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On Sunday, 26 December 2004, the ever greatest earthquake in 40 years occurred about 150 kilometers off the west coast of northern Sumatra Island in Indonesia. This earthquake generated a disastrous tsunami that caused destruction in 11 countries bordering the Indian Ocean. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the moment magnitude of the earthquake - which is larger than the Richter magnitude - was 9. Such magnitude would make this earthquake to be the fourth largest in the world since 1900 and also the largest since the 1964 Alaska earthquake.
Origin Time and Epicenter
The big tsunamigenic earthquake occurred on Sunday, 26 December 2004, at 00:58:50 UTC (6:58:50 a.m. local time). The epicenter was at 3.298 N, 95.779 E and its focal depth was very shallow possibly about 10km.The quake was widely felt in Sumatra, the Nicobar and Andaman Islands, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, and Bangladesh. |
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