1. Earthquake & Tsunami South Asia, 26 Dec 2004
Just-in-Time Lecture
Earthquake & Tsunami
South Asia, 26 Dec 2004
Did you see the JIT Tsunami lecture?
This lecture is dedicated by Global Health Disaster Network (GHDN) to the victims of 26 Dec 2004 disaster at south Asia.
Please send the messages to It would be great to have you involved.
Authors:
Ali Ardalan, MD, MPH, PH.D. student of Epidemiology
Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics
School of Public Health & Institute of Public Health Research
Tehran University of Medical Sciences
Iran
Ronald E. LaPorte, Ph.D. Professor of Epidemiology
Director, Disease Monitoring and Telecommunications, WHO Collaborating Centre Graduate School of Public Health University of Pittsburgh USA
Eugene Shubnikov, MD
Senior Research Fellow
Institute of Internal Medicine
Novosibirsk City, Russia
Faina Linkov, M.P.H.
Research Assistant
Department of Epidemiology
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA USA
Eric K Noji, MD, MPH
Senior Advisor to the Director
Office of Emergency Preparedness & Response (NCEH/ATSDR)
Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
USA
By: Ali Ardalan, Ronald E. LaPorte, Eugene Shubnikov, Faina Linkov & Eric K. Noji

2. What is the Disaster Supercourse?
What is a JIT lecture?
The Supercourse: disasters/disasters.htm
A global network of 18,000 academic faculty from 151countries.
2032 cutting edge lectures from leading scientists including 6 noble prize winner.
The mission is to provide for free the best possible education materials on health, here it is applied to Tsunami disaster.
For more information, please view the following lectures:
Introduction to the Supercourse. By Ronald LaPorte
Supercourse overview. By the Supercourse team
Turning the Alley of Information Exchange in Developing Countries to the Super Highway. By: Ali Ardalan
Just-in-time (JIT) lecture: (
A JIT lecture is one of the special applications of the Supercourse blossoms when a major event happens around the world. These Cutting Edge Educational lectures aim to reduce fear and save lives by providing the best possible knowledge. In the field of disasters, continuous “CNN Type” PowerPoint lectures are provided on the science aspect of disasters and the epidemiology of their consequences.
When the earthquake in Bam, Iran 26 Dec 2003 occurred, Ali Ardalan from Iran worked with Eric Noji and Ronald LaPorte from the US, and Eugene Shubnikov from Russia. Dr. Ardalan developed a JIT lecture within few days ( and updated it ( That was a memorable collaboration, among Russia, Iran and the USA. This was published in the Lancet, and demonstrated how Global Disaster Training could be accomplished. The lecture was used world wide by thousands of educators and seen by a multitude of students.
The JIT lecture by Rashid Chotani from Johns Hopkins demonstrated JIT lectures and emerging diseases. He worked with the Supercourse group, and updated the lecture every 2 days ( This article was also published in the Lancet.
We have honed our teachings with other JIT lectures including “Mad cow disease” and “Monkey pox”.
The model of JIT lectures develops a first lecture describing the scientific basis of the disaster, which can be modified for any country in the world, and then a second CNN type lecture that is on distributed through , and the web, updating the lecture on a regular basis and distributed worldwide on the web.

3. Mission Statement:
The Global Health Network Disaster, Network for Tsunamis is designed to translate the best possible scholarly information from leading researchers to educators worldwide.

4. Lecture objectives:
To provide the best possible information
about the science of South Asian disaster

5. Earthquake & Tsunami: South Asian
Greatest earthquake in 40 years
Magnitude 9.0 on Richter scale
150 km off W coast / N Sumatra Island / Indonesia
Generation of disastrous
tsunami in 11 countries
bordering Indian Ocean
South Asia earthquake, 26 December 2004 at 00:58:53 UTC (7:58:53 AM local time at epicenter). This earthquake unleashed a series of tsunamis that crashed into coastal towns, fishing villages and tourist resorts in 11 countries bordering the Indian Ocean.
Source:
One year ago, Bam earthquake occurred on 26 December 2003 at 01:56:52 UTC* (5:26:52 AM local time at epicenter), with a magnitude of 6.5 on the Richter scale. We provided two earthquake lectures at:
Please examine these to understand earthquakes.
We should be ready always for huge disasters in our communities!
* Universal Coordinated Time

6. History of Great Earthquakes in the Region:
Along the subduction zone from southern Sumatra to the Andaman Islands
2000: M 7.9
1861: M 8.5
1833: M 8.7
1797: M 8.4
Source:
USGS

7. Magnitude 9.0 on Richter scale
The 4th largest earthquake in the world since 1900
The largest since 1964 Alaska earthquake
It was felt (VIII) at Banda Aceh, (V) at Medan, Sumatra & (II-IV) in parts of Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Singapore, Sri Lanka & Thailand.
To find what the Richter scale & Latin numbers in this slide are, Please see the 3 next slides.
Source:
Useful link:
Public Health Consequences of Earthquakes. Part I.
Public Health Consequences of Earthquakes. Part II.

8. Earthquake Strength Measures I) Magnitude & II) Intensity
Definition: A measure of actual physical energy release at its source as estimated from instrumental observations.
Scale: Richter Scale
By Charles Richter, 1936
Open-ended scale
The oldest & most widely used
Source: The Public Health Consequences of Disasters, edited by Eric K Noji. Chapter 8. New York, Oxford University Press 1997.
California Department of Commerce, Division of Mines and Geology. How earthquakes are measured. California Geology February 1979:35-7.
Useful links:
Noji 1997

9. Earthquake Strength Measures I) Magnitude & II) Intensity
Definition: a measure of the felt or perceived effects of an earthquake rather than the strength of the earthquake itself.
Scale: Modified Mercalli (MM) scale
12-point scale, ranges from barely perceptible earthquakes at MM I to near total destruction at MM XII
Intensity is a measure of how severe the shaking was at a particular location and is determined by classifying the degree of shaking severity as measured by an intensity scale.
Modified Mercalli (MM) Scale Categories:
I. Felt only by a very few people under especially favorable circumstances
II. Felt only by a few people at rest, especially on the upper floors of buildings. Suspended objects may swing.
III. Felt quite noticeably indoors. Standing motor vehicles may rock slightly. Vibration like the passing of a truck.
IV. Felt indoors by many, outdoors by a few. At night, some awakened. Crockery, glassware, windows, doors rattle.
V. Felt by nearly everyone; damage to contents and structures uncommon but possible.
VI. Felt by all; many frightened and run outdoors; damage slight.
VII. Everybody runs outdoors; damage negligible to buildings seismically well-designed and constructed; slight to moderate to ordinary structures; considerable damage to poorly built or badly designed structures.
VIII. Damage slight in well-designed, considerable in ordinary, and great in poorly built structures; chimneys, monuments, walls, etc., fall.
IX. Damage considerable to well-designed structures, and great (including partial or complete collapse) in other buildings; buildings shifted off foundations; underground pipelines disrupted.
X. Some well-built wooden structures destroyed; most masonry and ordinary structures destroyed; railroad tracks bent; landslides common; water spills over banks of streams, lakes, etc.
XI. Few, if any, masonry structures remain standing; bridges are destroyed; broad fissures open in the ground; underground pipelines are completely out of service; earth subsides.
XII. Damage is total; waves are seen propagating along surface of the ground; nearly impossible to stand; objects thrown up into the air.
Source: The Public Health Consequences of Disasters, edited by Eric K Noji. Chapter 8. New York, Oxford University Press 1997.

10. Magnitude versus Intensity
Magnitude refers to the force of the earthquake as
a whole, while intensity refers to the effects of an
earthquake at a particular site.
An earthquake can have just one magnitude, while
intensity is usually strongest close to the epicenter
& is weaker the farther a site is from the epicenter.
The intensity of an earthquake is more germane to
its public health consequences than its magnitude.
“The intensity is assigned for a particular location on the basis of the visible consequences left by the earthquake and from subjective reports by people who experience the shaking.
Intensity scales also allow comparisons with earthquakes that occurred before the development of seismic monitoring instruments. The destruction that an earthquake causes is a function of its intensity and the resistance of structures to seismic damage. “
Source: The Public Health Consequences of Disasters, edited by Eric K Noji. Chapter 8. New York, Oxford University Press 1997.

11. Duration of the Earthquake Actual rupture duration: 3- 4 min.
Definition: The time it took for
earthquake to take place on
fault & rupture entire length
“The exact length of time that people felt the shaking varied from place to place, depending on their distance to the fault, and other factors, such as what type of bedrock they were on, what the crustal structure was below them and between them and the fault, etc.”
Citation source:
Northern Sumatra: Above the fault
Felt shaking: Several minutes
USGS

12. Unbelievable !! Es 20X10^17 Joules = 475 megatons of TNT
Earthquake = 23,000 Hiroshima Bombs
Released Energy by South Asian Earthquake
Es 20X10^17 Joules =
475 megatons of TNT
Source:
USGS

13. Effect of the Earthquake on the Length of Day
microseconds
Too small to be observed !
Change in length of day:     microseconds Polar motion excitation X : milliarcseconds Polar motion excitation Y:   0.475 milliarcseconds “Since the length of the day can be measured with an accuracy of about 20 microseconds, it is predicted that the change in the length-of-day caused by the earthquake is much too small to be observed. And, since the location of the earthquake was near the equator, the change in polar motion excitation is also rather small, being about 0.82 milliarcsecond in amplitude. Such a small change in polar motion excitation will also be difficult to detect. “
Citation source:
USGS

14. Max. displacement on the rupture surface between plates: 20 m
Earthquake 26 Dec 2004
Max. displacement on the rupture
surface between plates: 20 m
Max. displacement of sea bottom
above the quake source: 10 m
Source:
USGS

15. Rupture a patch along fault's surface by earthquakes
Larger the rupture patch, Larger the magnitude of earthquake
Source:
as BIG as California !!
Patch of fault by Sumatra-Andaman Islands Earthquake

16. How we can estimate the initial size of the rupture by an earthquake?
By studying:
Length of the aftershock zone
Dimensions of historical earthquakes
Generated elastic waves

17. The Earthquake Rupture’s Length & Width
Aftershocks
As 29 Dec: 68 aftershock
M 7.1: The largest, 3h after the main shock
M ≥ 6.0: 13 aftershocks
Source:
The Earthquake Rupture’s Length & Width
Length: km
Width: >100 km
USGS

18. Seismologists are not able to predict timing and sizes of individual
NO tsunamis by the aftershocks in south Asia
Number of aftershocks will decrease with time
Number of aftershocks can be quite variable.
Seismologists are not able to predict
timing and sizes of individual
aftershocks !
Source:
USGS

19. Location: Beneath the Indian Ocean west
Earthquake 26 Dec 2004
Location: Beneath the Indian Ocean west
of Sumatra, Indonesia
Epicenter: East of the Sunda Trench
Overriding plate: Burma Plate
Subducting plate: India Plate
To understand how an earthquake happens, please DO NOT forget to see the following slide at:
Source:

20. What is a Megathrust Earthquake? & What is the Thrust-Faulting?
26 Dec 2004: Result of Thrust - Faulting
Megathrust earthquakes occur where
one tectonic plate subducts beneath another.
What is the “Tectonic plates”?
The Earth’s solid surface floats on a layer of softer rock as a collection of interlocking, movable puzzle pieces called tectonic plates.
“In the region of the earthquake, the India plate moves toward the northeast at a rate of about 6 cm/year relative to the Burma plate. This results in oblique convergence at the Sunda trench. The oblique motion is partitioned into thrust-faulting, which occurs on the plate-interface and which involves slip directed perpendicular to the trench, and strike-slip faulting, which occurs several hundred kilometers to the east of the trench and involves slip directed parallel to the trench.”
Citation source:

21. Importance of Megathrust Earthquakes
World's largest recorded earthquakes have all
been megathrust events
Often generate large tsunamis that cause
damage over a much wider area than is directly
affected by ground shaking near the
earthquake's rupture
Citation source:
NEIC

22. The megathrust earthquake of Dec 26, 2004, occurred on the interface of India and Burma plates and was caused by the release of stresses that develop as the India plate subducts beneath the overriding Burma plate.
Citation source:
NEIC

23. History of Megathrust Earthquakes
1960 Chile, M 9.5
1964 Prince William Sound, Alaska, M 9.2
1957 Andreanof Islands, Alaska, M 9.1
1952 Kamchatka, M 9.0
Source:
NEIC

24. What is a Tsunami? soo-NAH-mee or Harbor Wave
is a Japanese word: tsu means
harbor & nami means wave
Did you see “JIT Tsunami” lecture?
A tsunami is a series of ocean waves of extremely long wave length and long period generated in a body of water by an impulsive disturbance that displaces the water.
Tsunamis are primarily associated with earthquakes in oceanic and coastal regions.
Landslides, volcanic eruptions, nuclear explosions, and even impacts of objects from outer space (such as meteorites, asteroids, and comets) can also generate tsunamis.
Citation source:

25. History of Significant Tsunamis in the Region
1797: > 300 fatalities at Padang, M 8.4 EQ
1833: Numerous victims at W Sumatra, M 8.7 EQ
1843: Many fatalities at the coast of Nias Island
1861: 1000s fatalities at W coast of Sumatra, M 8.5 EQ
1881: India’s eastern coast, M 7.9 EQ
883: 36,000 fatalities on islands of Java & Sumatra,
Krakatau explosion
1941: M ~7.7 Adaman Islands EQ ( Anecdotal evidence
of existing a tsunami)
Source:
USGS

26. How the earthquake 26 Dec 2004 generated tsunami?
NASA
How the earthquake 26 Dec generated tsunami?
Imagine a fist rising up from under the water. Water rolls down off the sides of the fist.
When the bottom of the ocean was deformed by this megathrust quake, the upward force acted like that fist, creating massive waves of tsunamis, which spread out in all directions.
Source:

27. Tsunami: 2 Wavefronts Distance: 500 - 850 km Height: 50 cm
Source: Radar satellites capture tsunami wave height. NewScientist.com news service. By: Maggie McKee

28. Tsunami Waves: Height & Travel time
10 m: Coastline of
Sumatra, near the
fault boundary
4 m: Sri Lanka,
Thailand, Somalia
& Seychelles
Travel times:
From minutes (Sumatra)
to 8 hours (Somalia)
“These maps show modeled maximum wave height (top) and travel time (lower) for the Indian Ocean Tsunami of December 26, Although the epicenter of the earthquake that triggered the tsunami was near the northern tip of Sumatra, the sea floor shifted along an arc stretching about 1200 km to the north. This shifting pushes a mass of water across the Indian Ocean.”
Citation source:

29. Tsunami: Distance & Damage
Distance alone: NO guarantee of safety
Somalia was hit harder than Bangladesh
despite being much farther away.
Source:

30. Andaman Islands One of the first affected places, Dec 26
NASA
Andaman Islands
One of the first affected
places, Dec 26
850 km N of epicenter
As 3 Jan: > 6000 death
Pictures: A portion of the Andaman Islands on 3 Jan 2005 (left) & 23 Jany 2003 (right).
Source:

31. The Most Affected Area by the Tsunami
NW coast of Sumatra, Aceh province, Indonesia
100 km (62 miles)
from the epicenter
Waves height:
15 m. (50 ft.)
80,000 death
(1/2 of total)
“The town of Lhoknga, on the west coast of Sumatra near the capital of Aceh, Banda Aceh, was completely destroyed by the tsunami, with the exception of the mosque in the city’s center.
Almost all the trees, vegetation, and buildings in the area were washed away. Behind the town, low-lying agricultural areas remained covered with water 4 days after the disaster, and sand on the nearby beaches was completely removed.”
Pictures: Lhoknga before (lower) and after (top) the earthquake and Tsunami.
Citation source:

32. Tsunami: Sri Lanka & India
Waves travel time: 4h
Devastation the island of Sri Lanka off the
southeastern tip of India
Moving the waves westward toward
southeastern India, along a stretch of coastline,
Coromandel Coast
Destruction of cities, towns, and fishing villages
up and down the coast of state of Tamil Nadu
Source:
NASA

33. Beaches of Khao Lak: struck 2-3 h after the earthquake
Tsunami: Thailand
Beaches of Khao Lak: struck 2-3 h after
the earthquake
Location: 500 km from the epicenter
Waves height: 10 m. (33 ft.)
Source:
NASA

34. Male, the capital island of Maldives was severely hit.
Tsunami: Maldives
Male, the capital island of Maldives was severely hit.
Source:

35. NO Tsunami Warning Issued on 26 Dec 2004 Disaster !!
The tsunamis devastated the shores of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, and other countries, even reaching the east coast of Africa, 4500 km (2,800 miles) west of the epicenter.
UNESCO offers tsunami assistance to countries in South Asia!
To learn more about Tsunami Warning System, please view the slides of “JIT Tsunami lecture”:
NO Tsunami Warning System exists for the Indian Ocean !!

36. Knowledge is Safety!
Girl's sea warning saved a hundred fellow tourists at Phuket beach from tsunami because of a geography lesson about the giant waves!!
Tilly urged her family to get off a beach in Thailand after seeing the tide rush out and boats on the horizon begin to bob violently. She recalled a recent school project on earthquakes and told her mother to get off the beach immediately; "Mummy, we must get off the beach now. I think there is going to be a tsunami." So, her parents alerted others and they cleared the Phuket beach just in time. Actually, it was one of the few beaches where no one has been reported killed or seriously injured.
So, please find the useful guidelines at:
Other useful links:
Source:

37. The impacts of earthquake & tsunami on South Asia
Dead:
Injured:32,327
Missed:14,950
Displaced: 1,754,433
Source:
WHO

38. We wish to express our warm thanks to GDHNet faculties and all groups that contributed their valuable materials.