Tsunami general situation within Indian Ocean basin

Description

Propagation of tsunami through time: The red color means that the water surface is higher than normal, while the blue means lower. It indicates that initial tsunami to the east (e.g., Phuket) began with receding wave, while to the west (e.g., Sri Lanka) large wave suddenly reached. The darker the color, the larger the amplitude. The tsunamis were larger in the east and west directions.