It was the latest day in history to end with a lower human population than it began with. The Tsunami in the Indian Ocean triggered by the most powerful earthquake on Earth in 40 years, generated the largest Tsunami in the Indian Ocean since 1883. Some of the tsunamis reached as far as 3,000 miles from the epicenter of the 9.0 magnitude quake, which was located about 100 miles (160 km) off the coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra Island at a depth of about 6.2 miles (10km). Sri Lanka reported 30,196 confirmed deaths.
2004 AD
Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
It was the latest day in history to end with a lower human population than it began with. The Tsunami in the Indian Ocean triggered by the most powerful earthquake on Earth in 40 years, generated the largest Tsunami in the Indian Ocean since 1883. Some of the tsunamis reached as far as 3,000 miles from the epicenter of the 9.0 magnitude quake, which was located about 100 miles (160 km) off the coast of Indonesia's Sumatra Island at a depth of about 6.2 miles (10km). Sri Lanka reported 30,196 confirmed deaths.