The Indian Ocean tsunami and its environmental impacts

"At 0058 GMT on 26 December 2004, a massive earthquake of magnitude 9.0 struck the coastal area off northern Sumatra in Indonesia. A number of after shocks also occurred, some of magnitude 7.1. These earthquakes triggered tsunamis that affected Indonesia and neighbouring countries in Asia (including India, Malaysia, Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Thailand) and the east coasts of Africa (including Somalia and Yemen), causing serious damage to the coastal areas and small islands"