toll across Asia to more than 100,000. More bodies are found as soldiers and rescuers began the massive cleanup of the city. Click to enlarge.
U.S. Navy photo by Photographer

Relief Efforts Underway

Relief efforts are underway, as many around the world are joining in the effort to assist those affected by the Asian Tsunami Disaster. Two Indonesian men from a small village reach to catch food and milk from an approaching helicopter assigned to Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Two (HS-2) “Golden Falcons” embarked aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72). The helicopter was unable to land because of extensive flooding that still exists in the region. HS-2 is transporting supplies, bringing in disaster relief teams and supporting humanitarian airlifts to Tsunami-stricken costal regions. Click to enlarge.