Tamil Nadu (SunstarTV Bureau): Tamil Nadu locals pay floral tribute to 2004 tsunami victims, on the 16th anniversary, at Marina Beach in Chennai.
December 26 marks the 16th anniversary of the massive Indian Ocean tsunami. On this day, a 100-foot high tsunami triggered by an earthquake of magnitude 9.1, one of the largest ever recorded, from under the Indian Ocean.
The tsunami had resulted in killing of more than 230,000 people in South Asia. With the epicentre near Sumatra, Indonesia, the earthquake triggered a tsunami that hit Thailand, Sri Lanka, India & Indonesia.
The Sumatra earthquake and tsunami are considered to be an eye-opener for India as it introduced the Indian coastline to tsunami and its destructible power. Learning from the unprecedented natural disaster that led to such heavy damage to life and property, the Ministry of Earth founded the Indian Tsunami Early Warning System (ITEWS) at Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad in October 2007.
