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20 years of the Aceh tsunami: From ‘megathrust’ threat to disaster mitigation
Accurately predicting earthquakes and tsunamis remains impossible. Therefore, mitigation and risk reduction are crucial.
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A woman places a bouquet at a mass burial site during the commemoration of the tsunami in Banda Aceh on Dec. 26, 2017. (JP/Hotli Simanjuntak)
O
n Dec. 26, 2004, at 7:58:53 a.m. local time, a 9.1 moment magnitude (Mw) earthquake occurred off the west coast of Aceh. The quake, originating from a depth of 30 kilometers below the sea, triggered a tsunami that devastated the province.
Research in 2021 suggested the earthquake’s magnitude was actually greater than what was previously recorded: 9.2 Mw. Scientists came to this conclusion after recalculating tsunami data using Green’s Function, a mathematical method that analyzes how tsunami waves are formed and spread. This gave them a more accurate estimate of how strong the earthquake was.
From Dec. 26, 2004 to Feb. 26, 2005, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) documented about 2,050 aftershocks.
The effects of the 2004 Aceh earthquake and tsunami extended beyond Indonesia, affecting coastlines in Southeast Asia, South Asia and possibly Africa. More than 227,000 people were killed, with Aceh alone accounting for approximately 167,000.
The natural disaster is known as one of the most devastating in history. While it left deep wounds, it also demonstrated the fundamental need for disaster preparedness.
Indonesia is prone to disasters due to its location in a tectonically active zone with four major plates, Indo-Australian, Eurasian, Pacific and Philippine, having convergence movement.
These plate clashes have the potential to trigger massive earthquakes, particularly in western Sumatra, southern Java, Bali, Nusa Tenggara, the Banda Sea, Maluku, Papua and Sulawesi.
