An earthquake (9.0 on the Richter Scale) occurred off the west
coast of northern Sumatra on 26 Dec 04, Sun. This resulted in
tsunamis that struck the coastlines of several South Asian and
South East Asian countries and left more than 140 000 people dead
as well as a trail of destruction to countless homes and
businesses. The tsunami-stricken countries include: Bangladesh,
East Africa, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Sri
Lanka, Thailand.
SCDF offered its assistance and on 29 Dec 04 at 5pm, deployed 2
contingents, one each to Aceh, and Phuket, respectively. On 1 Jan
05, a second contingent was also deployed to Phuket.
The deployment of this overseas rescue mission, codenamed
Operations Lionheart, is based on the assessment of the extent of
damage in Aceh by the United Nations Disaster Assessment and
Coordination (UNDAC) as well at the request of the Government of
Thailand.
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