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.
____________________________________________________________________