Suggested Searches

1 min read

Earthquake Spawns Tsunamis

Instruments:
2004-12-29 00:00:00
December 29, 2004

The beaches of Khao Lak, Thailand were struck by a tsunami 2-3 hours after the magnitude 9.0 earthquake of December 26, 2004. Although 500 km away from the epicenter, the waves were 10 meters (33 feet) high. A resort area popular with Northern European tourists, luxury resorts dotted the coastline (January 3, 2003 image, lower center). Buildings and vegetation were scoured by the waves, leaving foundations and bare soil. Beach sand was also removed by the tsunamis. These high-resolution satellite images were acquired by DigitaGlobe’s Ikonos satellite.

References & Resources

© All Rights Reserved: Use of IKONOS, GeoEye, QuickBird and WorldView imagery must be coordinated with Maxar.

Images copyright DigitalGlobe.© All Rights Reserved: Use of IKONOS, GeoEye, QuickBird, WorldView, and Digital Globe imagery must be coordinated with Maxar.

You may also be interested in:

Stay up-to-date with the latest content from NASA as we explore the universe and discover more about our home planet.

Gravity Waves From Super Typhoon Sinlaku
4 min read

Satellites observed striking upper-atmosphere phenomena generated by an intensifying tropical cyclone.

Article
San Francisco’s Metropolitan Mosaic
3 min read

Urban development, green spaces, and maritime activity converge in this Northern California city.

Article
Why Maine’s Sandy Shorelines Turn Jagged
4 min read

Differences in the underlying bedrock and how rivers distribute sediment make the coastlines west of Portland look unlike those northeast…

Article