Reply #5: Here's something of additional interest [View All]

From: "C. & L. Collins" <collins@pcug.org.au>
Subject: Non-Gene - Indian Ocean Tsunami, 1833
Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2004 22:48:04 +1000

I am searching for records of a possible tsunami ('tidal wave') which may have been observed on the 24 or 25 of November in 1833 following a great earthquake off the southern coast of Sumatra. This earthquake is believed to have had a magnitude between 8.5 - 9.0 making it amongst the largest recorded, and modelling suggests that the coastlines of the Bay of Bengal, southern India, Ceylon, and islands in the Indian Ocean may have experienced a substantial tsunami. If anyone comes across a reference to such an event in their ancestors' papers I would very much appreciate hearing about it. It is not only of historical interest but is very much relevant to assessing the present day hazard to coastal areas in the region.

A number of other tsunamis have been recorded from earthquakes in the Bay of Bengal, particularly from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, since 1737, and if you have come across any reference to these I would also appreciate hearing about them.