Moving forward post-tsunami voices of the vulnerable (United Nations, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, 2006)
On 26 December 2004, a massive earthquake of magnitude 9.0 (Richter scale) occurred off the west coast of north Sumatra, Indonesia. This was followed by a series of aftershocks that triggered tidal waves (tsunami) that travelled at over 600 km/h causing extensive coastal damage to Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand. Later on the tsunami reached Bangladesh, India, Maldives, and Sri Lanka. Finally it reached Kenya, Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania, and Yemen. In all over 2.4 million people were affected, with over 286,000 dead and more than 7,800 missing. The fisheries sector was hit worst by the tsunami, but crop and livestock as well as coastal ecosystems, including mangroves and other crop trees, also suffered serious damages. In terms of economic losses, estimates from India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Somalia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand combined put the cost in the fisheries sector alone at US 250 million.