The Aceh tsunami was preceded by an earthquake that occurred at 07.59 WIB. Not long after that, a tsunami wave appeared which was estimated to have a height of 30 meters, with a speed of up to 100 meters per second, or 360 kilometers per hour. This big and strong wave not only washed away residents, livestock, destroyed settlements and even an area, but also managed to drag a ship into the middle of the mainland. The ship is a PLTD Floating Ship which was dragged up to 5 kilometers from the waters to the middle of the mainland. The day after the incident, the United Nations (UN) declared the Aceh tsunami natural disaster as the largest humanitarian disaster that has ever occurred. Since then, international aid has arrived to help the people affected by the Aceh tsunami. Including military aircraft from Germany to aircraft carriers belonging to the United States were brought to the disaster site. After a few days and the search for victims continued to be intensified, the United Nations on January 4, 2005, issued an initial estimate that the death toll from the Aceh tsunami was likely to exceed 200,000. The number of victims from the Aceh tsunami is said to have reached 230,000 people.
Tsunami Aceh didahului gempa yang terjadi pada pukul 07.59 WIB. Tidak lama setelah itu, muncul gelombang tsunami yang diperkirakan memiliki ketinggian 30 meter, dengan kecepatan mencapai 100 meter per detik, atau 360 kilometer per jam.
Gelombang besar nan kuat ini tidak hanya menghanyutkan warga, binatang ternak, menghancurkan pemukiman bahkan satu wilayah, namun juga berhasil menyeret sebuah kapal ke tengah daratan. Kapal itu ialah Kapal PLTD Apung yang terseret hingga 5 kilometer dari kawasan perairan ke tengah daratan.
Sehari setelah kejadian, Persatuan Bangsa-Bangsa (PBB) menyatakan bencana alam tsunami Aceh ini sebagai bencana kemanusiaan terbesar yang pernah terjadi. Sejak saat itu, bantuan internasional pun berdatangan untuk menolong masyarakat yang terkena bencana tsunami Aceh.
Termasuk pesawat militer dari Jerman hingga kapal induk milik Amerika Serikat didatangkan ke lokasi bencana. Selang beberapa hari dan proses pencarian korban terus digencarkan, PBB pada 4 januari 2005, mengeluarkan taksiran awal bahwa jumlah korban tewas akibat tsunami Aceh sangat mungkin melebihi angka 200.000 jiwa.
Jumlah korban dari peristiwa alam tsunami Aceh tersebut disebut mencapai 230.000 jiwa.
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