Tsunamis
Articles on tsunamis.
Tsunami Facts
Tsunami facts regarding the origin, approach, warning systems, moderation and records of tsunami waves.
Earthquake Facts
Earthquakes are possibly the most dangerous of the natural calamities. Apart from the earthquakes themselves, they cause other calamities like tsunamis. Here are some more facts about earthquakes.
Indonesia Hit by Another Tsunami; Dozens Dead and Missing
A powerful earthquake beneath the sea has resulted in yet another massive tsunami hitting the Indonesian island of Java.
Fallujah Massacre And Tsunami: Hypocrisy And Double Standard
After the thanks giving massacre in Fallujah, which marked the beginning of Death Squad Democracy in Iraq for the first time ABC news broadcasted a sanitized report from the city of one thousand mosques.
Series of Massive Earthquakes Rattle Indonesia
Just a few months after a 9.3 magnitude earthquake in Indonesia triggered tsunamis and killed nearly 175,000 people, the region has again been shaken and shattered by another series of earthquakes.
January Tsunami Relief Donations Still Tax Deductible for 2004
If you itemize deductions when filing your federal income tax return, you can save a bundle on the taxes you have to pay. Thanks to a new law, certain contributions made in January of this year can be deducted on your 2004 return.
Tsunami Struck - Killai
Visit to the Tsunami struck area of Killai, near Pondicherry, South India.
What is a Tsunami?
Tsunami is a sea wave of local or distant origin that is an outcome from large-scale seafloor displacements related with large earthquakes, major submarine slides, or exploding volcanic islands. The definition of tsunami and its geographical meaning is also discussed here. The causes of occurrences of Tsunami and their after effects are mentioned in the passage.
All About Tsunamis
After a bout of what shook the world over, tsunami is perhaps the most glaring example of what is perhaps understood as the absolute wrath of the Almighty.
Tsunami Tales
As we pass the third anniversary of the Boxing Day tsunami, here are a few stories from people who were caught up in the events of that day.
Indian Tsunami Victims Sold Their Kidneys to Survive
Police in southern India are investigating reports that poverty-stricken survivors of the Indian Ocean tsunami sold their kidneys because of the slow pace of rehabilitation after the disaster. Up to 150 people, mainly women, are believed to have sold their organs for 50,000 rupees (£575) in the past few months.
Asia Remembers Tsunami Victims
Thousands of people lit candles and observed two minutes' silence today to mark the second anniversary of the Boxing Day tsunami which devastated communities around the Indian Ocean, killing 230,000 people.
Tsunami Victims Still Wait for Promised Billions
Of $6.7bn pledged, about $3.5bn has not been spent - Tens of thousands still homeless two years on
Will Global Warming Unleash More Seismic Activity?
Recent climate change research predicts that we will see more earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis as global warming unfolds. What's the connection between global warming and seismic activity? This report reviews the latest evidence.
15 Tsunami Aid Staff Executed in Sri Lanka
Fifteen local aid staff working on tsunami reconstruction on Sri Lanka's north-eastern coast, have been found executed after six days of heavy fighting between government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels.
UN Warning on Tsunami Threat
Indian Ocean states need to revamp bureaucracies and prioritise the education of coastal communities in survival techniques when facing a tsunami threat, the United Nations said today.
Java Death Toll Passes 500
The death toll from the tsunami that hit Java earlier this week rose by almost 200 today to 531, with more than 270 people still missing.
Officials Failed to Pass on Tsunami Warning
Officials in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, failed to issue a tsunami warning despite receiving data about yesterday's earthquake 20 minutes before the first wave struck the island of Java.
Jakarta Officials Failed to Give Tsunami Warning
· Monitors 'too busy checking on aftershocks' · Death toll rises to over 340 with at least 200 missing
More Than 300 Dead in Java Tsunami
More than 300 people were reported killed this morning and at least 160 missing as rescue workers uncovered the full extent of yesterday's tsunami on the Indonesian island of Java.
37 Dead in Java Tsunami
A powerful earthquake off the south coast of Indonesia's Java island today sent a tsunami several metres high crashing down on the resort village of Pangandaran, killing at least 37 people and leaving scores missing.
Scores Killed After Earthquake Sends Tsunami on to Javanese Beaches
An earthquake yesterday sent a tsunami several metres high crashing on to the beaches of southern Java, killing at least 82 people and leaving scores missing.
Tsunami Relief Swept Locals Aside, Study Finds
· Record £7.3bn of aid led to pressure for results · Boats were unseaworthy and metal homes too hot
Lack of Legal Wood Leaves Tsunami Survivors in Rotting Tents
Tens of thousands of Indonesian survivors of the 2004 Asian tsunami are still living in rotting tents, despite a months-long campaign to rehouse them, because the International Federation of the Red Cross has struggled to secure legally certified timber.
Drawn Back to Tsunami's Fatal Shore
It was a Christmas trip that no one wanted but few could ignore.
Straw Says Sorry to British Families
Jack Straw, the foreign secretary, apologised to British families yesterday who felt let down by the Foreign Office in the aftermath of the tsunami.
Slowly, Painfully, Expensively, Ruined Communities Are Put Back Together
The 9.2-magnitude earthquake which triggered the tsunami in the Indian Ocean on boxing day last year occurred at 7.58am, 95 miles off the west coast of Aceh, the province on the northern tip of Sumatra in Indonesia. Eighteen minutes later, 10-metre (30ft) high waves crashed ashore along a...
Pitiful Progress in Sri Lanka
Of the countries affected by the tsunami, none suffered proportionately more devastation than Sri Lanka, with almost 36,000 people reported killed or missing out of a population of 19.5 million.
India Emerged As Provider Despite Its Own Huge Losses
Within hours of the tsunami crashing on its shores, India launched naval ships to aid Sri Lanka. That one act asserted the country's capability in the face of adversity and emphasised that India was now a giver, not a taker, of aid.
After the Wave, the Struggle to Rebuild Shattered Lives
Retracing the journey he took just hours after the tsunami struck, John Aglionby finds that life is getting even harder for many victims.
Parents 'were Given Body' of Girl in Tsunami Mystery
A Thai-German couple who claimed last week that their daughter could be alive almost a year after the Boxing Day tsunami were given her body in August.
A Year After the Tsunami, Couple Believe Image Shows Missing Girl is Alive
· Massive search underway in Thailand to trace child · But experts fear parents' hopes likely to be dashed
Tsunami Inquest Records More British Tragedies
The deaths of an internationally renowned fashion photographer, a man who had just won his battle against cancer, and a young couple holidaying with their parents in Thailand were among those recorded yesterday as the inquest into the 93 victims of the Boxing Day tsunami entered its second day at Olympia in west London.
Tsunami Victim's Body Returned Without Hands, Court Told
The body of a British tsunami victim was repatriated incomplete because of a series of administrative blunders, an inquest was told today. Married couple Michael and Carol Hall, both 60, were drowned when the wave hit the beach where they were staying in Patong, Thailand. A...
Families Relive Moments When Happiness Turned to Horror at First Inquests Into Tsunami Victims
· 11 Britons were 'engulfed by a wave', rules coroner · Grief and anger as relatives hear of bungles and failings
Inquiry Into Deaths of Uk Tsunami Victims Begins
Relatives of the 91 British victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami today told a coroner's inquiry in London that an early warning system would have saved their lives.
Relatives Angry Over Tsunami Inquest
· Four-day hearing starts today at conference center · Authorities accused of 'insensitivity' by families
Tsunami Report Criticises Relief Effort
The scale of the Indian Ocean tsunami overwhelmed aid agencies responding to the disaster, a senior member of the British Red Cross said today.
President Urges World to Honour Tsunami Pledges
Only one third of the promised £1.95bn aid to Indonesia after the Boxing Day tsunami has been delivered, according to president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who yesterday urged the world to honour its pledges.
Small Grants and Peace Deal Help Survivors to Look Ahead
Life is slowly improving in the village the Guardian has been monitoring since the Boxing Day tsunami disaster.
Poachers Eased Tsunami's Path
Thousands of people were killed when the Boxing Day tsunami struck Sri Lanka because poachers had removed coral reefs that would have shielded the coastline from the worst of the waves.
Legacy of Tsunami Brings Peace to Aceh
Cautious optimism in ravaged Indonesian province as warring sides prepare to sign deal.
Parents Try to Reverse Tsunami Legacy
Bereaved seek surgery to undo state-sponsored sterilisation.
Pirates Hijack Tsunami Aid Ship
Pirates hijacked a ship carrying relief supplies for Somalian survivors of the tsunami yesterday, demanding a $500,000 (£279,000) ransom to free the crew.
Countries Mark Six Months Since Tsunami
Communities around the Indian Ocean devastated by the Boxing Day tsunami yesterday paused to remember the dead and injured, exactly six months after the disaster.
Six Months On, Tsunami Victims Still Wait to Go Home
Relief effort fails to reach thousands of Sri Lankan villagers amid wrangling over aid deal.
UN Refugee Agency to Return to Aceh
The UN's refugee agency is to resume humanitarian work in the tsunami-ravaged Indonesian province of Aceh three months after it was expelled for allegedly exceeding its mandate.
Tsunami Leaves a World of Drifting 'ghosts'
The Boxing Day disaster left half a million people without identity cards or land. John Aglionby reports from northern Sumatra on the struggle to rebuild lives
Cricket: Kumble Escape Adds Personal Touch to Tsunami Match
India leg-spinner Anil Kumble revealed how he and his family only narrowly escaped after leaving their Chennai holiday home minutes before the wave struck the city.
Britain Criticises Un Aid Effort
The UN's response to the reconstruction of Indonesian provinces devastated by the tsunami has been inadequately coordinated, Britain's minister for international development said yesterday.
Indonesia Faces New Mega-tsunami
Another catastrophic giant earthquake similar to the one that caused carnage across the Indian Ocean on Boxing Day last year is lurking off Indonesia, say scientists.
Life After the Tsunami in Nusa, a Village in Aceh, Indonesia
Vegetable patches and cake stalls are the small but significant signs of rebirth in Nusa, a village in Aceh, Indonesia, whose progress the Guardian has been monitoring since the Boxing Day disaster. But though its people are eking out new lives, fears about their long-term future remain.
Red Tape Holds Up Food Aid for Tsunami Victims of Aceh Province
More than 1,300 containers of humanitarian aid for victims of the Boxing Day tsunami in Indonesia's Aceh province are stranded in the region's main port.
Road to Recovery
The rebuilding of the main route down Aceh's west coast has allowed food, shelter and hope to reach communities devastated by the tsunami, reports John Aglionby.
Earth 'still Ringing' From Tsunami Quake
The Indian Ocean earthquake that triggered the great Boxing Day tsunami literally shook the world and triggered a swarm of minor earthquakes 11,000 kilometres away in Alaska.
Aceh Reconstruction Comes to a Near Halt
Indonesia's post-tsunami recovery is at a near standstill and millions of people will be relying on aid from non-governmental organisations and international agencies for months, the head of the country's reconstruction body said yesterday.
Life After the Tsunami: Self-help and Football Ease Village Despair and Frustration
Less than four months after the big wave hit, villagers in Nusa have cleared tonnes of debris and will soon start rebuilding homes and cultivating land. But in the third visit to the Indonesian village, whose reconstruction the Guardian is monitoring this year, John Aglionby also finds creeping tensions.
Tsunami Missing List Reduced
Indonesia has slashed the number of people missing after the Boxing Day tsunami from 93,458 to 37,063 without significantly raising the number of dead.
Tsunami Panic After Huge Quake
· Hundreds feared dead on Indonesian island
· Evacuations and terror as alerts issued across Asia
· Earthquake measures 8.7 magnitude
Phuket Traders Sell Tsunami Souvenirs
Three months after the tsunami, entrepreneurs in the Thai resort of Patong, on the island of Phuket, have found a new source of income: selling graphic photographs of the after-effects of the storm including explicit shots of dead bodies.
Four Times As Many Women Died in Tsunami
Up to four times as many women as men died in the Boxing Day Asian tsunami, according to a report published today by Oxfam International.
New Tsunami Fear As Scientists Find Dangerous Stresses on Ocean Floor
Second major earthquake could strike Indian Ocean within a year.
How the Tsunami Hogged the Headlines
A new report reveals that the Asian tsunami attracted more media attention in the first six weeks after it struck than the world's top 10 'forgotten' emergencies did over a whole year. By Julia Day.
A Place For Poetry - Maldives After Tsunami
They let the tsunami victims speak, write and draw about their loss, traumas, shocks and loss...
Prince Charles Meets Victims
Prince Charles visits the Tamil-dominated district of Batticaloa, which along with neighbouring Ampara was home to some 15,000 of Sri Lanka's 31,000 tsunami dead.
Rebuilding Nusa: Life After the Tsunami
Among the hundreds of small communities devastated by the Boxing Day tsunami was Nusa, in Aceh, Indonesia. In the second of a series of regular reports from the village, John Aglionby describes progress on rebuilding lives.
A Story Half-told
The world's media may be turning its glare away from the tsunami reconstruction efforts, but, writes John Aglionby, there is still much to be done.
Tsunami Rebuilding Bill Outgrows World's Gifts
Reconstruction could cost £6.65bn, but so far only £2.92bn has been pledged.
Baby 81 Reunited With Parents After Court Rules on Dna Tests
The parents of Sri Lanka's Baby 81 returned home with their four-month-old son yesterday, two months after he had been swept out of his mother's arms during the tsunami.
Tsunami Baby to Be Reunited With Parents After Dna Test
A baby boy rescued from the debris left on the shores of Sri Lanka by the tsunami will be handed over tomorrow to the couple who had fought desperately to get him back.
Tsunami Victims Still Wait for Aid
Supplies to stricken Sri Lankans are blocked by bungling and corruption.
Images From Ocean Floor Give Clues to Tsunami
Royal Navy survey ship reveals seabed fractures and landslides caused by earthquake, now reclassified as second largest ever recorded.
States Failing to Pay Tsunami Pledges
Almost two-thirds of the money promised by governments to help the millions of people affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami has not yet been received by the UN.
30,000 Tsunami Survivors Get Jobs
The UN is expanding its cash-for-work scheme for tsunami survivors in the Indonesian province of Aceh from a few hundred refugees to 30,000 people in an attempt to get them back into paid employment, officials said yesterday.
The Power, Military, and Covert Dimensions of a Disaster
Many ominous things lurk while the post-tsunami reconstruction works are going on.
Tsunami Disaster Prompts Peace Talks
The Indonesian government was today holding talks with rebels to try to pin down a formal peace deal following the tsunami disaster.
US Radio Staff Suspended Over Tsunami Song
Days after Rodney Marsh was sacked by Sky Sports over a tsumani joke, the entire staff of a New York radio programme have been suspended indefinitely after thousands of listeners complained about a bad taste tsunami song. By Stephen Brook.
Tsunamic Calamity - Media and Individual Disconnectivity
An account of how even media personnel and individuals can face a "disconnectivity" of sorts at a disaster zone. This article recounts the author's experiences when the recent pan-regional Tsunami struck.
Some Tsunami Agencies 'not Up to Job'
Inexperienced aid agencies are hampering the tsunami relief effort, the charity Oxfam warned in a report published this morning.
Washing Away History
Luke Harding finds relics of Banda Aceh's colonial past destroyed by the Boxing Day tsunami.
Our thoughts go out to you! - Tsunami Victims
A brief article about the Tsunami Victims! I keep thinking it would have been so easy to have been on holiday to...
President promises reconstruction
The Indonesian president visited Banda Aceh's main mosque yesterday to express solidarity with tsunami victims, while the army claimed to have killed 120 rebels in local clashes since the disaster.
Tsunami Warning System for Indian Ocean Next Year
UN to implement warning system which will cost an initial $8m.
Toll Rises to 226,500 As Indonesia Says Missing 50,000 Are Dead
The death toll from the Asian tsunami rose above 226,500 yesterday after the Indonesian government confirmed the deaths of tens of thousands of people previously listed as missing.
Smashed Lives, Unwanted Toys, Lost Crops, No Electricity - and a Honeymoon
Hundreds of small communities were devastated by the tsunami in south Asia. Over the next year the Guardian will focus on the village of Nusa in Aceh, Indonesia, to report on how people are rebuilding their lives and homes. In our first report, Luke Harding describes the first small steps towards recovery.
Tsunami Death Toll Rises to 225,000
The death toll from the Boxing Day tsunami disaster increased to more than 225,000 today as the Indonesian health ministry raised the number of dead in the country by more than 50,000.
Asian Tsunami: The Mental Scars That Will Not Heal
Relief workers in the Indian Ocean are facing the terrible reality of a psychologically blighted generation.
West's Tsunami Pledges $200m Short: Oxfam
Western nations lauded for their generosity following the south east Asian tsunami disaster are failing to honour pledges of aid, leaving shortfalls of millions of pounds in the recovery programme.
Bid to Protect Tsunami Survivors From Child Traffickers
Scotland Yard has set up a child protection unit as part of international efforts to combat the possible trafficking of children in the wake of the Indian Ocean earthquake, it emerged today.
The Tsunami Relief Effort
John Vidal on whether mistakes made after the 2001 Indian earthquake are being repeated in the current relief effort.
PM Moved to Tears By Tsunami Disaster
More aid and memorial service as death toll rises again. The number of Britons likely to have died in the tsunami disaster now stands at 453, Tony Blair said yesterday, adding that he is raising the initial British direct aid to the region to £75m.
Rebuilding Asia After the Tsunami
Rebuilding has begun on the south Asian shores. The world's architects are desperate to help, says Jonathan Glancey.
The Readers' Editor on ... Guardian Coverage of the Tsunami Disaster
Ian Mayes, the readers' editor, on ... Guardian coverage of the tsunami disaster.
Tsunami Death Toll Rises
· 440 Britons feared dead - Straw
· 7,000 more deaths in Indonesia
· Kofi Annan visits Aceh
Summit Backs Warning System
World leaders backed an early warning system to predict tsunamis in the Indian Ocean yesterday as tensions emerged over coordinating the relief effort.
Leaders Promise Tsunami Warning System
· 'Reconstruction could take 10 years'
· EU pledges immediate £70m in aid
· Island tribe found unscathed
Criminals May Be Trafficking Tsunami Orphans
Fears are growing for children orphaned in the tsunami disaster after a senior UN official warned of credible reports that criminal gangs in Indonesia are offering them for adoption or exploitation.
Tsunami Disaster in Brief
An Indonesian woman has been found alive after drifting for five days in the Indian Ocean. Melawati, 23, clung to a floating sago palm and survived by eating the tree's fruit and bark.
Tsunami Victims Pay Price of War on Iraq
George Monbiot: US and British aid is dwarfed by the billions both spend on slaughter. There has never been a moment like it on British television.
Tsunami Death Toll to Rise Due to Cholera
The Tsunami that has hit the coast of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, India, and Africa has killed nearly 160,000 people. As if this tragedy has not been devastating enough, now Tsunami victims must worry about dying from cholera.
Indonesia Accused of Stepping Up Aceh Campaign
Separatists in Aceh, the Indonesian province ravaged by tsunamis a week ago, today claimed that the the military is using the disaster to continue its campaign against rebels.
Focus: Tsunami Catastrophe: The Relief Effort
John Davison: It is not surprising that people now want to know where and how all this money is being used.
Focus: Tsunami Catastrophe
It came with devastating ferocity, a natural disaster of freakish intensity that shocked the world and killed countless thousands. The waters have now receded, but disease and hunger stalk an arc of countries around the Indian Ocean. Can the millions so grievously affected ever recover?
Earthquakes and Tsunamis
An earthquake in the fjord-like Lituya Bay, Alaska, on July 9, 1958, generated a tsunami wave 524 meters (1719 feet) high, moving at a speed of 160 kilometers per hour.
Charity That Begins at Home Does Not Have to End There
Polly Toynbee: Tsunamis may be inevitable; human failure to minimise suffering is not. The horror of the tsunami drowns optimistic new year thoughts. Images of human flotsam and jetsam prompt nihilistic thoughts of meaninglessness.
Tsunami Death Toll Hits 123,000
· 80,000 dead in Indonesia
· Panic after new wave warnings
· Aid agencies face devastation
Tsunami Toll Nears 120,000
· 80,000 dead in Indonesia
· Panic after new wave warnings
· Aid agencies face devastation
Tsunami Death Toll Tops 87,000
· 80,000 feared dead in Indonesia
· Panic after new wave warnings
· Aid agencies face devastation
Tsunami Death Toll Could Reach 100,000
· Unidentified bodies buried in mass graves
· 5m left without basic essentials, says UN
Will the World Walk Away From the Tsunami Disaster?
Charities fear new disaster if crisis follows usual path.
Bush Defends Us Response to Tsunami
The US president, George Bush, today rejected accusations that the west had been "stingy" in its offers of aid for victims of the tsunami that wreaked havoc on coastal communities around the Indian Ocean.
Tsunami Death Toll Soars
·Up to 70,000 confirmed dead
· Blair pledges UK help
· Aid agencies battle to reach victims
Aid Arrives in Tsunami Disaster Zones
· Death toll nears 70,000
· Food and medicine flown in
· Governments pledge millions
Tsunami Deaths Top 55,000
Mourners in Sri Lanka buried their dead with bare hands today while rescue services struggled to reach areas of Indonesia still cut off from the rest of the world, two days after a tsunami devastated Indian Ocean coastlines and killed more than 55,000 people.
Tsunami Toll Nears 30,000
Mourners in Sri Lanka buried their dead with bare hands today while rescue services struggled to reach areas of Indonesia still cut off from the rest of the world, two days after a tsunami devastated Indian Ocean coastlines and killed more than 29,000 people.
Tsunami Death Toll Rises to 23,700
The death toll from the southern Asia earthquake rose dramatically today, with some reports estimating that 23,700 people died in Sunday's disastrous tidal wave.
Tsunami
A Call To Aid: Our hearts go out to the victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami. In disasters of this magnitude, individuals can offer solace and prayers but only nations with great resources can respond effectively.
Tsunami Death Toll Rises to 23,500
The death toll from the southern Asia earthquake rose dramatically today, with some reports estimating that 23,500 people died in Sunday's disastrous tidal wave.
Thousands Swept to Their Death
An early warning system that could have saved thousands of lives lost in the devastating tsunamis that swept around the rim of the Indian Ocean yesterday was talked about but not acted on by governments in the region, it was revealed last night.
Giant Waves Kill Thousands After Calls for Warning System Ignored
An early warning system that could have saved thousands of lives lost in the devastating tsunamis that swept around the rim of the Indian Ocean yesterday was talked about but not acted on by governments in the region, it was revealed last night.
Thousands Killed in Asian Tsunami
The most powerful earthquake in 40 years triggered massive tidal waves that hit coastlines across Asia today, killing more than 11,000 people in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India, Malaysia and Thailand. More than 11,000 people in six countries were killed today when the most powerful earthquake in 40 years triggered huge tidal waves that hit coastlines across Asia. The death toll is almost certain to rise further as the full extent of the devastation emerges.
As we pass the third anniversary of the Boxing Day tsunami, here are a few stories from people who were caught up in the events of that day.
Indian Tsunami Victims Sold Their Kidneys to Survive
Police in southern India are investigating reports that poverty-stricken survivors of the Indian Ocean tsunami sold their kidneys because of the slow pace of rehabilitation after the disaster. Up to 150 people, mainly women, are believed to have sold their organs for 50,000 rupees (£575) in the past few months.
Asia Remembers Tsunami Victims
Thousands of people lit candles and observed two minutes' silence today to mark the second anniversary of the Boxing Day tsunami which devastated communities around the Indian Ocean, killing 230,000 people.
Tsunami Victims Still Wait for Promised Billions
Of $6.7bn pledged, about $3.5bn has not been spent - Tens of thousands still homeless two years on
Will Global Warming Unleash More Seismic Activity?
Recent climate change research predicts that we will see more earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis as global warming unfolds. What's the connection between global warming and seismic activity? This report reviews the latest evidence.
15 Tsunami Aid Staff Executed in Sri Lanka
Fifteen local aid staff working on tsunami reconstruction on Sri Lanka's north-eastern coast, have been found executed after six days of heavy fighting between government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels.
UN Warning on Tsunami Threat
Indian Ocean states need to revamp bureaucracies and prioritise the education of coastal communities in survival techniques when facing a tsunami threat, the United Nations said today.
Java Death Toll Passes 500
The death toll from the tsunami that hit Java earlier this week rose by almost 200 today to 531, with more than 270 people still missing.
Officials Failed to Pass on Tsunami Warning
Officials in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, failed to issue a tsunami warning despite receiving data about yesterday's earthquake 20 minutes before the first wave struck the island of Java.
Jakarta Officials Failed to Give Tsunami Warning
· Monitors 'too busy checking on aftershocks' · Death toll rises to over 340 with at least 200 missing
More Than 300 Dead in Java Tsunami
More than 300 people were reported killed this morning and at least 160 missing as rescue workers uncovered the full extent of yesterday's tsunami on the Indonesian island of Java.
37 Dead in Java Tsunami
A powerful earthquake off the south coast of Indonesia's Java island today sent a tsunami several metres high crashing down on the resort village of Pangandaran, killing at least 37 people and leaving scores missing.
Scores Killed After Earthquake Sends Tsunami on to Javanese Beaches
An earthquake yesterday sent a tsunami several metres high crashing on to the beaches of southern Java, killing at least 82 people and leaving scores missing.
Tsunami Relief Swept Locals Aside, Study Finds
· Record £7.3bn of aid led to pressure for results · Boats were unseaworthy and metal homes too hot
Lack of Legal Wood Leaves Tsunami Survivors in Rotting Tents
Tens of thousands of Indonesian survivors of the 2004 Asian tsunami are still living in rotting tents, despite a months-long campaign to rehouse them, because the International Federation of the Red Cross has struggled to secure legally certified timber.
Drawn Back to Tsunami's Fatal Shore
It was a Christmas trip that no one wanted but few could ignore.
Straw Says Sorry to British Families
Jack Straw, the foreign secretary, apologised to British families yesterday who felt let down by the Foreign Office in the aftermath of the tsunami.
Slowly, Painfully, Expensively, Ruined Communities Are Put Back Together
The 9.2-magnitude earthquake which triggered the tsunami in the Indian Ocean on boxing day last year occurred at 7.58am, 95 miles off the west coast of Aceh, the province on the northern tip of Sumatra in Indonesia. Eighteen minutes later, 10-metre (30ft) high waves crashed ashore along a...
Pitiful Progress in Sri Lanka
Of the countries affected by the tsunami, none suffered proportionately more devastation than Sri Lanka, with almost 36,000 people reported killed or missing out of a population of 19.5 million.
India Emerged As Provider Despite Its Own Huge Losses
Within hours of the tsunami crashing on its shores, India launched naval ships to aid Sri Lanka. That one act asserted the country's capability in the face of adversity and emphasised that India was now a giver, not a taker, of aid.
After the Wave, the Struggle to Rebuild Shattered Lives
Retracing the journey he took just hours after the tsunami struck, John Aglionby finds that life is getting even harder for many victims.
Parents 'were Given Body' of Girl in Tsunami Mystery
A Thai-German couple who claimed last week that their daughter could be alive almost a year after the Boxing Day tsunami were given her body in August.
A Year After the Tsunami, Couple Believe Image Shows Missing Girl is Alive
· Massive search underway in Thailand to trace child · But experts fear parents' hopes likely to be dashed
Tsunami Inquest Records More British Tragedies
The deaths of an internationally renowned fashion photographer, a man who had just won his battle against cancer, and a young couple holidaying with their parents in Thailand were among those recorded yesterday as the inquest into the 93 victims of the Boxing Day tsunami entered its second day at Olympia in west London.
Tsunami Victim's Body Returned Without Hands, Court Told
The body of a British tsunami victim was repatriated incomplete because of a series of administrative blunders, an inquest was told today. Married couple Michael and Carol Hall, both 60, were drowned when the wave hit the beach where they were staying in Patong, Thailand. A...
Families Relive Moments When Happiness Turned to Horror at First Inquests Into Tsunami Victims
· 11 Britons were 'engulfed by a wave', rules coroner · Grief and anger as relatives hear of bungles and failings
Inquiry Into Deaths of Uk Tsunami Victims Begins
Relatives of the 91 British victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami today told a coroner's inquiry in London that an early warning system would have saved their lives.
Relatives Angry Over Tsunami Inquest
· Four-day hearing starts today at conference center · Authorities accused of 'insensitivity' by families
Tsunami Report Criticises Relief Effort
The scale of the Indian Ocean tsunami overwhelmed aid agencies responding to the disaster, a senior member of the British Red Cross said today.
President Urges World to Honour Tsunami Pledges
Only one third of the promised £1.95bn aid to Indonesia after the Boxing Day tsunami has been delivered, according to president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who yesterday urged the world to honour its pledges.
Small Grants and Peace Deal Help Survivors to Look Ahead
Life is slowly improving in the village the Guardian has been monitoring since the Boxing Day tsunami disaster.
Poachers Eased Tsunami's Path
Thousands of people were killed when the Boxing Day tsunami struck Sri Lanka because poachers had removed coral reefs that would have shielded the coastline from the worst of the waves.
Legacy of Tsunami Brings Peace to Aceh
Cautious optimism in ravaged Indonesian province as warring sides prepare to sign deal.
Parents Try to Reverse Tsunami Legacy
Bereaved seek surgery to undo state-sponsored sterilisation.
Pirates Hijack Tsunami Aid Ship
Pirates hijacked a ship carrying relief supplies for Somalian survivors of the tsunami yesterday, demanding a $500,000 (£279,000) ransom to free the crew.
Countries Mark Six Months Since Tsunami
Communities around the Indian Ocean devastated by the Boxing Day tsunami yesterday paused to remember the dead and injured, exactly six months after the disaster.
Six Months On, Tsunami Victims Still Wait to Go Home
Relief effort fails to reach thousands of Sri Lankan villagers amid wrangling over aid deal.
UN Refugee Agency to Return to Aceh
The UN's refugee agency is to resume humanitarian work in the tsunami-ravaged Indonesian province of Aceh three months after it was expelled for allegedly exceeding its mandate.
Tsunami Leaves a World of Drifting 'ghosts'
The Boxing Day disaster left half a million people without identity cards or land. John Aglionby reports from northern Sumatra on the struggle to rebuild lives
Cricket: Kumble Escape Adds Personal Touch to Tsunami Match
India leg-spinner Anil Kumble revealed how he and his family only narrowly escaped after leaving their Chennai holiday home minutes before the wave struck the city.
Britain Criticises Un Aid Effort
The UN's response to the reconstruction of Indonesian provinces devastated by the tsunami has been inadequately coordinated, Britain's minister for international development said yesterday.
Indonesia Faces New Mega-tsunami
Another catastrophic giant earthquake similar to the one that caused carnage across the Indian Ocean on Boxing Day last year is lurking off Indonesia, say scientists.
Life After the Tsunami in Nusa, a Village in Aceh, Indonesia
Vegetable patches and cake stalls are the small but significant signs of rebirth in Nusa, a village in Aceh, Indonesia, whose progress the Guardian has been monitoring since the Boxing Day disaster. But though its people are eking out new lives, fears about their long-term future remain.
Red Tape Holds Up Food Aid for Tsunami Victims of Aceh Province
More than 1,300 containers of humanitarian aid for victims of the Boxing Day tsunami in Indonesia's Aceh province are stranded in the region's main port.
Road to Recovery
The rebuilding of the main route down Aceh's west coast has allowed food, shelter and hope to reach communities devastated by the tsunami, reports John Aglionby.
Earth 'still Ringing' From Tsunami Quake
The Indian Ocean earthquake that triggered the great Boxing Day tsunami literally shook the world and triggered a swarm of minor earthquakes 11,000 kilometres away in Alaska.
Aceh Reconstruction Comes to a Near Halt
Indonesia's post-tsunami recovery is at a near standstill and millions of people will be relying on aid from non-governmental organisations and international agencies for months, the head of the country's reconstruction body said yesterday.
Life After the Tsunami: Self-help and Football Ease Village Despair and Frustration
Less than four months after the big wave hit, villagers in Nusa have cleared tonnes of debris and will soon start rebuilding homes and cultivating land. But in the third visit to the Indonesian village, whose reconstruction the Guardian is monitoring this year, John Aglionby also finds creeping tensions.
Tsunami Missing List Reduced
Indonesia has slashed the number of people missing after the Boxing Day tsunami from 93,458 to 37,063 without significantly raising the number of dead.
Tsunami Panic After Huge Quake
· Hundreds feared dead on Indonesian island
· Evacuations and terror as alerts issued across Asia
· Earthquake measures 8.7 magnitude
Phuket Traders Sell Tsunami Souvenirs
Three months after the tsunami, entrepreneurs in the Thai resort of Patong, on the island of Phuket, have found a new source of income: selling graphic photographs of the after-effects of the storm including explicit shots of dead bodies.
Four Times As Many Women Died in Tsunami
Up to four times as many women as men died in the Boxing Day Asian tsunami, according to a report published today by Oxfam International.
New Tsunami Fear As Scientists Find Dangerous Stresses on Ocean Floor
Second major earthquake could strike Indian Ocean within a year.
How the Tsunami Hogged the Headlines
A new report reveals that the Asian tsunami attracted more media attention in the first six weeks after it struck than the world's top 10 'forgotten' emergencies did over a whole year. By Julia Day.
A Place For Poetry - Maldives After Tsunami
They let the tsunami victims speak, write and draw about their loss, traumas, shocks and loss...
Prince Charles Meets Victims
Prince Charles visits the Tamil-dominated district of Batticaloa, which along with neighbouring Ampara was home to some 15,000 of Sri Lanka's 31,000 tsunami dead.
Rebuilding Nusa: Life After the Tsunami
Among the hundreds of small communities devastated by the Boxing Day tsunami was Nusa, in Aceh, Indonesia. In the second of a series of regular reports from the village, John Aglionby describes progress on rebuilding lives.
A Story Half-told
The world's media may be turning its glare away from the tsunami reconstruction efforts, but, writes John Aglionby, there is still much to be done.
Tsunami Rebuilding Bill Outgrows World's Gifts
Reconstruction could cost £6.65bn, but so far only £2.92bn has been pledged.
Baby 81 Reunited With Parents After Court Rules on Dna Tests
The parents of Sri Lanka's Baby 81 returned home with their four-month-old son yesterday, two months after he had been swept out of his mother's arms during the tsunami.
Tsunami Baby to Be Reunited With Parents After Dna Test
A baby boy rescued from the debris left on the shores of Sri Lanka by the tsunami will be handed over tomorrow to the couple who had fought desperately to get him back.
Tsunami Victims Still Wait for Aid
Supplies to stricken Sri Lankans are blocked by bungling and corruption.
Images From Ocean Floor Give Clues to Tsunami
Royal Navy survey ship reveals seabed fractures and landslides caused by earthquake, now reclassified as second largest ever recorded.
States Failing to Pay Tsunami Pledges
Almost two-thirds of the money promised by governments to help the millions of people affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami has not yet been received by the UN.
30,000 Tsunami Survivors Get Jobs
The UN is expanding its cash-for-work scheme for tsunami survivors in the Indonesian province of Aceh from a few hundred refugees to 30,000 people in an attempt to get them back into paid employment, officials said yesterday.
The Power, Military, and Covert Dimensions of a Disaster
Many ominous things lurk while the post-tsunami reconstruction works are going on.
Tsunami Disaster Prompts Peace Talks
The Indonesian government was today holding talks with rebels to try to pin down a formal peace deal following the tsunami disaster.
US Radio Staff Suspended Over Tsunami Song
Days after Rodney Marsh was sacked by Sky Sports over a tsumani joke, the entire staff of a New York radio programme have been suspended indefinitely after thousands of listeners complained about a bad taste tsunami song. By Stephen Brook.
Tsunamic Calamity - Media and Individual Disconnectivity
An account of how even media personnel and individuals can face a "disconnectivity" of sorts at a disaster zone. This article recounts the author's experiences when the recent pan-regional Tsunami struck.
Some Tsunami Agencies 'not Up to Job'
Inexperienced aid agencies are hampering the tsunami relief effort, the charity Oxfam warned in a report published this morning.
Washing Away History
Luke Harding finds relics of Banda Aceh's colonial past destroyed by the Boxing Day tsunami.
Our thoughts go out to you! - Tsunami Victims
A brief article about the Tsunami Victims! I keep thinking it would have been so easy to have been on holiday to...
President promises reconstruction
The Indonesian president visited Banda Aceh's main mosque yesterday to express solidarity with tsunami victims, while the army claimed to have killed 120 rebels in local clashes since the disaster.
Tsunami Warning System for Indian Ocean Next Year
UN to implement warning system which will cost an initial $8m.
Toll Rises to 226,500 As Indonesia Says Missing 50,000 Are Dead
The death toll from the Asian tsunami rose above 226,500 yesterday after the Indonesian government confirmed the deaths of tens of thousands of people previously listed as missing.
Smashed Lives, Unwanted Toys, Lost Crops, No Electricity - and a Honeymoon
Hundreds of small communities were devastated by the tsunami in south Asia. Over the next year the Guardian will focus on the village of Nusa in Aceh, Indonesia, to report on how people are rebuilding their lives and homes. In our first report, Luke Harding describes the first small steps towards recovery.
Tsunami Death Toll Rises to 225,000
The death toll from the Boxing Day tsunami disaster increased to more than 225,000 today as the Indonesian health ministry raised the number of dead in the country by more than 50,000.
Asian Tsunami: The Mental Scars That Will Not Heal
Relief workers in the Indian Ocean are facing the terrible reality of a psychologically blighted generation.
West's Tsunami Pledges $200m Short: Oxfam
Western nations lauded for their generosity following the south east Asian tsunami disaster are failing to honour pledges of aid, leaving shortfalls of millions of pounds in the recovery programme.
Bid to Protect Tsunami Survivors From Child Traffickers
Scotland Yard has set up a child protection unit as part of international efforts to combat the possible trafficking of children in the wake of the Indian Ocean earthquake, it emerged today.
The Tsunami Relief Effort
John Vidal on whether mistakes made after the 2001 Indian earthquake are being repeated in the current relief effort.
PM Moved to Tears By Tsunami Disaster
More aid and memorial service as death toll rises again. The number of Britons likely to have died in the tsunami disaster now stands at 453, Tony Blair said yesterday, adding that he is raising the initial British direct aid to the region to £75m.
Rebuilding Asia After the Tsunami
Rebuilding has begun on the south Asian shores. The world's architects are desperate to help, says Jonathan Glancey.
The Readers' Editor on ... Guardian Coverage of the Tsunami Disaster
Ian Mayes, the readers' editor, on ... Guardian coverage of the tsunami disaster.
Tsunami Death Toll Rises
· 440 Britons feared dead - Straw
· 7,000 more deaths in Indonesia
· Kofi Annan visits Aceh
Summit Backs Warning System
World leaders backed an early warning system to predict tsunamis in the Indian Ocean yesterday as tensions emerged over coordinating the relief effort.
Leaders Promise Tsunami Warning System
· 'Reconstruction could take 10 years'
· EU pledges immediate £70m in aid
· Island tribe found unscathed
Criminals May Be Trafficking Tsunami Orphans
Fears are growing for children orphaned in the tsunami disaster after a senior UN official warned of credible reports that criminal gangs in Indonesia are offering them for adoption or exploitation.
Tsunami Disaster in Brief
An Indonesian woman has been found alive after drifting for five days in the Indian Ocean. Melawati, 23, clung to a floating sago palm and survived by eating the tree's fruit and bark.
Tsunami Victims Pay Price of War on Iraq
George Monbiot: US and British aid is dwarfed by the billions both spend on slaughter. There has never been a moment like it on British television.
Tsunami Death Toll to Rise Due to Cholera
The Tsunami that has hit the coast of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, India, and Africa has killed nearly 160,000 people. As if this tragedy has not been devastating enough, now Tsunami victims must worry about dying from cholera.
Indonesia Accused of Stepping Up Aceh Campaign
Separatists in Aceh, the Indonesian province ravaged by tsunamis a week ago, today claimed that the the military is using the disaster to continue its campaign against rebels.
Focus: Tsunami Catastrophe: The Relief Effort
John Davison: It is not surprising that people now want to know where and how all this money is being used.
Focus: Tsunami Catastrophe
It came with devastating ferocity, a natural disaster of freakish intensity that shocked the world and killed countless thousands. The waters have now receded, but disease and hunger stalk an arc of countries around the Indian Ocean. Can the millions so grievously affected ever recover?
Earthquakes and Tsunamis
An earthquake in the fjord-like Lituya Bay, Alaska, on July 9, 1958, generated a tsunami wave 524 meters (1719 feet) high, moving at a speed of 160 kilometers per hour.
Charity That Begins at Home Does Not Have to End There
Polly Toynbee: Tsunamis may be inevitable; human failure to minimise suffering is not. The horror of the tsunami drowns optimistic new year thoughts. Images of human flotsam and jetsam prompt nihilistic thoughts of meaninglessness.
Tsunami Death Toll Hits 123,000
· 80,000 dead in Indonesia
· Panic after new wave warnings
· Aid agencies face devastation
Tsunami Toll Nears 120,000
· 80,000 dead in Indonesia
· Panic after new wave warnings
· Aid agencies face devastation
Tsunami Death Toll Tops 87,000
· 80,000 feared dead in Indonesia
· Panic after new wave warnings
· Aid agencies face devastation
Tsunami Death Toll Could Reach 100,000
· Unidentified bodies buried in mass graves
· 5m left without basic essentials, says UN
Will the World Walk Away From the Tsunami Disaster?
Charities fear new disaster if crisis follows usual path.
Bush Defends Us Response to Tsunami
The US president, George Bush, today rejected accusations that the west had been "stingy" in its offers of aid for victims of the tsunami that wreaked havoc on coastal communities around the Indian Ocean.
Tsunami Death Toll Soars
·Up to 70,000 confirmed dead
· Blair pledges UK help
· Aid agencies battle to reach victims
Aid Arrives in Tsunami Disaster Zones
· Death toll nears 70,000
· Food and medicine flown in
· Governments pledge millions
Tsunami Deaths Top 55,000
Mourners in Sri Lanka buried their dead with bare hands today while rescue services struggled to reach areas of Indonesia still cut off from the rest of the world, two days after a tsunami devastated Indian Ocean coastlines and killed more than 55,000 people.
Tsunami Toll Nears 30,000
Mourners in Sri Lanka buried their dead with bare hands today while rescue services struggled to reach areas of Indonesia still cut off from the rest of the world, two days after a tsunami devastated Indian Ocean coastlines and killed more than 29,000 people.
Tsunami Death Toll Rises to 23,700
The death toll from the southern Asia earthquake rose dramatically today, with some reports estimating that 23,700 people died in Sunday's disastrous tidal wave.
Tsunami
A Call To Aid: Our hearts go out to the victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami. In disasters of this magnitude, individuals can offer solace and prayers but only nations with great resources can respond effectively.
Tsunami Death Toll Rises to 23,500
The death toll from the southern Asia earthquake rose dramatically today, with some reports estimating that 23,500 people died in Sunday's disastrous tidal wave.
Thousands Swept to Their Death
An early warning system that could have saved thousands of lives lost in the devastating tsunamis that swept around the rim of the Indian Ocean yesterday was talked about but not acted on by governments in the region, it was revealed last night.
Giant Waves Kill Thousands After Calls for Warning System Ignored
An early warning system that could have saved thousands of lives lost in the devastating tsunamis that swept around the rim of the Indian Ocean yesterday was talked about but not acted on by governments in the region, it was revealed last night.
Thousands Killed in Asian Tsunami
The most powerful earthquake in 40 years triggered massive tidal waves that hit coastlines across Asia today, killing more than 11,000 people in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India, Malaysia and Thailand. More than 11,000 people in six countries were killed today when the most powerful earthquake in 40 years triggered huge tidal waves that hit coastlines across Asia. The death toll is almost certain to rise further as the full extent of the devastation emerges.