2004 Earthquake

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On December 26, 2004 a 9.1 magnitude earthquake occurred off the west coast of northern Sumatra (USGS, 2015). The earthquake lasted approximately 10 minutes, and was so powerful it shifted over 700 miles of underwater terrain (History.com Staff, 2009). According to the US Geological Survey (USGS) (2015), the earthquake was estimated to have released the same amount of energy as 23,000 Hiroshima-type atomic bombs. Furthermore, the earthquake was deemed the third largest earthquake to be recorded in history. Alongside being one of the largest earthquakes, researchers at the California Institute of Technology maintain that the 2004 earthquake cracked the longest fault length of any recorded earthquake; measuring a total distance of 900 miles.…show more content…
The contact surfaces between the two plates are known as megathrust faults which lie under the water, run through deep trenches on the ocean floor (Sieh, 2006). Because these megathrust lie under water there is a greater chance for the rupture to suddenly displace a large amount of water, generating tsunamis (Sieh, 2006). The Sunda megathrust fault which runs south from Bangladesh, around the western and southern borders of Sumatra, Java, Bali and eastern Indonesia to northwestern Australia (Sieh, 2006) –initiated a rise of the seafloor between the islands of Aceh and Myanmar, resulting in multiple violent tsunami waves (Sieh, 2006). Scientists from the USGS approximated that the sea floor in the vicinity of the earthquake was uplifted by several meters. Following the devastating events of 2004, Indonesia has been linked to a tsunami detection system located in the Indian Ocean. A tsunami detection system utilizes seafloor sensors and surface buoys which transmits signals by satellite to alert of any potential tsunamis (Folger, 2014). Additionally, 26 national tsunami information centers, which all have the capability to receive and distribute tsunami advisories, have been set up throughout Indian Ocean countries (UNESCOPRESS,

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