Thailand Tsunami 2004 and Japan Tsunami 2011 – What are the Differences and Similarities

Two of the deadliest tsunamis in history occurred in the 21^st century – in Indonesia in 2004 and in Japan in 2011. Thousands of people lost their lives and many more have been left homeless and destitute. 2004 Tsunami The tsunami that occurred on December 26, 2004 was named the “2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.” The center of the earthquake was Sumatra in Indonesia. According to the statistics released by the US Geological Agency, the number of deaths due to this catastrophic event was over 200,000. For the most part, the dead were residents of Indonesia, but because of the time of the year almost every country in the world was affected because there were so many people vacationing in the area. 2011 Tsunami The center of the earthquake that sparked the tsunami that occurred in Japan on March 11, 2011, was Tohoku, the largest island of Japan. An earthquake of the highest magnitude, 9.0, hit Sendai a large city in the northern part of the country. At present, the dead and missing are still being counted. The numbers stand at 2000 dead and about 3000 missing. Similarities between the two events The death toll from the 2004 tsunami has been estimated to be about 220,000. Although the death toll in Japan is much lower, the numbers are expected to rise significantly. Both events caused much devastation to the region and disrupted the lives of the people forever. The presence of nuclear reactors in Japan brought much frustration and worry to the country and the world because of the fears of a radioactive emergency. In fact people who lived in the area were evacuated. The tsunami that hit Japan has caused many hoaxes about the end of the world being close at hand. But this is nothing new when a natural disaster occurs. Summary

1. The death toll from the 2004 tsunami is much higher than that of the 2011 tsunami.
2. Sumatra, Indonesia was the center of the earthquake in 2004 and Sendai. Japan was the center of the earthquake in 2011.
3. The magnitude of the Japan earthquake was 9.0, but the magnitude of the quake that hit Indonesia was 9.1.