The Andaman Islands are an archipelago,made up of 200 islands,in the northeastern Indian Ocean about 130 km (81 mi) southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south,the Andamans serve as a maritime boundary between the Bay of Bengal to the west and the Andaman Sea to the east. Most of the islands are part of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands,a Union Territory of India,while the Coco Islands and Preparis Island are part of the Yangon Region of Myanmar.
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions,covering 70,560,000 km2 (27,240,000 sq mi) or ~20% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north,Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by the Southern Ocean,or Antarctica,depending on the definition in use. Along its core,the Indian Ocean has large marginal,or regional seas,such as the Arabian Sea,Laccadive Sea,Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea.
The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically,it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Indochinese peninsula,located below the Bengal region. It is the largest water region called a bay in the world.
The geography of Malaysia includes both the physical and the human geography of Malaysia,a Southeast Asian country made up of two major landmasses separated by water—Peninsular Malaysia to the West and East Malaysia to the East—and numerous smaller islands that surround those landmasses. Peninsular Malaysia is on the southernmost part of the Malay Peninsula,south of Thailand,north of Singapore and east of the Indonesian island of Sumatra;East Malaysia comprises most of the northern part of Borneo island,and shares land borders with Brunei to the north and Indonesian Borneo to the south.
The Sunda Strait is the strait between the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra. It connects the Java Sea with the Indian Ocean.
The Nicobar Islands are an archipelagic island chain in the eastern Indian Ocean. They are located in Southeast Asia,150 kilometres (93 mi) northwest of Aceh on Sumatra,and separated from Thailand to the east by the Andaman Sea. Located 1,300 kilometres (810 mi) southeast of the Indian subcontinent,across the Bay of Bengal,they are part of India,as the Nicobar district within the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
On 26 December 2004,at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7),a major earthquake with a magnitude of 9.1–9.3 struck with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Sumatra,Indonesia. The undersea megathrust earthquake,known by the scientific community as the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake,was caused by a rupture along the fault between the Burma Plate and the Indian Plate,and reached a Mercalli intensity up to IX in some areas.
The Burma Plate is a minor tectonic plate or microplate located in Southeast Asia,sometimes considered a part of the larger Eurasian Plate. The Andaman Islands,Nicobar Islands,and northwestern Sumatra are located on the plate. This island arc separates the Andaman Sea from the main Indian Ocean to the west.
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami occurred on Sunday,December 26,2004. The earthquake itself,with a moment magnitude of around 9.1-9.3,devastated Aceh Province,Indonesia,while the tsunami affected countries all around the Indian Ocean. Nations which were affected are listed below in alphabetical order. For detailed information about each country affected by the earthquake and tsunami,see their individual articles. Countries with a smaller number of casualties,as well as those that lost citizens who were travelling abroad,are listed further on in the article.
Indira Point,the southernmost point of India's territory,is a village in the Nicobar district at Great Nicobar Island of Andaman and Nicobar Islands in India. It is located in the Great Nicobar tehsil.
The Nicobar Islands rain forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in the Nicobar Islands,which is part of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands union territory of India. The Nicobar Islands are in the Indian Ocean,lying north of Sumatra and south of the Andaman Islands. The islands are politically part of India,although physically closer to Southeast Asia. Millions of years of isolation from the mainland has given rise to a distinct flora and fauna,including many endemic species.
The Surin Islands is a continental archipelago of five islands in the Andaman Sea,55 kilometres (34 mi) from the Thai mainland. Administratively,the islands are part of Tambon Ko Phra Thong,Khura Buri district,in Phang Nga province,Thailand.
Weh Island,also known as Sabang after the city from which the whole island is administered,is a small active volcanic island to the northwest of Sumatra,45 minutes by fast regular ship or 2 hours by ferry from mainland,Banda Aceh. It was originally connected to the Sumatran mainland and became separated by sea after the volcano's last eruption in the Pleistocene era. The island is situated in the Andaman Sea.
The September 2007 Sumatra earthquakes were a series of megathrust earthquakes that struck the Sunda Trench off the coast of Sumatra,Indonesia,with three of magnitude 7 or greater. A series of tsunami bulletins was issued for the area. The most powerful of the series had a magnitude of 8.5,which makes it in the top 20 of the largest earthquakes ever recorded on a seismograph.
The 1881 Nicobar Islands earthquake occurred at about 07:49 local time on 31 December,with an epicentre beneath Car Nicobar. It occurred as two separate ruptures,the largest of which had an estimated magnitude of 7.9 on the moment magnitude scale and triggered a tsunami that was observed around the Bay of Bengal. It is probably the earliest earthquake for which rupture parameters have been estimated instrumentally.
Operation Sea Waves was a disaster relief operation undertaken by the Indian Armed Forces in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Sea Waves was focused on rescue and relief efforts on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The 2012 Indian Ocean earthquakes were magnitude 8.6 and 8.2 Mw undersea earthquakes that struck near the Indonesian province of Aceh on 11 April at 15:38 local time. Initially,authorities feared that the initial earthquake would cause a tsunami and warnings were issued across the Indian Ocean;however,these warnings were subsequently cancelled. These were unusually strong intraplate earthquakes and the largest strike-slip earthquake ever recorded.
The 1941 Andaman Islands earthquake struck the Andaman Islands on June 26 with a magnitude of 7.7 to 8.1. Details of this event are poorly known as much of Southeast Asia was in the turmoil of World War II. The quake caused severe damage in the Andaman Islands. The tsunami it triggered was reported along the Andaman and Nicobar Islands,India and British Ceylon. There may have been damage and deaths in Bangladesh,Myanmar,and Thailand due to the tsunami.
Landfall Island is the northernmost island of the Indian union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It belongs to the territory's North and Middle Andaman administrative district. The island lies 220 km (137 mi) north of Port Blair,and is situated 300 km (186 mi) south of Myanmar. It is home to the Kari tribe.
The Sumatra Trench is a part of the Sunda Trench or Java Trench. The Sunda subduction zone is located in the east part of Indian Ocean,and is about 300 km (190 mi) from the southwest coast of Sumatra and Java islands. It extends over 5,000 km (3,100 mi) long,starting from Myanmar in the northwest and ending at Sumba Island in the southeast.
