20 years of Indian Ocean tsunami: Visakhapatnam revisits the dreadful tragedy

“I was at the government Victoria Hospital… my cousin was born on this date 20 years ago. People over there were scared of the tsunami. Most of them vacated the hospital.” comments u/thanu123ps on a post in the Reddit community of Visakhapatnam, recollecting memories of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. 

26 December 2024, marks 20 years since the third-most powerful tsunami was ever recorded in India – the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. 

On 26 December 2004, a major earthquake with a magnitude of 9.2 hit many places near the Indian Ocean, triggering a tsunami. The massive tsunami was caused by a rupture along the fault between the Burma plate and the Indian plate.

With waves rising up to 100 ft, the tsunami was estimated to have taken the lives of 230,00 people from 14 countries. While Indonesia was affected drastically, places including Thailand, Sri Lanka, and India also witnessed the effect.

The tsunami was later named as Boxing Day Tsunami (marking the the boxing holiday) or Asian Tsunami. That day is known to be one of the greatest tragedies of mankind. Apart from people losing their lives, around 1.7 million people were displaced and many communities lost their livelihoods. 

As today marks 20 years since this dreadful tragedy, the Reddit community of Visakhapatnam revisited their memories of that day.

It all started with a post by a u/legitimate-Tax7861 “20 years since 2004 Tsunami attack,” with the user asking everyone where they were in the city 20 years ago. 

The user further shared, “I don’t remember seeing the damage live, but I remember the news showing how our beloved beach turned into a monster.” 

The 2004 tsunami triggered massive destruction in some places. The wave speed was recorded as 300 miles per hour. Some experts believe that it released the energy equivalent to 23,000 atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima.

“Bro, I remember people swarming to the beach to see the tsunami but there was not much to see tbh,” shared, u/vamsi_v.

Although Visakhapatnam was not impacted significantly in 2004, the Indian Ocean tsunami created chaos and panic among many. The anchors at the Visakhapatnam Harbour collided, and masses of fishes were scattered everywhere. 

“I was in 7th and we went to mavayyas’ (uncle’s) home on Beach Road to notice the sea. I was very excited but my parents were not so much, it hits now why they were not excited…” added u/vamsi_v.

Although people were sad about the loss caused, there was a sigh of relief among the fisherman community of Andhra Pradesh as it did not have a direct effect on them.

Since that day, every year, the Andhra Pradesh fishermen community offered prayers to Goddess Gangamma on December 26 expressing their gratitude for “protecting” them during the tsunami. 

What were you doing during the tsunami? Comment below and share your experiences with us!

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