Damage and Height Distribution of Sumatra Earthquake-Tsunami of December 26, 2004, in Banda Aceh City and its Environs

Abstract

A huge earthquake of magnitude M 9.0 occurred at 00:58 (UT), December 26, 2004, in the sea off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia, followed by a huge tsunami that hit almost all coasts facing the Indian Ocean. We conducted a field survey in the residential area of Banda Aceh, the town of the severest damage by the tsunami, on the west coast of the northernmost point Sumatra, Sigli City, about 80 kilometers east of Banda Aceh three-four weeks after the event. In Banda Aceh, almost all houses in the residential area about 2 km from the coast were swept away, while houses more than 3 km rarely were. Inundation continued about 5 to 6 km from the shoreline. In Lhoknga and several villages on the west coast of Sumatra Island near Banda Aceh, where tsunamis 15 to 30 meters high hit coastal villages, nobody survived. Along the valley about 1 km north of the cement plant, seawater rose to a height of 34.8 m above MSL, which is the highest recorded inundation measured in our survey.