Tsunami: The Day the Wave Hit

At 7:58AM local time on the morning of 26 December 2004, a powerful earthquake, measuring 9.3 in magnitude, strikes 100 miles off the coast of Indonesia. The violent movements of the earth’s crust unleash a wall of water up to 100ft high. In the hours and days that follow, an estimated 227,898 people in 14 countries around the Indian Ocean are killed. So how exactly did the deadliest natural disaster of the 21st century claim so many lives and cause so much devastation? What were the unique circumstances of the quake and the resulting waves that had such unprecedented effects on so wide an area? Why did so many die – and how did those who survived the tsunami escape? 

Now, 20 years on, this documentary series reveals the answers. At its heart are the emotional and heroic human stories of those involved who now have the benefit of two decades to reflect on what happened to them and how the wave changed their lives, often in profound ways. The series includes both tourists and local people caught up in the disaster, with some telling their stories for the first time – and home video that has never been seen before.