NOAA: IO TSUNAMI 2004

DECEMBER 26, 2004 SUMATRA, INDONESIA EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI – TENTH ANNIVERSARY UPDATE Updated: December 11, 2014

The December 26, 2004 magnitude 9.1 Sumatra, Indonesia earthquake (3.316 N, 95.854 E, depth 30 km) generated a tsunami that was observed worldwide and caused tremendous devastation and deaths throughout the Indian Ocean region* . The earthquake, which is the third largest in the world since 1900, caused severe damage and casualties in northern Sumatra, Indonesia, and in the Nicobar Islands, India. No separate death toll is available for the earthquake as the tsunami followed within 20 minutes. However, the death toll was probably no worse than for the earthquake of March 28, 2005--that is, fewer than 1,000. The tsunami that followed killed more people than any other tsunami in recorded history, with 227,898 (over 300.000-J.Ch.) dead or missing. The worst hit country was Indonesia with 167,540 listed as dead or missing and damages of $4,451.6 million. The remaining fatalities occurred in Sri Lanka (35,322), India (16,269), Thailand (8,212), Somalia (289), Maldives (108), Malaysia (75), Myanmar (61), Tanzania (13), Bangladesh (2), Seychelles (2), South Africa (2), Yemen (2), and Kenya (1). The total estimated material losses in the Indian Ocean region were $10 billion and insured losses were $2 billion.

DECEMBER 26, 2004 EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS, FIELD SURVEYS, AND INSTRUMENTAL RECORDINGS

International tsunami survey teams with experts from many countries surveyed the coasts of almost all of the Indian Ocean countries that were affected by the tsunami. They measured runup heights from 20-40 m on the northwest coast of Sumatra in the Aceh Province with a maximum runup of 51 m. Runup is the difference between the elevation of maximum tsunami penetration (inundation line) and the sea level at the time of the tsunami. Runup heights of 5 to 20 m were measured on the coasts of Thailand and 4 to 12 m in Sri Lanka and India. More than 5,000 km away in Somalia, runup heights of almost 10 m were measured. There were 40 tide gauge recordings in the Indian Ocean with a maximum amplitude of 1.75 m at Port Blair, Andaman Islands. The tsunami was also observed on over 150 tide gauges in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. A 60 cm wave in the open ocean was captured by the US-French satellites TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason-1 as they passed over the Indian Ocean just two hours after the earthquake occurred.

HISTORICAL TSUNAMIS IN THE INDIAN OCEAN According to the NOAA National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service for Geophysics Global Historical Tsunami Event database 2,229 tsunamis (validity >1+ ) have occurred in the world since 2000 B.C. Of these tsunamis, 1,212 are considered confirmed tsunamis (validity >3+ ). In the Indian Ocean region, 69 confirmed tsunamis have been observed since the beginning of the 18th Century, and 22 (32%) of these events caused deaths. Three of these deadly tsunamis occurred after the December 26, 2004 event. The majority of Indian Ocean tsunamis were generated by earthquakes (88%), the remainder resulted from volcanic eruptions (6%), landslides (1%), and unknown causes (4%).


The most fatal Indian Ocean tsunami events are listed below: • 1815 Bali, Indonesia earthquake and tsunami caused over 11,000 deaths • 1861 Sumatra, Indonesia earthquake and tsunami caused over 1,000 deaths • 1883 Krakatau, Indonesia volcanic eruption and tsunami caused over 36,000 deaths • 1945 Makran, Pakistan earthquake and tsunami caused 4,000 deaths • 1979 Lomblen Island, Indonesia submarine-landslide generated tsunami caused 1,239 deaths • 1992 Flores, Indonesia earthquake and tsunami caused at least 2,500 deaths • 2004 Sumatra, Indonesia earthquake and tsunami caused 227,898 (over 300.000-J.Ch.) deaths.

* Data are collected from the US NOAA National Weather Service Tsunami Warning Centers, UNESCO/IOC-NOAA International Tsunami Information Center, the US Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center, International Post-Tsunami Field Surveys, and news organizations. Refer to the NGDC event page for data and their sources (http://ngdc.noaa.gov/hazard/tsu_db.shtml).

† A validity score or confidence designation is assigned to each tsunami event ranging from -1 for erroneous entries, 1 to 2 for unconfirmed, and 3 to 4 for definite or confirmed tsunamis.

FIGURE 1 - TSUNAMI RUNUPS IN THE INDIAN OCEAN PRODUCED BY THE DECEMBER 26, 2004 SUMATRA, INDONESIA TSUNAMI. DATA FROM EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS, FIELD SURVEYS, AND TIDE GAUGES. (SOURCE: NATIONAL GEOPHYSICAL DATA CENTER/WORLD DATA SERVICE FOR GEOPHYSICS.)

Significant Earthquake Date Earthquake Location Earthquake Parameters Focal Depth Magnitude MMI Int Year Mo Dy Hr Mn Sec Name Latitude Longitude Mw Ms Mb Ml Mfa Unk 2004 12 26 0 58 53.4 INDONESIA: SUMATRA: ACEH: OFF WEST COAST 3.316 95.854 30 9.1 8.8 7.0 Earthquake Effects Total Effects (Earthquake and Tsunami, Volcano, etc.) Deaths Missing Injuries Damage Houses Destroyed Houses Damaged Deaths Missing Injuries Damage Houses Destroyed Houses Damaged Num De Num De Num De $Mill De Num De Num De Num De Num De Num De $Mill De Num De Num De 1001 4 3 10000.000 4 3 3 227899 4 3 10000.000 4 3 Comments for the Significant Earthquake Display listing of nearby significant earthquakes This is the third largest earthquake in the world since 1900 and is the largest since the 1964 Prince William Sound, Alaska earthquake. The earthquake caused severe damage and casualties in northern Sumatra, Indonesia and in the Nicobar Islands, India. Reference #3969: The assessments after the tsunami estimated losses and damage at just under $10 billion. 227,898 dead or missing. No separate death toll is available for the earthquake as the tsunamis followed within 20 minutes. However, the relatively light damage from the earthquake suggests that the death toll was probably no worse than for the earthquake of 28 March 2005 - that is, fewer than 1,000. Reference #1610: At least 170,000 dead, 100,000 missing, and more than 1,000,000 homeless by the earthquake and subsequent tsunami in 13 countries in South Asia and East Africa. According to provisional estimates (February 2005), the material losses caused by the catastrophe come to approximately US$ 10bn. Reference #1053: Earthquake intensities were observed at the following selected localities: Indonesia: IX: Banda Aceh, VIII: Meulaboh, IV: Medan, Sampali, III: Bukittinggi, Parapat, Payakumbuh, Felt: Jakarta India: VII: Port Blair, Andaman Is., IV: Madras, III: Bengaluru, Vishakhapatnam, Felt: Bangalore, Bhubaneshwar, Calcutta, Kochi Malaysia: V: Gelugor Estate, IV: Sungai Ara, III: Alor Setar, George Town, Kampong Tanjong Bunga, Kuala Lumpur, Kulim Thailand: V: Hat Yai, IV: Bangkok, III: Chiang Mai, Phuket Myanmar: IV: Mandalay, III: Rangoon Singapore: II: Singapore Bangladesh: III: Dhaka, Felt Chittagong Sri Lanka:II: Kandy and other parts of Sri Lanka Maldives:IV: Male (nearly 2500 km from the epicenter) Guam:Felt by people in a high rise building at Hagatna (more than 5400 km from the epicenter) Tectonic Summary The devastating earthquake of 26 December 2004 occurred as thrust-faulting on the interface of the India plate and the Burma plate. In a period of minutes, the faulting released elastic strains that had accumulated for centuries from ongoing subduction of the India plate beneath the overriding Burma plate. In a broad sense, the India and Australian plates move toward the north- northeast with respect to the interior of the Eurasia plate with velocities of about 60 mm/y in the region of the earthquake. In the region of northern Sumatra and the Nicobar Islands, most of the relative motion of India/Australia and the Eurasia plate is accommodated at the Sunda trench and within several hundred kilometers to the east of the Sunda trench, on the boundaries of the Burma plate. The direction in which India/Australia converges toward Eurasia is oblique to the trend of the Sunda trench. The oblique motion is partitioned into thrust-faulting and strike-slip faulting. The thrust faulting occurs on the interface between the India plate and the western margin of the Burma plate and involves slip directed at a large angle to the orientation of the trench. The strike-slip faulting occurs on the eastern boundary of the Burma plate and involves slip directed approximately parallel to the trench. The 26 December main shock occurred as the result of thrust faulting on the western Burma-plate boundary, but many strike-slip faulting aftershocks occurred on the eastern plate boundary. References for the Significant Earthquake ID Author Year Citation 1053 National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) 1971 to present Preliminary Determination of Epicenters (PDE), a weekly and monthly publication, National Earthquake Information Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Golden, Colorado, 1971 to present. 1610 Munich Re Group 2005 Annual Review: Natural Catastrophes 2004 in the Munich Re Group Knowledge Series, Topics Geo, 2005, 60 p. 3757 United Nations Environment Programme 2005 After the Tsunami Rapid Environmental Assessment. Retrieved January 11, 2008 from http://www.unep.org/tsunami/reports/TSUNAMI_report_complete.pdf 3968 Cosgrave, John 2007 Synthesis Report: Expanded Summary, Joint evaluation of the international response to the Indian Ocean tsunami, published by the Tsunami Evaluation Coaliton (TEC), January 2007, 42 p. 3969 Telford, John, and John Cosgrave 2006 Synthesis Report: Joint evaluation of the international response to the Indian Ocean tsunami, published by the Tsunami Evaluation Coaliton (TEC), July 2006, 176 p. 11731 Duputel, Zacharie, Luis Rivera, Hiroo Kanamori, Gavin P. Hayes, Barry Hirshorn, Stuart Weinstein 2012 W phase source inversion for moderate to large earthquakes (1990–2010). Journal of Geophysical Research, vol 189, 1125–1147. DOI:10.1111/j.1365-246X.2012.05419.x OAA > NESDIS > NCEI (formerly NGDC) > Natural Hazards questions Tsunami Event Date Tsunami Cause Tsunami Source Location Tsunami Parameters Max Water Height Num. of Runups Deposits Magnitude Tsu Int Year Mo Dy Hr Mn Sec Val Code Country Name Latitude Longitude Abe Iida 2004 12 26 0 58 53.4 4 1 INDONESIA OFF W. COAST OF SUMATRA 3.316 95.854 50.90 1636 136 Tsunami Effects Total Effects (Tsunami and Source) Deaths Missing Injuries Damage Houses Destroyed Houses Damaged Deaths Missing Injuries Damage Houses Destroyed Houses Damaged Num De Num De Num De $Mill De Num De Num De Num De Num De Num De $Mill De Num De Num De 227899 4 3 10000 4 3 227899 4 3 10000 4 3 Comments for the Tsunami Event Display listing of nearby tsunami events Reference #3969: 227898 dead or missing, $9.9 billion. 1.7 million displaced. Reference #1610: The tsunami generated by the earthquake off the coast of northern Sumatra was recorded nearly world-wide and killed more people than any other tsunami in recorded history. More than 100,000 killed and 100,00 missing and presumed dead. The estimated material losses are $10 billion and insured losses are $2 billion. Reference #3757: Approximately 250,000 lives were lost. Reference #1928: $13.6 billion in aide was pledged. The estimates below are from References #1053 and #3969: Indonesia: 167,540 people killed or missing, 426,800 displaced in Aceh and Sumatera Utara Provinces. Wave heights of 30 m along the west coast of Sumatra. Sri Lanka: 35,322 killed or missing, 552,600 displaced. Wave heights of 5-10 m. India: 16,269 killed or missing, 112,500 displaced in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu and Andaman and Nicobar Is. Wave heights of 20 m in the Andaman Is. and 10 m on the east coast of India. Thailand: 8,212 killed or missing, 8,400 injured. Wave heights of 3-5 m in the Phuket area. Somalia: 289 killed, 5,000 displaced Yemen: 2 killed Myanmar: 61 killed or missing, 3,200 displaced Tanzania: 13 killed Maldives: 82 killed, 26 missing, 21,600 displaced Malaysia: 75 killed or missing, 4,200 displaced Seychelles: 2 killed Bangladesh: 2 killed Kenya: 1 killed South Africa: 2 killed Madagascar: 1,000 displaced Mauritius: some damage Mozambique: tsunami observed, no damage reported Australia: tsunami caused minor damage at Geraldton and Mangles Bay. People swept into the ocean at Delambre Is and Geographe Bay, but all survived. Seiches were observed in India and the United States. Subsidence and landslides were observed in Sumatra. A mud volcano near Baratang, Andaman Is. became active on December 28 and gas emissions were reported in Arakan, Myanmar. NOAA/PMEL wave animations: Indian Ocean, Global NOAA/PMEL calculated wave: Amplitude, Travel time More information: NOAA Satellite Wave Height Measurements, NOAA/NGDC DMSP - OLS Light Detection References for the Tsunami Event ID Author Year Citation 540 NOAA National Tsunami Warning Center 2005 Retrieved January 5, 2005 from link 1053 National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) 1971 to present Preliminary Determination of Epicenters (PDE), a weekly and monthly publication, National Earthquake Information Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Golden, Colorado, 1971 to present. 1304 Goring, Derek G. 2005 Sumatra Tsunami at New Zealand Ports and Harbours. 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Bilek 2007 Implications of the 26 December 2004 Sumatra–Andaman earthquake on tsunami forecast and assessment models for great subduction-zone earthquakes. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, vol. 97, no. 1A, p. S249–S270. DOI:10.1785/0120050619 5255 Vita-Finzi, Claudio 2008 Neotectonics and the 2004 and 2005 earthquake sequences at Sumatra. Marine Geology, vol. 248, no. 1-2, p. 47-52. 5330 Lay, Thorne; Kanamori, Hiroo; Ammon, Charles J; Nettles, Meredith; Ward, Steven N; Aster, Richard C; Beck, Susan L; Bilek, Susan L; Brudzinski, Michael R; Butler, Rhett; DeShon, Heather R; Ekstrom, Goran; Satake, Kenji; Sipkin, Stuart 2005 The great Sumatra-Andaman earthquake of 26 December 2004. Science, vol. 308, no. 5725, p. 1127-1133. 5347 Kurian, N P; Prakash, T N; Baba, M; Nirupama, N 2006 Observations of tsunami impact on the coast of Kerala, India. 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Kelsey, Charles Rubin, Andrea D. Hawkes, Mudrik R. Daryono, Eko Yulianto, Danny Natawidjaja 2009 Evidence of an early Holocene precursor to the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake. Abstracts with Programs - Geological Society of America (2009 annual meeting, Portland, OR - Oct. 18-21, 2009), vol. 41, no. 7, p. 408. 6450 Karmanocky, Francis J; Hood, Neil; Monecke, Katrin; Houston, Brian; Finger, Willi; McAdoo, Brian G; Cunningham, Alastair; Luthi, Stefan M; Storms, Joep; Wallinga, Jakob 2009 Coastal progradation in northern Sumatra after the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake and tsunami. Abstracts with Programs - Geological Society of America (2009 annual meeting, Portland, OR, United States, Oct. 18-21, 2009), vol. 41, no. 7, p. 473. 6474 Worachananant, Suchai; Carter, R.W.; Hockings, Marc 2007 Impacts of the 2004 Tsunami on Surin Marine National Park, Thailand. Coastal Management, vol. 35, no. 2-3, p. 399-412. DOI:10.1080/08920750601169667 6487 Fritz, Hermann M.; Blount, Christopher D.; Albusaidi, Fawzi B.; Al-Harthy, Ahmed Hamoud Mohammed 2010 Cyclone Gonu storm surge in Oman. Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science, vol. 86, no. 1, p. 102-106. DOI:10.1016/j.ecss.2009.10.019 6617 Choowong, M., N. Murakoshi, K. Hisada, P. Charusiri, V. Daorerk, T. Charoentitirat, V. Chutakositkanon, K. Jankaew, P. Kanjanapayont 2007 Erosion and deposition by the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami in Phuket and Phang-nga Provinces, Thailand. Journal of Coastal Research, vol. 23, no. 5, p. 1270-1276. DOI:10.2112/05-0561.1 6654 Borrero, J.C., Synolakis, C.E., Fritz, H. 2006 Northern Sumatra Field Survey after the December 2004 Great Sumatra Earthquake and Indian Ocean Tsunami. Earthquake Spectra, vol. 22, no. S3, p. S93-S104. DOI:10.1193/1.2206793 6683 Fritz, H.M. and J.C. Borrero 2006 Somalia field survey after the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. 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Borrero, G.S. Prasetya, R. Peters, B. McAdoo, G. Gelfenbaum, R. Morton, P. Ruggiero, B. Higman, L. Dengler, R. Hidayat, E. Kingsley, W. Kongko, Lukijanto, A. Moore, V. Titov, E. Yulianto 2006 Northwest Sumatra and offshore islands field survey after the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Earthquake Spectra, vol. 22, no. S3, p. S105-S135. DOI:10.1193/1.2207724 6753 Kurian, N.P., K. Rajith, B.T. Murali Krishnan, N. Nirupama, and T.S. Murty 2006 Analysis of the Tsunami of December 26, 2004, on the Kerala Coast of India—Part III: Inundation and Initial Withdrawal. 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Okal 2006 Rodrigues, Mauritius, and Reunion islands field survey after the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Earthquake Spectra, vol. 22, no. S3, p. S241-S261. DOI:10.1193/1.2209190 8200 Okal, Emile A; Fritz, Hermann M; Sladen, A 2009 2004 Sumatra-Andaman tsunami surveys in the Comoro Islands and Tanzania and regional tsunami hazard from future Sumatra events. South African Journal of Geology, vol. 112, no. 3-4, p. 343-358. DOI: 10.2113/gssajg.112.3-4.343 9299 Synolakis, Costas E. and Eddie N. Bernard 2006 Tsunami science before and beyond Boxing Day 2004. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, vol. 364, no. 1845, p. 2231-2265. DOI:10.1098/rsta.2006.1824 9342 Ioualalen, M., E. Pelinovsky, J. Asavanant, R. Lipikorn, and A. Deschamps 2007 On the weak impact of the 26 December Indian Ocean tsunami on the Bangladesh coast. In Tsunamis, E. Pelinovsky and S. Tinti, eds., Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., vol. 7, p. 141–147, Special Issue. DOI: 10.5194/nhess-7-141-2007 9460 Rabinovich, Alexander B., Richard E. Thomson and Fred E. Stephenson 2006 The Sumatra tsunami of 26 December 2004 as observed in the North Pacific and North Atlantic oceans. Surveys in Geophysics, vol. 27, no. 6, p. 647-677. DOI:10.1007/s10712-006-9000-9 9474 Maheshwari, B.K., Sharma, M.L. and Narayan, J.P. 2006 Geotechnical and structural damage in Tamil Nadu, India, from the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Earthquake Spectra, vol. 22, no. S3, p. S475-S493. 11309 Bell, Robert, Hugh Cowan, Erica Dalziell, Noel Evans, Mike O’Leary, Bernie Rush, Lawrence Yule 2005 Survey of Impacts on the Andaman Coast, Southern Thailand following the Great Sumatra-Andaman Earthquake and Tsunami of December 26, 2004. Bulletin of the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering, Vol. 38, No. 3, September 2005 11731 Duputel, Zacharie, Luis Rivera, Hiroo Kanamori, Gavin P. Hayes, Barry Hirshorn, Stuart Weinstein 2012 W phase source inversion for moderate to large earthquakes (1990–2010). Journal of Geophysical Research, vol 189, 1125–1147. DOI:10.1111/j.1365-246X.2012.05419.x Tsunami Event - The Indian Ocean Tsunami, December 26, 2004 Main Event Page Indian Ocean Event Page | Compilation of Web Links and Data | 5th Anniversary of Tsunami : Tsunami science: 10 years since Sumatra 2004 - New The Indian Ocean tsunami was generated by a Mw 9.1 earthquake (3.295°N 95.982°E), 2004-12-26 00:58:53 UTC, off the west coast of northern Sumatra (according to the USGS). Forecast results shown below were created with the NOAA forecast method using MOST model with the tsunami source inferred from tsunameter/DART® data. The graphics display research forecast results, showing qualitative and quantitative information about the tsunami, including tsunami wave interaction with ocean floor bathymetric features, and neighboring coastlines. Tsunami model amplitude information is shown color-coded according to the scale bar. See information on MOST model. Modeling Results Tsunami Propagation Global tsunami propagation animation on a rotating globe 12 MB .mov (2009.09.04) Global tsunami propagation animation on a flat map 2.8 MB .mov (2005.01.13) Larger global tsunami propagation animation on a flat map 6.6 MB .mov (2008.04.23) Tsunami propagation animation in the Indian Ocean 1.4 MB .mov (2005.01.12) Tsunami Amplitudes Maximum computed tsunami amplitudes around the globe (image) Maximum computed tsunami amplitudes in the Indian Ocean (PDF) Tsunami Arrival Times Computed tsunami arrival times in the Indian Ocean (PDF) Computed tsunami arrival time from the global tsunami propagation model (image) Observed wave arrival times (Source: WC/ATWC, India National Institute of Oceanography) (image) Comparison of observed wave arrival times with modeled simulations (image) Altimetry Plots and Data Tsunami 7:10 hours after Earthquake: Plot (PDF format) & Data (ASCII) Tsunami 2:00 hours after Earthquake: Plot (PDF format) & Data (ASCII) Tsunami 3:15 hours after Earthquake: Plot (PDF format) & Data (ASCII) Tsunami 2:05 hours after Earthquake: Plot (PDF format) & Data (ASCII) References: WHF Smith, R Scharroo, VV Titov, D Arcas, BK Arbic (2005): Satellite Altimeters Measure Tsunami. Oceanography Vol.18, No.2, June 2005. Download: PDF The altimetry data is courtesy of Remko Scharroo (Remko.Scharroo@noaa.gov) and Water Smith (walter.hf.smith@noaa.gov), NOAA, Laboratory for Satellite Altimetry, Silver Spring, MD, USA. Satellite Altimetry Database System at the Department of Earth Observation and Space (DEOS) Systems of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands. Bottom Pressure Recorder (BPR) Data 14 days of 15-second bottom pressure and temperature data (~80k lines each) nemo_sumatra.txt (ASCII data) & nemo_sumatra_meta.doc (ASCII metadata) Latitude 45 51’ 40” N, Longitude 130 00’ 00” W; Start: 23 December 2004 00:00:00 UT, End: 6 January 2005 00:00:00 UT 46405_sumatra.txt (ASCII data) & 46405_sumatra_meta.doc (ASCII metadata) Latitude 42 54’ 11” N, Longitude 130 54’ 32” W; Start: 23 December 2004 00:00:00 UT, End: 6 January 2005 00:00:00 UT DART (Deep-Ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis) - Buoys for early detection and real-time reporting of tsunamis in the open ocean. Animation with earthquake Mooring System & Deployment Animation Other Sources of Information NOAA Reacts Quickly to Indonesian Tsunami - NOAA News NOAA Scientists Able to Measure Tsuniami Height from Space - NOAA News National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program Archives International Tsunami Information Center More Tsunami Links References Arcas, D., and V. Titov (2006): Sumatra tsunami: lessons from modeling. Surv. Geophys., 27(6), doi: 10.1007/s10712-006-9, 679–705. Geist, E.L., V.V. Titov, D. Arcas, F.F. Pollitz, and S.L. Bilek (2007): Implications of the 26 December 2004 Sumatra–Andaman Earthquake on tsunami forecast and assessment models for great subduction-zone earthquakes. Bull. Seis, 97(1A), doi: 10.1785/0120050619, S249–S270. Geist, E.L., S.L. Bilek, D. Arcas, and V.V. Titov (2006): Differences in tsunami generation between the December 26, 2004 and March 28, 2005 Sumatra earthquakes. Earth Planets Space, 58(2), 185–193. Geist, E.L., V.V. Titov, and C.E. Synolakis (2006): Tsunami: Wave of change. Scientific American, 294(1), 56–63. Text of article from the Scientific American website. Rabinovich, A.B., P.L. Woodworth, and V.V. Titov (2011): Deep-sea observations and modeling of the 2004 Sumatra tsunami in Drake Passage. Geophys. Res. Lett., 38, L16604, doi: 10.1029/2011GL048305. Synolakis, C.E., and E.N. Bernard (2006): Tsunami science before and beyond Boxing Day 2004. Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. Lon. A, 364(1845), doi: 10.1098/rsta.2006.1824, 2231–2265. Titov, V.V., A.B. Rabinovich, H.O. Mofjeld, R.E. Thomson, and F.I. González (2005): The global reach of the 26 December 2004 Sumatra Tsunami. Science, 309(5743), 2045–2048. Disclaimer: The forecasts on these pages show the results of ongoing research to enhance tsunami science and to improve NOAA operational tsunami forecasts. These products were developed during or shortly after the tsunami event, are intended for research use, and are not an official forecast. They should not be used as the basis of any public or private policy decisions. Please contact NCTR to find if there are more detailed follow-on analysis results. Media contacts: NOAA Public Affairs Monica Allen - 301-734-1123 NWS Public Affairs Susan Buchanan - 301-713-0622