The great Sumatra-Andaman earthquake of 26 December 2004

摘要

The M 9.0 earthquake that occurred in the offshore regions of northwestern Sumatra on Sunday, 26 December 2004 is the largest event to have occurred in this region, since historic times, with devastating effect on human life and property, not restricted to a single country. It was also the world's largest earthquake since the M 9.2 Alaskan event of 1964. The earthquake originated along the boundary between the Indo-Australian and Eurasian plates, which arcs about 5500 km from Myanmar to Sumatra and Java to Australia. Near Sumatra, the Indo-Australian plate is reportedly moving in the NNE direction at about 6 cm/yr with respect to Southeast Asia 1. The potential for frequent great earthquakes in the region is related to the subduction processes that are taking place there. The earthquake generated large tsunamis that caused unprecedented damage in many of the affected countries.