It is the worst natural disaster in decades. On December 26 a gargantuan undersea earthquake off the coast of Sumatra rocked the Indian Ocean, sending killer waves racing toward land. Ravaging shores from Indonesia to Somalia, the tsunami claimed the lives of an estimated 150,000 people and left millions of others homeless and vulnerable to starvation and disease. In the hopes that Scientific American’s past coverage may help readers to understand why earthquakes and tsunamis occur–and the efforts scientists are making to predict them–we have pulled together a collection of our articles on these subjects. Links to other sites on the Web documenting the tragedy, as well as a list of some of the organizations accepting donations to aid its victims, follow.

Free preview. Full coverage available from Scientific American Digital Tsunamis 02/28/2002 Silent Volcanic Quakes Could Portend Tsunamis 09/04/2001 Scientists Predict a MegaTsunami May Devastate Eastern U.S. Coastline 10/20/2000 Killer Waves on the East Coast? 05/18/1999 Tsunami! Earthquakes 12/16/2004 Hidden Fault May Threaten Bay Area 03/01/2004 The Threat of Silent Earthquakes 12/09/2003 ‘Domino’ Earthquakes Could Be Deadly 05/05/2003 Earthquake Warning System Sounds Alarm Seconds before Tremors Begin 03/01/2003 Triggered Swarms 01/01/2003 Earthquake Conversations 09/19/2002 Popular Model of Earthquake Prediction Found Faulty 05/13/2002 Scaling the Quakes 09/19/2001 Devastating Medieval Earthquake Finally Understood 08/27/2001 Massive Himalayan Earthquake Overdue, Scientists Conclude05/02/2001 New Phase Transition May Explain Deep Earthquakes04/26/2001 Scientists Shake Up Theory of Plate Tectonics 04/12/2001 Scientists Explain Mysterious Quake 09/29/2000 Mississippi’s Triple Temblors 09/14/2000 Little Quake, Big Shakeup 12/20/1999 Stress Test 04/01/1998 On Shaky Ground Elsewhere on the Web NOAA and the Indian Ocean Tsunami USGS page on the Northern Sumatra earthquake and tsunami West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center page on the Indian Ocean tsunami Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory page on the December 26 tsunami Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory tsunami feature Relief Organizations American Red Cross Americares Action against Hunger Direct Relief International Doctors without Borders International Medical Corps International Rescue Committee Oxfam America Save the Children UNICEF United Nations World Food Programme World Health Organization

Tsunamis