The Daily Mail, December 2024
The world’s deadliest tsunami hit nations around the Indian Ocean two decades ago before social media platforms flourished, but they have since transformed how we understand and respond to disasters—from finding the missing to swift crowdfunding. When a 9.1-magnitude quake caused a tsunami that smashed into coastal areas on December 26, 2004, killing more than 220,000 people, broadcasters, newspapers and wire agencies were the main media bringing news of the calamity to the world. Yet in some places, the sheer scale took days to emerge.
“The first hints of the extent were from European visitors who got text messages from friends back home,” said Oberle, adding people initially thought the quake was local and small, when its epicentre was actually near western Indonesia, hundreds of miles away. “I wrote the blog because there were so many friends and family who wanted to know more. Plus I was getting many queries from strangers. People were desperate for good news tales,” said the US-based physician, who helped the injured.
