On December 26, 2004, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake—the largest earthquake in 40 years—occurred in the Indian Ocean, off the northwest coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The earthquake triggered the deadliest tsunami in world history, so powerful that the waves caused loss of life on the coast of Africa and were even detected on the East Coast of the United States. More than 283,106 people have died from the disaster, a half a million have been injured, thousands still remain missing, and millions were left homeless.

Eleven countries bordering the Indian Ocean—all relatively poor and vulnerable—suffered devastation. Hardest hit were Indonesia (particularly the province of Aceh), Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, and the Maldives. The catastrophic damage includes the destruction of entire cities, the contamination of farmland and forests, and the depletion of fishing stocks. Some areas are facing the prospect of epidemics and starvation. Even countries with relatively low death tolls have suffered enormous damage—the Maldives, for example, had less than 100 deaths, yet the tsunami left 14 of the archipelago's islands uninhabitable, requiring its inhabitants to be permanently evacuated, and another 79 islands without safe drinking water.