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Earthquake in the Indian Ocean Causes a Massive Tsunami
News story originally written on January 5, 2005
On the morning of December 26th, 2004, an enormous earthquake happened below the Indian Ocean. The earthquake caused the seawater above to be pushed up. This formed huge tsunami waves that spread across the ocean.
The enormous waves moved quickly across the ocean before they hit land. When the waves hit the land, they destroyed towns, beaches and trees along the coast. Over 150,000 people were killed as the tsunami waves hit the coasts of Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, and the east coast of Africa. There was very little time to warn people about the danger.
Tilly Smith, a 10-year-old girl from England used her knowledge about tsunamis to save 100 people during the event. Tilly learned about tsunamis at school. Her family was vacationing in Thailand when she saw the seawater drawing out quickly from the shore. She remembered that this could happen before a tsunami wave hits the coast. Thanks to Tilly, her mother, and the hotel staff, everyone was cleared off the beach before the wave arrived.
Last modified May 21, 2008 by Lisa Gardiner.
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