rocksea
27th December 2004, 02:20 AM
http://news.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gifhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/04/asia_pac_asia_earthquake_explained/img/1.jpg
Danger zone Thousands have died after a violent earthquake under the sea near northern Indonesia sent huge waves crashing into coastal resorts across south and east Asia. Indonesia is prone to seismic upheaval because of its proximity to the "Ring of Fire", an area around the Pacific Ocean basin where tectonic plates intersect and volcanoes erupt.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/04/asia_pac_asia_earthquake_explained/img/2.jpg
Violent rupture
The quake occurred close to the island of Sumatra. Two tectonic plates, the Australian and Eurasian plates, meet just off Sumatra's south-west coast, grinding together and sending periodic seismic tremors through the region. At 0759 (0059 GMT) a violent rupture occurred on the sea floor along a fault about 1,000km long.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif
http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/04/asia_pac_asia_earthquake_explained/img/3.jpg
Deadly wave
All along the rupture the seafloor was shunted vertically by about 10 metres. This movement displaced hundreds of cubic kilometres of the overlaying water, generating a massive tsunami, or tidal wave. The wave then fanned out across the Indian Ocean at enormous speed.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif
http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/04/asia_pac_asia_earthquake_explained/img/4.jpg
Area affected
The 8.9 magnitude quake, which was the strongest in the world for at least 40 years, wreaked havoc across the whole region. Walls of water, tens of metres high, slammed into coastal resorts thousands of miles apart. Surging seas and floods were reported as far away as east Africa.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif
http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/04/asia_pac_asia_earthquake_explained/img/5.jpg
Scale of devastation Thousands are reported to have been killed, but there has been little news from the worst-hit areas where all transport and communication links were destroyed. Hundreds are still thought to be missing from coastal regions and, in Sri Lanka alone, officials say more than a million people have been forced from their homes.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif
courtsey: BBC News
Danger zone Thousands have died after a violent earthquake under the sea near northern Indonesia sent huge waves crashing into coastal resorts across south and east Asia. Indonesia is prone to seismic upheaval because of its proximity to the "Ring of Fire", an area around the Pacific Ocean basin where tectonic plates intersect and volcanoes erupt.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/04/asia_pac_asia_earthquake_explained/img/2.jpg
Violent rupture
The quake occurred close to the island of Sumatra. Two tectonic plates, the Australian and Eurasian plates, meet just off Sumatra's south-west coast, grinding together and sending periodic seismic tremors through the region. At 0759 (0059 GMT) a violent rupture occurred on the sea floor along a fault about 1,000km long.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif
http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/04/asia_pac_asia_earthquake_explained/img/3.jpg
Deadly wave
All along the rupture the seafloor was shunted vertically by about 10 metres. This movement displaced hundreds of cubic kilometres of the overlaying water, generating a massive tsunami, or tidal wave. The wave then fanned out across the Indian Ocean at enormous speed.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif
http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/04/asia_pac_asia_earthquake_explained/img/4.jpg
Area affected
The 8.9 magnitude quake, which was the strongest in the world for at least 40 years, wreaked havoc across the whole region. Walls of water, tens of metres high, slammed into coastal resorts thousands of miles apart. Surging seas and floods were reported as far away as east Africa.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif
http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/04/asia_pac_asia_earthquake_explained/img/5.jpg
Scale of devastation Thousands are reported to have been killed, but there has been little news from the worst-hit areas where all transport and communication links were destroyed. Hundreds are still thought to be missing from coastal regions and, in Sri Lanka alone, officials say more than a million people have been forced from their homes.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif
courtsey: BBC News