Indian Ocean tsunami: Facts and figures

A man surveys the wreckage in Banda Aceh, the worst-hit by the disaster. Credit: Reuters

The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami is among the worst natural disasters on record - leaving hundreds of thousands dead and millions displaced from their homes.

These are just some of the shocking facts and figures behind the 2004 disaster - which occurred ten years ago today:

  • The 9.1 magnitude earthquake that prompted the tsunami was the third strongest since records began in 1899

  • The energy released by the earthquake was equivalent to 23,000 Hiroshima-sized atomic bombs

  • The highest waves are thought to have reached 65-100 feet in height

  • 227,000 people were killed across 14 countries - with Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand worst-affected

  • Only three disasters killed more people in the previous century - flooding in China, 1931 (1 million +), a cyclone in Bangladesh, 1970 (300,000) and an earthquake in China, 1976 (255,000)

This video from Australia's Bureau of Meteorology National Tidal Centre shows the spread of the tsunami after the initial quake.

  • Though the epicentre of the earthquake was in Indonesia, deaths were recorded as far away as South Africa

  • Around two million people are believed to have been displaced overall

  • An estimated 10,000 British citizens were affected by the disaster, of which 149 died

  • Around £7 billion damage is estimated to have been caused by the earthquake and tsunami

  • Roughly £8.7 billion in aid and reconstruction was delivered to nations affected

Sources: DEC, ITST, NOAA, UNESCO, TEC, Reuters