DigitalGlobe’s Quickbird satellite captured an image of the tsunami devestation around Kalutara, Sri Lanka, on December 26, 2004, at 10:20 a.m. local time—about an hour after the first in the series of waves hit. A Quickbird image taken on January 1, 2004, shows the normal ocean conditions. Water is flowing out of the inundated area and back into the sea, creating turbulence offshore. Some near-shore streets and yards are covered with muddy water. It is possible that the image was acquired in a “trough” between wave crests. Imagery of nearby beaches shows that the edge of the ocean had receded about 150 meters from the shoreline just prior to the tsunami.
High-resolution Tsunami images:
- Credits: DigitalGlobe
- Beaches at Kalutara, Sri Lanka On January 1, 2004, before the tsunami
- Beaches at Kalutara, Sri Lanka During December 26, 2004 Tsunami
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