On the 26th
December 2004 one of the largest earthquakes in the last century struck off the
west coast of Sumatra. This resulted in one of the largest
tsunamis seen in modern times affecting many countries surrounding the Indian
Ocean including Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, India and Eastern
Africa. It was the deadliest tsunami in recorded history killing over 220,000
people. Many bodies were lost at sea or buried in mass graves and not
recorded meaning an accurate number will never been known. This disaster opened the world’s eyes to how destructive natural disasters
can be and how vulnerable and unprepared countries are to these events. Since
then significant improvements have been made to mitigate the effect of
tsunamis, with modelling, prediction and warning systems introduced in many
areas.
On 26th December 2004 a large mega-thrust earth
quake of MW9.3 struck the Sumatra-Andaman Region and resulted in the formation of
numerous large tsunami waves which spread out across the Indian Ocean and
devastating areas along the coasts. The earthquakes epicentre was 3.09oN
and 94.26oE, 100km off the Sumatran coast and occurred along a fault
line stretching from Indonesia to the Andaman Islands in the North where the
Indo-Australian Plate was subducting beneath the Sunda and Burma sub-plates.
The earthquake occurred due to the overriding plate becoming locked
meaning bending and buckling was occurring of this plate, until there is an
abrupt slip and the plate rebounds back (Fig.2) causing a large earthquake and
displacing a large volume of water.(Stein and Okal, n.d.)
The area affected by the Tsunami was vast and even small displacements could be seen on the East Coast of South America. Image from Titov
et al. 2005
The waves were 3-11m high and caused devastation, even today there are scars of the event on the coastlines.
Today an Early Warning Tsunami System has been implemented across the whole of the Indian Ocean and it is constantly monitored due to the risk of the tsunamis.
It was one of the worst events in recorded history and today we remember all those people lost and those affected around the world, ten years on.
Titov, V., Rabinovich, A.B., Mofjield, H., Thompson, R., and
Gonzalez, F. (2005) The Global Reach of the 26 December 2004 Sumatra Tsunami. Science. 309, pp.2045-2048.
I hope everyone is having a great festive period! Me and the dog took another Christmas Day selfie!
Hope everyone got some amazing gifts, I got some awesome stuff and that includes something that was probably in a lot of peoples stockings, a selfie-stick! (PS I didnt ask for that)
But look at all this I got! aaaahhh its going to last me for the whole year!
What a year for music in 2014!!! We have seen an explosion in British talent and amazing success for the Brits across the globe!
There has been an array of music in the charts with numerous newbies reaching numero uno!
This year streaming music was added to the official top 40 chart in the UK. But that chart means nothing right now. The chart to take note, of course, is this one!
This list comprises my top 20 songs of 2014, some in which many of you may have forgotten about!
20. Pitbull - Timber (Ft. Ke$ha)
Now this kicked off 2014 and was number one in the first week. It is a huge guilty pleasure of mine but gotta love a bit of farmhouse!
19. Bastille - Torn Apart
Now Bastille have been about all year but most of their songs came out on top last year. This one is a new song however for the "Other Peoples Heartach Part III mixtape. Its one of my favourites but there are some proper bangers on there, check it out; its only recently been released!!
18. Jessie J, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj - Bang Bang
A guilty pleasure now, its this huge amalgamation of pop! I really enjoyed the performance on this years VMAs!
17. Saint Motel - My Type
Now I heard this played a few times on the radio and really liked it. I ended up loosing the song after a few months not having a clue where to find it but luckily one day it popped back in my life so I grabbed hold of it and here it is! Bring on the Brass!
16. Ed Sheeran - Don't
Now what a year Ed Sheeran has had, releasing his second album "x" has seen him at the top of the charts for much of the year. For me I think I like this album more than the last! My favourite however, is probably this one!
15. Take That - These Days
Another guilty pleasure now is the first single from Take That's New Album, there is just something about this song which is catchy and makes you feel happy!
14. Mr Probz - Waves [Robin Schulz Remix]
Now this one takes me back to summertime! A proper summer chill out tune! Reminds of times by the pool and in the sun!
13. One Republic - Love Runs Out
Now this one is a great song! The drums at the start of the record set a good pace and beat through the song and the vocals are great!
12. Tiesto - Red Lights / Wasted
Now here I actually have two songs at 13, but they are pretty similar and by Tiesto. I couldn't decide which was better so here are both! Red lights and wasted!
11. MKTO - Classic
Now here is a song that was massive in America and briefly breached out over here reaching the Top 20. Another feel good pop song but one of the main reasons I like it soooo much is LOST star Malcolm Kelly (WAAAAALT) makes up part of the duo.
10. Jess Glynne - Right Here
Now this song is best listened to LOUD! Just listen to that bass. Another summer hit!
9. Arctic Monkeys - Why'd you only call me when you're high?
This feels like it was out ages ago! Definitely from my favourite album of the year, AM this was one of the best!
8. Mark Ronson - Uptown Funk (Ft. Bruno Mars)
Now the most recent song on the list is this one! I did hear this song before a certain X factor contestant wowed the judges a few weeks ago! The popularity surrounding the song and performance meant its release was brought forward from January to now! First time I heard it I loved it, now its just amazing! You cant help but move! Loving the Brass
7. Foster The People - Best Friend
This tune is another one to listen to loud! Bit of a creepy video but yes here is the brass again!
6. Arctic Monkeys - Snap Out Of It
Top five now its getting serious!! Here is the second one from AM! This one is my favourite from the album and I have listened to it over and over again many times!
5. Lower Than Atlantis - Emily
Now I haven't heard much of LTA but this song is making me a huge fan!
4. Duke Dumont - I Got U (Ft. Jax Jones)
The first few seconds of the song are absolute bliss. Just close your eyes and imagine yourself on a tropical beach! Or you could watch the video which shows off some amazing places around the globe! Many of which I have actually been too! The video is pretty hilarious too! This was the song of the summer!
3. Klaxons - There is no other time Luckily for me I actually got to see these guys live this year which was absolutely fantastic! This song was the best off their album!!
2. Coldplay - A Sky Full Of Stars
This year saw a new album from Coldplay, a different more original sound from the band with some other good songs such as Magic. I have to admit it wasn't my favourite album but there are some really good songs on there. Including this one, produced by Avicii. A good dance hit, sing a long and such an uplifting song! I loved this song over summer and have listened to it so many times coming into London! Definitely my soundtrack of 2014.
1. Clean Bandit - Rather Be (Ft. Jess Glynne)
This is definitely the song of the year! Its been about all year! I loved it when it was released, got a little bored of it. But once it was played out during a certain high street store commercial it became my favourite tune again. Ft. vocals from Jess Glynne again another song best heard loud!
