This was really sad. We made a project on this in school to collect funds as this tsunami hit india too. It was a disaster which ruined people's life. The December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was caused by an earthquake that is thought to have had the energy of 23,000 Hiroshima-type atomic bombs. The rupture was more than 600 miles long, displacing the seafloor by 10 yards horizontally and several yards vertically. As a result, trillions of tons of rock moved, causing the largest magnitude earthquake in 40 years.
Within hours of the earthquake, killer waves radiating from the epicenter slammed into the coastlines of 11 countries, damaging countries from east Africa to Thailand. The tsunami resulted in at least 227,898 fatalities.

A general view of the scene at the Marina beach in Madras, 26 December 2004, after tidal waves hit the region in india.