Sumatra-Andaman tsunami wave movement

Tsunami wavefield approximately 6 minutes after rupture initiation (origin time), view to the northwest

This animation shows the evolution of tsunami waves caused by the December 26, 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake. Because it takes approximately 8 minutes for the entire fault to break, tsunami waves generated near the epicenter have propagated part way into the Bay of Bengal by the time the earthquake has just started to generated tsunami waves in near the Andaman Islands. Tsunami waves then cross the Andaman Sea toward Thailand.