On December 26, 2004, the world's most powerful earthquake in more than forty years struck deep under the Indian Ocean off the Indonesian island of Sumatra, triggering massive tsunamis that obliterated villages and seaside resorts in eleven countries, reaching as far as the east coast of Africa. People, animals, trees, buildings and cars were swept away by 30-foot-high walls of water that rolled across the Bay of Bengal.
For the first week following the natural disaster, the death toll seemed to rise almost exponentially on a daily basis. The latest number is around 150,000, with Indonesia hit the hardest, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the casualties. That total is not considered to be a final one by any means, as the possibility of dispread disease such as malaria and cholera still looms for the survivors.