# Tsunami in Indonesia: Where does it rank in history? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 29, 2004, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-in-indonesia-where-does-it-rank-in-history/282034 "2004-12-29T01:18:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-in-indonesia-where-does-it-rank-in-history/282034/21 "2004-12-29T15:56:44Z")
> [@Ringo](#): > > As regards comparing this to 9/11, I think there’s also a significant difference between a natural disaster and willful mass homicide. I agree with that completely but if we want to we do not have to try too hard to get the 9/11 death toll up into natural disaster range. When talking of the number of dead from the tsunami they will doubtless include those who died from disease (or anything) they feel can be directly traced to the tsunami as the primary cause. 9/11 may have killed ~3,000 people at the outset but a direct result of that has been the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq (unless someone thinks Bush could have gotten us to Iraq sans 9/11). I am having a hard time finding total casualty numbers for Afghanistan (Afghanis + Coalition troops) but estimates now have the Iraq war at ~100,000 deaths ([cite](http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/10/29/iraq.deaths/) ). So, one could reasonably say thay 9/11 is not only unique in that it was willful and not just mother nature/bad luck but that it also has killed many, many more as a traceable result and had profound political effects that will be felt for decades. ---
**Author:** ![Arwin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Arwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arwin)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-in-indonesia-where-does-it-rank-in-history/282034/22 "2004-12-29T16:52:08Z")
> [@rfgdxm](#): > > It has been mentioned here. 9/11 is significant because those who died were thought of as “more important.” Political reality. I disagree with that as a reason. Obviously the cause - tsunami through see-level earthquake or two planes with passengers directed into two of the largest buildings in the world by terrorists, i.a. natural accidents or willful homicide, matters a lot. Also, to Americans, it matters more because it happens in America. Simple as that. But even in world history, the significance of 9/11 is its political impact, allowing for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, among others, influencing the political climate in the world (for instance allowing other countries like Russia and Israel to get away with tough action and the U.S. forcing countries to take sides either for or against them, like in Pakistan), and all that even affecting the World economy through raised oil-prices and the explosion of the U.S. national deficit. (which reminds me that the old saying that in a war there are only losers applies to the War on Terror and the War on Drugs as well - just calling something a War alone seems enough to jinx whatever good cause you think you’re persuing) ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-in-indonesia-where-does-it-rank-in-history/282034/23 "2004-12-29T17:52:21Z")
The footnote from the link: 1. March 28, 03:36:14 UT (March 27, 5:36 P.M. local time). ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-in-indonesia-where-does-it-rank-in-history/282034/24 "2004-12-30T20:22:32Z")
I saw this data in a Yahoo slideshow graphic, which [charts the ten highest tsunami waves](http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/net/20041230/capt.8d19a173d5be15ed6cf6305d83d8599a.pjpeg) ever recorded for Alaska, California and Hawaii. The source is the NOAA via the AP: > [@](#): > > Alaska, 1958 - 1,732.5 feet > Alaska, 1936 - 495.0 feet > Alaska, 1853 - 396.0 feet > Alaska, 1964 - 231.0 feet > … > Hawaii, 1868 - 66.0 feet > Hawaii, 1946 - 56.1 feet > Hawaii, 1957 - 53.1 feet > … > California, 1934 - 39.6 feet > CA, WA, OR, 1964 - 20.8 feet > California, 1930 - 20.1 feet So, what survives a 1,732.5 foot wave? Did that actually break on land? Anyone have an historical perspective? ---
**Author:** ![aahala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@aahala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aahala)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-in-indonesia-where-does-it-rank-in-history/282034/25 "2004-12-30T21:07:49Z")
Here’s a link with some details of the more recent Alaskan ones: [http://www.usc.edu/dept/tsunamis/alaska/index.html](http://www.usc.edu/dept/tsunamis/alaska/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Big\_Cheese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8baadc/32.png) [@The\_Big\_Cheese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Big_Cheese)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-in-indonesia-where-does-it-rank-in-history/282034/26 "2004-12-30T23:26:05Z")
either yesterday or the day before, MSN, where I go to check my hotmail, had a short article about the worst disasters since 1900. I can’t find it now, but it listed the top 5. They were all in Asia and had to do with water. Number 1 was the Yangtzee flooding with about 3.6 million dead in '31. The Yangtzee flooded again sometime during the century and was again in the top 5. Something in Bangladesh had about a half million dead too. ---
**Author:** ![Roches](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bc8723/32.png) [@Roches](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roches)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-in-indonesia-where-does-it-rank-in-history/282034/27 "2004-12-31T00:34:48Z")
The link aahala posted makes it more clear how a 1,732.5-foot ‘wave’ was possible. The 1732-foot wave actually occurred in a bay, when the earthquake triggered a rockslide that sent water splashing to a height of 1732 feet (above sea level, I assume) and also caused a local tsunami of great height. The tsunami itself was said to be about 100 feet at its highest. (The link includes a topographical map and further details.) It may be possible that water splashes to even greater altitudes have occurred as a result of nuclear explosions (although those aren’t natural events) or asteroid impacts (although not within recorded history). ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-in-indonesia-where-does-it-rank-in-history/282034/28 "2004-12-31T01:14:06Z")
> [@aahala](#): > > The largest loss of life in the US due to nature was possibly the Galveston hurricane in 1900. > > The head of the local weather bureau attempted to get local officials and Washington interested in his prediction of impending doom without success. > 6,000-8,000 died. On, the contrary, [Isaac Cline](http://www.1900storm.com/isaaccline/index.lasso), the chief of the U.S. Weather Service bureau in Galveston during the 1900 hurricane, discounted the possibility of a serious hurricane, ignored the falling barometer and the unusual sea swells in the hours before the storm, and failed to raise the hurricane warning flag until after the storm had hit. He then spent the rest of his life trying (with some success) to convince Galvestonians that he had ridden through town warning everyone about the approaching storm. I heard this legend as a child growing up in Galveston, but as documented in the book [_Isaac’s Storm_](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0375708278/qid=1104455584/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/103-5692514-1026205), there is absolutely no corroborating evidence that Cline actually did this. From the link above: > [@](#): > > There typically are two portraits of Cline painted in history books. One is of a hero, who rode through town warning people of the impending danger of the hurricane. > > The other is that of an arrogant man who did not think Galveston could be struck by a hurricane of the fierce intensity that washed across the island on Sept. 8, 1900. These critics describe a man who encouraged resistance against plans to build a wall to protect the city, a wall that would be built after the 1900 Storm. ---
**Author:** ![aahala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@aahala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aahala)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-in-indonesia-where-does-it-rank-in-history/282034/29 "2004-12-31T03:00:40Z")
> [@robby](#): > > On, the contrary, [Isaac Cline](http://www.1900storm.com/isaaccline/index.lasso), the chief of the U.S. Weather Service bureau in Galveston during the 1900 hurricane, discounted the possibility of a serious hurricane, ignored the falling barometer and the unusual sea swells in the hours before the storm, and failed to raise the hurricane warning flag until after the storm had hit. > From the link above: I see there’s a History Channel documentary based on the book. I can’t be sure, but I believe it may have been the one I saw, which was part of my memory when I posted. Of course I don’t know the actual facts, but part of whatever film I did see I had completely forgetten until I read your post. The film claimed rival predictions from brothers, the younger who was not the chief, attempting to confince his brother and others Galveston would be hit with a deadly hurricane. ---
**Author:** ![pilot141](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e0b2c6/32.png) [@pilot141](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pilot141)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-in-indonesia-where-does-it-rank-in-history/282034/30 "2004-12-31T04:34:15Z")
While I’m glad to see that we’re getting back on topic, the OP’s question is indeed a difficult one. Only recently do we have the “Earthquake here = death thousands of miles away” ability to tie everything together. Even so, it seems that river floods in the 20th century dwarf this disaster in terms of lives lost. ---
**Author:** ![Timchik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@Timchik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Timchik)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-in-indonesia-where-does-it-rank-in-history/282034/31 "2004-12-31T05:21:40Z")
> [@The Big Cheese](#): > > either yesterday or the day before, MSN, where I go to check my hotmail, had a short article about the worst disasters since 1900. I can’t find it now, but it listed the top 5. They were all in Asia and had to do with water. > > Number 1 was the Yangtzee flooding with about 3.6 million dead in '31. > The Yangtzee flooded again sometime during the century and was again in the top 5. > Something in Bangladesh had about a half million dead too. From [_For the Time Being_](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0375403809/ref=lpr_g_1/002-3036525-6208824?v=glance&s=books) by Annie Dillard: “What were you doing on April 30, 1991, when a series of waves drowned 138,000 people? Where were you when you first heard the astounding, heart-breaking news? Who told you? . . . Who did you tell? Did your anguish last days or weeks?” This in reference to the “something in Bangladesh”. I’m ashamed to say that when I read this book in 2000, I had no memory of the event (and I was 25 at the time). Does anyone here personally remember this? Will you remember this tsunami 15 years from now? ---
**Author:** ![Sparrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Sparrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparrow)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-in-indonesia-where-does-it-rank-in-history/282034/32 "2004-12-31T08:53:27Z")
> [@Timchik](#): > > From [_For the Time Being_](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0375403809/ref=lpr_g_1/002-3036525-6208824?v=glance&s=books) by Annie Dillard: > “What were you doing on April 30, 1991, when a series of waves drowned 138,000 people? Where were you when you first heard the astounding, heart-breaking news? Who told you? . . . Who did you tell? Did your anguish last days or weeks?” > This in reference to the “something in Bangladesh”. I’m ashamed to say that when I read this book in 2000, I had no memory of the event (and I was 25 at the time). > Does anyone here personally remember this? > Will you remember this tsunami 15 years from now? Yes, I do, but not very much, to my shame. It was in the 1970s I think, a hurricane in the Bay of Bengal flooded a large part of low-lying Bangladesh. I think about half a million died. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-in-indonesia-where-does-it-rank-in-history/282034/33 "2004-12-31T12:03:40Z")
I thought _all_ of Bangladesh could be described as “low-lying”. I have vague recollections of some of the “recent disasters” mentioned, but let’s face it, 20 years ago we didn’t have CNN to show us a disaster as it was unfolding. Between CNN, satellite photos, handheld video cameras, and picture-taking cellphones we are more connected than ever before. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-in-indonesia-where-does-it-rank-in-history/282034/34 "2004-12-31T12:19:26Z")
> [@Sparrow](#): > > Yes, I do, but not very much, to my shame. It was in the 1970s I think, a hurricane in the Bay of Bengal flooded a large part of low-lying Bangladesh. I think about half a million died. George Harrison had a relief concert for Bangladesh about 1971-2. I remember this because of the album, I wasn’t old enough to be much into world events at that time. I do remember the later floods, and pictures from them, although I don’t remember much of what caused them and what, if anything, we (the USA) did to help out in that instance. But that’s the event that put Bangladesh “on the map” for me. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-in-indonesia-where-does-it-rank-in-history/282034/35 "2004-12-31T12:22:26Z")
> [@Roches](#): > > The link aahala posted makes it more clear how a 1,732.5-foot ‘wave’ was possible. > The 1732-foot wave actually occurred in a bay, when the earthquake triggered a rockslide that sent water splashing to a height of 1732 feet (above sea level, I assume) and also caused a local tsunami of great height. The tsunami itself was said to be about 100 feet at its highest. (The link includes a topographical map and further details.) It may be possible that water splashes to even greater altitudes have occurred as a result of nuclear explosions (although those aren’t natural events) or asteroid impacts (although not within recorded history). The amazing thing on this one is that, if I read the link correctly, only two people were killed in that, both trying to flee the 100 foot wave that flushed out from the bay. Apparently many more people survived it, probably their boats just crested the wave. It must have been absolutely terrifying, though. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Serpentine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3be4f8/32.png) [@Silver\_Serpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Serpentine)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-in-indonesia-where-does-it-rank-in-history/282034/36 "2004-12-31T13:00:32Z")
Death toll’s up to 120,000 now, btw. That’s 20,000 more than when I checked the news about 5 hours ago. I really can’t even comprehend that. I won’t be surprised if this gets up to a quarter of a million. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-in-indonesia-where-does-it-rank-in-history/282034/37 "2004-12-31T14:05:09Z")
> [@Ringo](#): > > The footnote from the link: > > 1. March 28, 03:36:14 UT (March 27, 5:36 P.M. local time). What link? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-in-indonesia-where-does-it-rank-in-history/282034/38 "2004-12-31T14:10:01Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > The death toll has eclipsed 55,000. Tens of thousands of people are still unaccounted for. In terms of number of deaths, loss of property, scope of the disaster (area affected), how does this stack up to other catastrophic disasters in world history? [Here](http://library.thinkquest.org/C003603/english/flooding/casestudies.shtml#5) is a site that talks about floods. Of note is the 1931 flooding of the Yellow River in China that killed 3.7 _million_ people. It happened again in 1938, killing another million. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-in-indonesia-where-does-it-rank-in-history/282034/39 "2004-12-31T14:17:21Z")
There was an earthquake in 1556 in China that killed 800,000. Or so Iv’e heard 😉 . Why so many dead? In 1556? Ummm… Weren’t most structures one story shacks? ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-in-indonesia-where-does-it-rank-in-history/282034/40 "2004-12-31T14:51:16Z")
> [@rfgdxm](#): > > It has been mentioned here. 9/11 is significant because those who died were thought of as “more important.” Political reality. I don’t think it has anything to do with the importance of the people killed. History is the story of how people treat other people. 9/11 was a voluntary action by some people who deliberately set out to cause maximum damage. It something that didn’t have to happen. But an Earthquake is caused by forces beyond our control. There’s nothing that could be done about it. If only we could all learn to get along then things like 9/11 wouldn’t happen, but earthquakes would continue. That’s why 9/11 is an event of historical importance, but the tsunami is just one of those things. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-in-indonesia-where-does-it-rank-in-history/282034.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-in-indonesia-where-does-it-rank-in-history/282034.md?page=3)