2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, Indonesia, Aceh
The first wave came rapidly landward from the south-west as a turbulent bore about 0.5–2.5 m (1.6–8.2 ft) high. The second and third waves were 15–30 m (49–98 ft) high at the coast and appeared like gigantic surfing waves but "taller than the coconut trees and was like a mountain". The second wave was the largest; it came from the west-southwest within five minutes of the first wave. The tsunami stranded cargo ships, barges and destroyed a cement mining facility near the Lampuuk coast, where the tsunami reached the fourth level of the building.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, Indonesia, Aceh
Meulaboh, a remote coastal city, was among the hardest hit by the tsunami. The waves arrived after the sea receded about 500 m (1,600 ft), followed by an advancing small tsunami. The second and third destructive waves arrived later, which exceeded the height of the coconut trees. The inundation distance is about 5 km (3.1 mi). Other towns on Aceh's west coast hit by the disaster included Leupung, Lhokruet, Lamno, Patek, Calang, and Teunom. Affected or destroyed towns on the region's north and east coast were Pidie Regency, Samalanga, Panteraja, and Lhokseumawe. The high fatality rate in the area was mainly due to lack of preparation of the community towards a tsunami and limited knowledge and education among the population regarding the natural phenomenon. Helicopter surveys showed entire settlements virtually destroyed with destruction within miles inland, and only some mosques left standing.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, Indonesia, Aceh
The greatest run-up height of the tsunami was measured at a hill between Lhoknga and Leupung, on the western coast of the northern tip of Sumatra, near Banda Aceh, and reached 51 m (167 ft).


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, Sri Lanka
The island country of Sri Lanka, located about 1,700 km (1,100 mi) from Sumatra, was ravaged by the tsunami around 2 hours after the earthquake. The tsunami first struck the eastern coastline and subsequently refracted around the southern point of Sri Lanka (Dondra Head). The refracted tsunami waves then inundated the southwestern part of Sri Lanka after some of its energy was reflected from impact with the Maldives. In Sri Lanka, the civilian casualties were second only to those in Indonesia, with approximately 35,000 killed by the tsunami.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, Sri Lanka
The eastern shores of Sri Lanka were the hardest hit since it faced the epicentre of the earthquake, while the southwestern shores were hit later, but the death toll was just as severe. The southwestern shores are a hotspot for tourists and fishing. The degradation of the natural environment in Sri Lanka contributed to the high death tolls. Approximately 90,000 buildings and many wooden houses were destroyed.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, Sri Lanka
The tsunami arrived on the island as a small brown-orange colored flood. Moments later, the ocean floor was exposed to as much as 1 km (0.62 mi) in places, which was followed by a massive second and third tsunami wave. Amateur video recorded at the city of Galle showed a large deluge flooding the city, carrying debris and sweeping away people while in the coastal resort town of Beruwala, the tsunami appeared as a huge brown-orange colored bore which reached the first level of a hotel, causing destruction and taking people unaware. Other videos recorded showed that the tsunami appeared like a flood raging inland. The construction of seawalls and breakwaters reduced the power of waves at some locations.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, Sri Lanka
The largest run-up measured was at 12.5 m (41 ft) with inundation distance of 390–1,500 m (1,280–4,920 ft) in Yala. In Hambantota, tsunami run-ups measured 11 m (36 ft) with the greatest inundation distance of 2 km (1.2 mi). Tsunami run-up measurements along the Sri Lankan coasts are at 2.4–4.11 m (7 ft 10 in–13 ft 6 in). Tsunami waves measured on the east coast ranged from 4.5–9 m (15–30 ft) at Pottuvill to Batticaloa at 2.6–5 m (8 ft 6 in–16 ft 5 in) in the north-east around Trincomalee and 4–5 m (13–16 ft) in the west coast from Moratuwa to Ambalangoda.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, Sri Lanka
A regular passenger train operating between Maradana and Matara was derailed and overturned by the tsunami and claimed at least 1,700 lives, the largest single rail disaster death toll in history. Estimates based on the state of the shoreline and a high-water mark on a nearby building place the tsunami 7.5–9 m (25–30 ft) above sea level and 2–3 m (6 ft 7 in–9 ft 10 in) higher than the top of the train.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, Thailand
The tsunami travelled eastward through the Andaman Sea and hit the south-western coasts of Thailand, about 2 hours after the earthquake. Located about 500 km (310 mi) from the epicentre, at the time, the region was popular with tourists because of Christmas. Many of these tourists were caught off-guard by the tsunami, as they had no prior warning. The tsunami hit during high tide.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, Thailand
Major locations damaged included the western shores of Phuket island, the resort town of Khao Lak in Phang Nga Province, the coastal provinces of Krabi, Satun, Ranong and Trang and small offshore islands like Ko Racha Yai, the Phi Phi islands, the Surin Islands and the Similan archipelago. Approximately 8,000 people were killed.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, Thailand
Thailand experienced the second largest tsunami run-up. The tsunami heights recorded:


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, Thailand
The province of Phang Nga was the most affected area in Thailand. The quiet resort town of Khao Lak is located on a stretch of golden sandy beach, famed for its hotels overlooking the Andaman Sea and hilly rainforests. A video, taken by a local restaurant manager from a hill adjacent to the beach, showed that the tsunami's arrival was preceded by a sudden retreat of the sea exposing the seafloor. Many tourists and locals can be seen trying to gather fish.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, Thailand
Moments later, the tsunami arrives as a wall of foaming water that slams into the coast, washing away numerous people who had no time to escape. Another amateur video, captured by a German family at beach level, showed the tsunami appearing as a white horizontal line in the distant horizon, gradually becoming bigger (bore-like), engulfing a jet skier and lifting two police boats. A maximum inundation of approximately 2 km (1.2 mi) was measured, the inundated depths were 4–7 m (13–23 ft) and there was evidence that the tsunami reached the third floor of a resort hotel. The tsunami in Khao Lak was bigger due to offshore coral reefs and shallow seafloor which caused the tsunami to pile-up. This was similar to eyewitness accounts of the tsunami at Banda Aceh.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, Thailand
Khao Lak also experienced the largest tsunami run-up height outside of Sumatra.. The highest-recorded tsunami run-up was measured 19.6 m (64 ft) at Ban Thung Dap, on the south-west tip of Ko Phra Thong Island and the second-highest at 15.8 m (52 ft) at Ban Nam Kim. Moreover, the largest death toll occurred at Khao Lak, with about 5,000 people killed.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, Thailand
In addition, the tsunami inflicted damage to the popular resort town of Ao Nang in Krabi Province. Video footage showed that the tsunami appeared as multiple white surfs violently lifting up yachts, boats and crashing onto beaches. Footage captured at Koh Lanta showed a wall of water swamping  the beach, while another video taken at another location showed a large surfing wave like tsunami approaching the shore, lifting up a yacht and flooding the beach. At Koh Sriboya, the tsunami advanced inland as a turbulent medium bore, while at Koh Phayam, Ranong Province, the tsunami appeared as a wall of water.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, Thailand
At Phuket Province, the island province's western beaches were struck by the tsunami. At Patong Beach, a tourist mecca, the tsunami first arrived as a small flood, which swept away cars and unexpected people. About 10 minutes later, the sea receded for a while before the tsunami arrived again as a large wall of water looming over the skyline and flooding the coast. Another video from Kamala Beach showed the tsunami flooding the ground floor of a restaurant sweeping away an elderly couple.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, Thailand
On Karon Beach, Kamala Beach and Kata Beach, the tsunami came in like a surging flood inland carrying people and cars. On some locations, a coastal road was built which was higher than the shore, protecting a hotel which was behind it. On the east coast of Phuket Island, the tsunami height was about 2 m. In one river mouth, many boats were damaged. The tsunami moved counter-clockwise around Phuket Island, as was the case at Okushiri Island in the 1993 Hokkaido earthquake. According to interviews, the second wave was the largest. The tsunami heights were 5–6 m (16–20 ft) and the inundated depth was about 2 m (6.6 ft). The tsunami surprised many tourists at Koh Racha Yai, where it flooded the resorts. About 250 people perished directly in the tsunami.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, Thailand
The Phi Phi Islands are a group of small islands that were affected by the tsunami. The north bay of Phi Phi Don Island opens to the north-west in the direction of the tsunami. The measured tsunami height on this beach was 5.8 m (19 ft). According to eyewitness accounts, the tsunami came from the north and south. The ground level was about 2 m above sea level, where there were many cottages and hotels. The south bay opens to the south-east and faces in the opposite direction from the tsunami.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, Thailand
Furthermore, Phi Phi Le Island shields the port of Phi Phi Don Island. The measured tsunami height was 4.6 m (15 ft) in the port. Amateur camcorder footage taken by Israeli tourists showed the tsunami advancing inland suddenly as a small flood, gradually becoming more powerful and engulfing the whole beach and resort, with the tsunami carrying a yacht out to sea.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, Thailand
Moreover, the tsunami was detected by scuba divers around offshore islands like the Similan Islands and the Surin Islands. The divers reported being caught in a violent, swirling current suddenly while underwater. Local camcorder footage showed the tsunami surging inland and flooding camping equipment at the Similan Islands while the tsunami caught tourists unaware at the Surin Islands, and dragging them out towards the sea.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, India
The tsunami reached the states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu along the southeastern coastline of the Indian mainland about 2 hours after the earthquake. At the same time, it arrived in the state of Kerala, on the southwestern coast. There were two to five tsunamis that coincided with the local high tide in some areas.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, India
The tsunami runup height measured in mainland India by Ministry of Home Affairs includes:


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, India
Along the coast of Tamil Nadu, the 13 km (8.1 mi) Marina Beach in Chennai was battered by the tsunami which swept across the beach taking morning walkers unaware. Amateur video recorded taken at a resort beach showed the tsunami arriving as a large wall of water as it approached the coast and flooding it as it advanced inland. Besides that, a 10 m (33 ft) black muddy tsunami ravaged the city of Karaikal, where 492 lives were lost. The city of Pondicherry, protected by seawalls was relatively unscathed.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, India
Local video recorded that before the arrival of the tsunami, people can be seen swarming the beach to check on stranded fish from the exposed beach. Furthermore, at the coastal town of Kanyakumari, the seabed was exposed briefly before a large wall of water can be seen on the horizon and subsequently flooding the town. Other footage showed the tsunami dramatically crashed into the Vivekananda Rock Memorial. The worst affected area in Tamil Nadu was Nagapattinam district, with 6,051 fatalities caused by a 5 m (16 ft) tsunami, followed by Cuddalore district, with many villages destroyed. Most of the people killed were members of the fishing community.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, India
The state of Kerala experienced tsunami-related damage in three southern densely populated districts, Ernakulam, Alappuzha, and Kollam, due to diffraction of the waves around Sri Lanka. The southernmost district of Thiruvananthapuram, however, escaped damage, possibly due to the wide turn of the diffracted waves at the peninsular tip. Major damage occurred in two narrow strips of land bound on the west by the Arabian Sea and on the east by the Kerala backwaters.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, India
The waves receded before the first tsunami with the highest fatality reported from the densely populated Alappad panchayat (including the villages of Cheriya Azhikkal and Azhikkal) at Kollam district, caused by a 4 m (13 ft) tsunami. A video recorded by locals showed the tsunami flooding the beach and villages causing despair amongst the villagers.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, India
Many villages in the state of Andhra Pradesh were destroyed. In the Krishna district, the tsunami created havoc in Manginapudi and on Machalipattanam Beach. The most affected was Prakasham District, recording 35 deaths, with maximum damage at Singraikonda. Given the enormous power of the tsunami, the fishing industry suffered the greatest. Moreover, the cost of damage in the transport sector was reported in the tens of thousands.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, India
The tsunami run-up was only 1.6 m (5.2 ft) in areas in the state of Tamil Nadu shielded by the island of Sri Lanka but was 4–5 m (13–16 ft) in coastal districts such as Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu directly across from Sumatra. On the western coast, the runup elevations were 4.5 m (15 ft) at Kanyakumari District in Tamil Nadu and 3.4 m (11 ft) each at Kollam and Ernakulam districts in Kerala. The time between the waves ranged from about 15 minutes to 90 minutes.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, India
The tsunami varied in height from 2 m (6.6 ft) to 10 m (33 ft) based on survivors' accounts. The tsunami travelled 2.5 km (1.6 mi) at its maximum inland at Karaikal, Puducherry. The inundation distance varied between 1,006–500 m (3,301–1,640 ft) in most areas, except at river mouths, where it was more than 1 km (0.62 mi). Areas with dense coconut groves or mangroves had much smaller inundation distances, and those with river mouths or backwaters saw larger inundation distances. Presence of seawalls at the Kerala and Tamil Nadu coasts reduced the impact of the waves. However, when the seawalls were made of loose stones, the stones were displaced and carried a few metres inland.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, India, Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Due to close proximity to the earthquake, the tsunami took just minutes to devastate the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Andaman Islands were moderately affected while the island of Little Andaman and the Nicobar Islands were severely affected by the tsunami.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, India, Andaman and Nicobar Islands
In South Andaman island, based on local eyewitnesses, there were three tsunami waves, with the third being the most destructive. Flooding occurred at the coast and low-lying areas inland, which were connected to open sea through creeks. Inundation was observed, along the east coast of South Andaman Island, restricted to Chidiyatapu, Burmanallah, Kodiaghat, Beadnabad, Corbyn's cove and Marina Park/Aberdeen Jetty areas. Along the west coast, the inundation was observed around Guptapara, Manjeri, Wandoor, Collinpur and Tirur regions. Several near-shore establishments and numerous infrastructures such as seawalls and a 20 MW diesel-generated power plant at Bamboo Flat were destroyed. At Port Blair, the water receded before the first wave, and the third wave was the tallest and caused the most damage.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, India, Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Results of the tsunami survey in South Andaman along Chiriyatapu, Corbyn's Cove and Wandoor beaches:


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, India, Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Meanwhile, in the Little Andaman, tsunami waves impinged on the eastern shore about 25 to 30 minutes after the earthquake in a four-wave cycle of which the fourth tsunami was the most devastating with a wave height of about 10 m (33 ft). The tsunami destroyed settlements at Hut Bay within a range of 1 km (0.62 mi) from the seashore. Run up level up to 3.8 m (12 ft) have been measured.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, India, Andaman and Nicobar Islands
In Malacca, located on the island of Car Nicobar, there were three tsunami waves. The sea was observed to rise suddenly before the onset of the first wave. The first wave came 5 minutes after the earthquake, preceded by a recession of the sea up to 600–700 m (2,000–2,300 ft).. The second and third waves came in 10 minutes intervals after the first wave. The third wave was the strongest, with a maximum tsunami wave height of 11 m (36 ft). Waves nearly three stories high devastated the Indian Air Force base, located just south of Malacca.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, India, Andaman and Nicobar Islands
The maximum tsunami wave height of 11 m (36 ft). Inundation limit was found to be up to 1.25 km (0.78 mi) inland. The impact of the waves was so severe that four oil tankers were thrown almost 800 m (2,600 ft) from the seashore near Malacca to the Air force colony main gate. In Chuckchucha and Lapati, the tsunami arrived in a three-wave cycle with a maximum tsunami wave height of 12 m (39 ft).


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, India, Andaman and Nicobar Islands
In Campbell Bay of Great Nicobar Island, the tsunami waves hit the area three times with an inundation limit of 250–500 m (820–1,640 ft). A rise in sea level was observed before the first wave came within 5 minutes of the earthquake. The second and third waves came in 10-minute intervals after the first. The second wave was the strongest. The tsunami waves wreaked havoc in the densely populated Jogindar Nagar area, situated 13 km (8.1 mi) south of Campbell Bay. According to local accounts, tsunami waves attacked the area three times.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, India, Andaman and Nicobar Islands
The first wave came five minutes after the mainshock (0629 hrs.) with a marginal drop in sea level. The second wave came 10 minutes after the first one with a maximum height of 4.8 m (16 ft) to 8 m (26 ft) and caused the major destruction. The third wave came within 15 minutes after the second with lower wave height. The maximum inundation limit due to tsunami water was about 500 m (1,600 ft).


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, India, Andaman and Nicobar Islands
The worst affected island in the Andaman & Nicobar chain is Katchall Island, with 303 people confirmed dead and 4,354 missing out of a total population of 5,312. The significant shielding of Port Blair and Campbell Bay by steep mountainous outcrops contributed to the relatively low wave heights at these locations, whereas the open terrain along the eastern coast at Malacca and Hut Bay contributed to the great height of the tsunami waves.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, Maldives
The tsunami severely affected the Maldives at a distance of 2,500 km (1,600 mi) from the epicentre. Similar to Sri Lanka, survivors reported three waves with the second wave being the most powerful. Being rich in coral reefs, the Maldives provides an opportunity for scientists to assess the impact of a tsunami on coral atolls.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, Maldives
The significantly lower tsunami impact on the Maldives compared to Sri Lanka is mostly due to the topography and bathymetry of the atoll chain with offshore coral reefs, deep channels separating individual atolls and its arrival within low tide which decreased the power of the tsunami. After the tsunami, there was some concern that the country might be submerged entirely and become uninhabitable. However, this was proven untrue. The highest tsunami wave measured was 4 m (13 ft) at Vilufushi Island. The tsunami arrived approximately 2 hours after the earthquake. The greatest tsunami inundation occurred at North Male Atoll, Male island at 250 m (820 ft) along the streets.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, Maldives
Local footage recorded showed the tsunami flooding the streets up to knee level in town, while another video taken at the beach showed the tsunami slowly flooding and gradually surging inland.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, Myanmar
In Myanmar, the tsunami caused only moderate damage, which arrived between 2 and 5.5 hours after the earthquake. Although the country's western Andaman Sea coastline lies at the proximity of the rupture zone, there were smaller tsunamis than the neighbouring Thai coast, because the main tsunami source did not extend to the Andaman Islands. Another factor is that some coasts of Taninthayi Division were protected by the Myeik Archipelago. Based on scientific surveys from Ayeyarwaddy Delta through Taninthayi Division, it was revealed that tsunami heights along the Myanmar coast were between 0.4–2.9 m (1 ft 4 in–9 ft 6 in). Eyewitnesses compared the tsunami with the "rainy-season high tide"; although at most locations, the tsunami height was similar or smaller than the "rainy-season high tide" level.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, Myanmar
Interviews with local people indicate that they did not feel the earthquake in Taninthayi Division or Ayeyarwaddy Delta. The 71 casualties can be attributed to poor housing infrastructure and additionally, the fact that the coastal residents in the surveyed areas live on flat land along the coast, especially in the Ayeyarwaddy Delta, and that there is no higher ground to which to evacuate. The tsunami heights from the 2004 December earthquake were not more than 3 m (9.8 ft) along the Myanmar coast, the amplitudes were slightly large off the Ayeyarwaddy Delta, probably because the shallow delta caused a concentration in tsunami energy.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, Somalia
The tsunami travelled 5,000 km (3,100 mi) west across the open ocean before striking the East African country of Somalia. Around 289 fatalities were reported in the Horn of Africa, drowned by four tsunami waves. The hardest-hit was a 650 km (400 mi) stretch of the Somalia coastline between Garacad (Mudug region) and Xaafuun (Bari region), which forms part of the Puntland province. Most of the victims were reported along the low-lying Xaafuun Peninsula. The Puntland coast in northern Somalia was by far the area hardest hit by the waves to the west of the Indian subcontinent. The waves arrived around noon local time.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, Somalia
Consequently, tsunami runup heights vary from 5 m (16 ft) to 9 m (30 ft) with inundation distances varying from 44 m (144 ft) to 704 m (2,310 ft). The maximum runup height of almost 9 m (30 ft) was recorded in Bandarbeyla. An even higher runup point was measured on a cliff near the town of Eyl, solely on an eyewitness account.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, Somalia
The highest death toll was in Hafun, with 19 dead and 160 people presumed missing out of its 5,000 inhabitants. This was the highest number of casualties in a single African town and the largest tsunami death toll in a single town to the west of the Indian subcontinent. In Xaafuun, small drawbacks were observed before the third and most powerful tsunami wave flooded the town.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, Other locations
The tsunami also reached Malaysia, mainly on the northern states such as Kedah, Perak and Penang and on offshore islands such as Langkawi island. Peninsular Malaysia was shielded by the full force of the tsunami due to the protection offered by the island of Sumatra, which lies just off the western coast.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, Other locations
Bangladesh escaped major damage and deaths because the water displaced by the strike-slip fault was relatively little on the northern section of the rupture zone, which ruptured slowly. In Yemen, the tsunami killed two people with a maximum runup of 2 m (6.6 ft).


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, Other locations
The tsunami was detected in the southern parts of east Africa, where rough seas were reported, specifically on the eastern and southern coasts that face the Indian Ocean. A few other African countries also recorded fatalities; one in Kenya, three in Seychelles, ten in Tanzania, and South Africa, where two were killed as a direct result of the tsunami—the furthest from the epicentre.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Tsunami, Other locations
Tidal surges also occurred along the Western Australian coast that lasted for several hours, resulting in boats losing their moorings and two people needing to be rescued.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Impact, Countries affected
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, a total of 227,898 people died. Measured in lives lost, this is one of the ten worst earthquakes in recorded history, as well as the single worst tsunami in history. Indonesia was the worst affected area, with most death toll estimates at around 170,000. An initial report by Siti Fadilah Supari, the Indonesian Minister of Health at the time, estimated the death total to be as high as 220,000 in Indonesia alone, giving a total of 280,000 fatalities. However, the estimated number of dead and missing in Indonesia were later reduced by over 50,000.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Impact, Countries affected
In their report, the Tsunami Evaluation Coalition stated, "It should be remembered that all such data are subject to error, as data on missing persons especially are not always as good as one might wish". A much higher number of deaths has been suggested for Myanmar based on reports from Thailand.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Impact, Countries affected
The tsunami caused severe damage and deaths as far as the east coast of Africa, with the furthest recorded fatality directly attributed to the tsunami at Rooi-Els, close to Cape Town, 8,000 km (5,000 mi) from the epicentre. In total, eight people in South Africa died due to high sea levels and waves.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Impact, Countries affected
Relief agencies reported that one third of the dead appeared to be children. This was a result of the high proportion of children in the populations of many of the affected regions and because children were the least able to resist being overcome by the surging waters. Oxfam went on to report that as many as four times more women than men were killed in some regions because they were waiting on the beach for the fishers to return and looking after their children in the houses.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Impact, Countries affected
States of emergency were declared in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and the Maldives. The United Nations estimated at the outset that the relief operation would be the costliest in human history. Then-UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan stated that reconstruction would probably take between five and ten years. Governments and non-governmental organizations feared that the final death toll might double as a result of diseases, prompting a massive humanitarian response.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Impact, Countries affected
In addition to a large number of local residents, up to 9,000 foreign tourists (mostly Europeans) enjoying the peak holiday travel season were among the dead or missing, especially people from the Nordic countries. The European nation hardest hit was Sweden, with a death toll of 543. Germany was close behind with 539 identified victims.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Impact, Environmental impact
Beyond the heavy toll on human lives, the Indian Ocean earthquake has caused an enormous environmental impact that will affect the region for many years to come. It has been reported that severe damage has been inflicted on ecosystems such as mangroves, coral reefs, forests, coastal wetlands, vegetation, sand dunes and rock formations, animal and plant biodiversity and groundwater. Also, the spread of solid and liquid waste and industrial chemicals, water pollution and the destruction of sewage collectors and treatment plants threaten the environment even further, in untold ways. The environmental impact will take a long time and significant resources to assess.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Impact, Environmental impact
According to specialists, the main effect is being caused by poisoning of the freshwater supplies and of the soil by saltwater infiltration and a deposit of a salt layer over arable land. It has been reported that in the Maldives, 16 to 17 coral reef atolls that were overcome by sea waves are without fresh water and could be rendered uninhabitable for decades. Uncountable wells that served communities were invaded by sea, sand, and earth; and aquifers were invaded through porous rock. On the island's east coast, the tsunami contaminated wells on which many villagers relied for drinking water.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Impact, Environmental impact
The Colombo-based International Water Management Institute monitored the effects of saltwater and concluded that the wells recovered to pre-tsunami drinking water quality one-and-a-half years after the event. The IWMI developed protocols for cleaning wells contaminated by saltwater; these were subsequently officially endorsed by the World Health Organization as part of its series of Emergency Guidelines.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Impact, Environmental impact
Salted-over soil becomes sterile, and it is difficult and costly to restore for agriculture. It also causes the death of plants and important soil micro-organisms. Thousands of rice, mango, and banana plantations in Sri Lanka were destroyed almost entirely and will take years to recover.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Impact, Environmental impact
In addition to other forms of aid, the Australian government sent ecological experts to help develop strategies for reef-monitoring and rehabilitation of marine environments and coral reefs in the Maldives, Seychelles and other areas. Scientists had developed significant ecological expertise from work with the Great Barrier Reef, in Australia's northeastern waters.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Impact, Environmental impact
In response to the unprecedented situation, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) worked with governments in the region to determine the severity of the ecological impact and how to address it. UNEP established an emergency fund, set up  a Task Force to respond to requests for assistance from countries affected by the tsunami, and was able to mobilize and distribute approximately US$ 9.3 million for environmental recovery and disaster risk reduction between 2004-2007. Funding came from other international agencies and from countries including Finland, Norway,  Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Impact, Environmental impact
Evidence suggested that the presence of mangroves in coastal areas had provided some protection, when compared to areas that had been cleared for aquaculture or development. As a result, mangrove restoration become a focus of a number of projects, with varied success. Such approaches to ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction appear to be most successful when local communities are closely involved as stakeholders throughout the process, and when careful attention is paid to the physical conditions of chosen sites to ensure that mangroves can thrive there.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Impact, Economic impact
The level of damage to the economy resulting from the tsunami depends on the scale examined. While the overall impact on the national economies was minor, local economies were devastated. The two main occupations affected by the tsunami were fishing and tourism. Some economists believe that damage to the affected national economies will be minor because losses in the tourism and fishing industries are a relatively small percentage of the GDP. However, others caution that damage to infrastructure is an overriding factor. In some areas drinking water supplies and farm fields may have been contaminated for years by saltwater from the ocean.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Impact, Economic impact
The impact on coastal fishing communities and the people living there, some of the poorest in the region, has been devastating with high losses of income earners as well as boats and fishing gear. In Sri Lanka artisanal fishery, where the use of fish baskets, fishing traps, and spears are commonly used, is an important source of fish for local markets; industrial fishery is the major economic activity, providing direct employment to about 250,000 people. In recent years the fishery industry has emerged as a dynamic export-oriented sector, generating substantial foreign exchange earnings. Preliminary estimates indicate that 66% of the fishing fleet and industrial infrastructure in coastal regions have been destroyed by the wave surges, which will have adverse economic effects both at local and national levels.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Impact, Economic impact
While the tsunami destroyed many of the boats vital to Sri Lanka's fishing industry, it also created a demand for fibreglass reinforced plastic catamarans in boatyards of Tamil Nadu. Since over 51,000 vessels were lost to the tsunami, the industry boomed. However, the huge demand has led to lower quality in the process, and some important materials were sacrificed to cut prices for those who were impoverished by the tsunami.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Impact, Economic impact
Even though only coastal regions were directly affected by the waters of the tsunami, the indirect effects have spread to inland provinces as well. Since the media coverage of the event was so extensive, many tourists cancelled vacations and trips to that part of the world, even though their travel destinations may not have been affected. This ripple effect could especially be felt in the inland provinces of Thailand, such as Krabi, which acted as a starting point for many other tourist destinations in Thailand.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Impact, Economic impact
Countries in the region appealed to tourists to return, pointing out that most tourist infrastructure is undamaged. However, tourists were reluctant to do so for psychological reasons. Even beach resorts in parts of Thailand which were untouched by the tsunami were hit by cancellations.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Impact, Economic impact
Both the earthquake and the tsunami may have affected shipping in the Malacca Straits, which separate Malaysia and the Indonesian island of Sumatra, by changing the depth of the seabed and by disturbing navigational buoys and old shipwrecks. In one area of the Strait, water depths were previously up to 1,200 m (4,000 ft), and are now only 30 m (100 ft) in some areas, making shipping impossible and dangerous. These problems also made the delivery of relief aid more challenging. Compiling new navigational charts may take months or years.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Impact, Economic impact
Officials also hoped that piracy in the region would drop off, since the tsunami had killed pirates and destroyed their boats. Due to multiple factors, there was a 71.6% drop in the number of piracy incidents between 2004 and 2005, from 60  to  17 incidents. Levels remained relatively low for some years. However, between 2013 and 2014, piracy incidents rose dramatically by 73.2% to exceed pre-tsunami levels.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Impact, Historical context
The last major tsunami in the Indian Ocean was about A.D. 1400. In 2008, a team of scientists working on Phra Thong, a barrier island along the hard-hit west coast of Thailand, reported evidence of at least three previous major tsunamis in the preceding 2,800 years, the most recent from about 700 years ago.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Impact, Historical context
A second team found similar evidence of previous tsunamis in Aceh, a province at the northern tip of Sumatra; radiocarbon dating of bark fragments in the soil below the second sand layer led the scientists to estimate that the most recent predecessor to the 2004 tsunami probably occurred between A.D. 1300 and 1450.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Impact, Historical context
The 2004 earthquake and tsunami combined is the world's deadliest natural disaster since the 1976 Tangshan earthquake. The earthquake was the third-most-powerful earthquake recorded since 1900. The deadliest-known earthquake in history occurred in 1556 in Shaanxi, China, with an estimated death toll of 830,000, though figures from this period may not be as reliable.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Impact, Historical context
Before 2004, the tsunami created in both Indian and Pacific Ocean waters by the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa, thought to have resulted in anywhere from 36,000 to 120,000 deaths, had probably been the deadliest in the region. In 1782, about 40,000 people are thought to have been killed by a tsunami (or a cyclone) in the South China Sea. The deadliest tsunami before 2004 was Italy's 1908 Messina earthquake on the Mediterranean Sea where the earthquake and tsunami killed about 123,000.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Impact, Other effects
Many health professionals and aid workers have reported widespread psychological trauma associated with the tsunami. Traditional beliefs in many of the affected regions state that a relative of the family must bury the body of the dead, and in many cases, no body remained to be buried. Women in Aceh required a special approach from foreign aid agencies, and continue to have unique needs.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Impact, Other effects
The hardest-hit area, Aceh, is a religiously conservative Islamic society and has had no tourism nor any Western presence in recent years due to the insurgency between the Indonesian military and Free Aceh Movement (GAM). Some believe that the tsunami was divine punishment for lay Muslims shirking their daily prayers or following a materialistic lifestyle. Others have said that Allah was angry that Muslims were killing each other in an ongoing conflict. Saudi cleric Muhammad Al-Munajjid attributed it to divine retribution against non-Muslim vacationers "who used to sprawl all over the beaches and in pubs overflowing with wine" during Christmas break.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Impact, Other effects
The widespread devastation caused by the tsunami led GAM to declare a cease-fire on 28 December 2004 followed by the Indonesian government, and the two groups resumed long-stalled peace talks, which resulted in a peace agreement signed 15 August 2005. The agreement explicitly cites the tsunami as a justification.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Impact, Other effects
In a poll conducted in 27 countries, 15% of respondents named the tsunami the most significant event of the year. Only the Iraq War was named by as many respondents. The extensive international media coverage of the tsunami, and the role of mass media and journalists in reconstruction, were discussed by editors of newspapers and broadcast media in tsunami-affected areas, in special video-conferences set up by the Asia Pacific Journalism Centre.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Impact, Other effects
The tsunami left both the people and government of India in a state of heightened alert. On 30 December 2004, four days after the tsunami, Terra Research notified the India government that its sensors indicated there was a possibility of 7.9 to 8.1 magnitude tectonic shift in the next 12 hours between Sumatra and New Zealand. In response, the Indian Minister of Home Affairs announced that a fresh onslaught of deadly tsunami was likely along the southern Indian coast and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, even as there was no sign of turbulence in the region.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Impact, Other effects
The announcement generated panic in the Indian Ocean region and caused thousands to flee their homes, which resulted in jammed roads. The announcement was a false alarm, and the Home Affairs minister withdrew their announcement. On further investigation, the India government learned that the consulting company Terra Research was run from the home of a self-described earthquake forecaster who had no telephone listing and maintained a website where he sold copies of his detection system.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Impact, Other effects
The tsunami had a severe humanitarian and political impact in Sweden. The hardest-hit country outside Asia, Sweden, lost 543 tourists, mainly in Thailand. The Persson Cabinet was heavily criticized for its inaction.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Impact, Other effects
Smith Dharmasaroja, a meteorologist who had predicted that an earthquake and tsunami "is going to occur for sure" way back in 1994, was assigned the development of the Thai tsunami warning system. The Indian Ocean Tsunami warning system was formed in early 2005 to provide an early warning of tsunamis for inhabitants around the Indian Ocean coasts.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Impact, Other effects
The changes in the distribution of masses inside the Earth due to the earthquake had several consequences. It displaced the North Pole by 25 mm (0.98 in). It also slightly changed the shape of the Earth, specifically by decreasing Earth's oblateness by about one part in 10 billion, consequentially increasing Earth's rotation a little and thus shortening the length of the day by 2.68 microseconds.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Humanitarian response
A great deal of humanitarian aid was needed because of widespread damage to the infrastructure, shortages of food and water, and economic damage. Epidemics were of particular concern due to the high population density and tropical climate of the affected areas. The main concern of humanitarian and government agencies was to provide sanitation facilities and fresh drinking water to contain the spread of diseases such as cholera, diphtheria, dysentery, typhoid and hepatitis A and hepatitis B.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Humanitarian response
There was also a great concern that the death toll could increase as disease and hunger spread. However, because of the initial quick response, this was minimized.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Humanitarian response
In the days following the tsunami, significant effort was spent in burying bodies hurriedly due to fear of disease spreading. However, the public health risks may have been exaggerated, and therefore this may not have been the best way to allocate resources. The World Food Programme provided food aid to more than 1.3 million people affected by the tsunami.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Humanitarian response
Nations all over the world provided over US$14 billion in aid for damaged regions, with the governments of Australia pledging US$819.9 million (including a US$760.6 million aid package for Indonesia), Germany offering US$660 million, Japan offering US$500 million, Canada offering US$343 million, Norway and the Netherlands offering both US$183 million, the United States offering US$35 million initially (increased to US$350 million), and the World Bank offering US$250 million. Also, Italy offered US$95 million, increased later to US$113 million of which US$42 million was donated by the population using the SMS systemFour countries, Australia, India, Japan and the United States formed an ad-hoc corroborative group, and it was the origin of Quadrilateral Security Dialogue.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Humanitarian response
According to USAID, the US has pledged additional funds in long-term U.S. support to help the tsunami victims rebuild their lives. On 9 February 2005, President Bush asked Congress to increase the U.S. commitment to a total of US$950 million. Officials estimated that billions of dollars would be needed. Bush also asked his father, former President George H. W. Bush, and former President Bill Clinton to lead a U.S. effort to provide private aid to the tsunami victims.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Humanitarian response
In mid-March, the Asian Development Bank reported that over US$4 billion in aid promised by governments was behind schedule. Sri Lanka reported that it had received no foreign government aid, while foreign individuals had been generous. Many charities were given considerable donations from the public. For example, in the United Kingdom, the public donated roughly £330 million sterling (nearly US$600 million). This considerably outweighed the allocation by the government to disaster relief and reconstruction of £75 million and came to an average of about £5.50 (US$10) donated by every citizen.


2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Humanitarian response
In August 2006, fifteen local aid staff working on post-tsunami rebuilding were found executed in north-east Sri Lanka after heavy fighting, the main umbrella body for aid agencies in the country said.


2004 Indian Rajya Sabha elections
Rajya Sabha elections were held in 2004, to elect members of the Rajya Sabha, Indian Parliament's upper chamber. The elections were held to elect respectively 13 members from six states, 49 members from 12 states, six members from Andhra Pradesh, and two members from Haryana, for the Council of States, the Rajya Sabha.


2004 Indian Rajya Sabha elections, Elections
Elections were held in 2004 to elect members from various states. The list is incomplete.


2004 Indian Rajya Sabha elections, Elections, Members elected
The following members are elected in the elections held in 2004. They are members for the term 2004–2010 and retire in year 2010, except in case of the resignation or death before the term.


2004 Indian Rajya Sabha elections, Bye-elections
The following bye elections were held in the year 2004.


2004 Indian general election
General elections were held in India in four phases between 20 April and 10 May 2004. Over 670 million people were eligible to vote, electing 543 members of the 14th Lok Sabha. Seven states also held assembly elections to elect state governments.


2004 Indian general election
On 13 May the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the lead party of the National Democratic Alliance conceded defeat. The Indian National Congress, which had governed India for all but five years from independence until 1996, returned to power after a record eight years out of office. It was able to put together a comfortable majority of more than 335 members out of 543 with the help of its allies. The 335 members included both the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance, the governing coalition formed after the election, as well as external support from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Samajwadi Party (SP), Kerala Congress (KC) and the Left Front.


2004 Indian general election
After facing criticism from her own party and from the country Congress President Sonia Gandhi asked the 22nd Finance Minister Manmohan Singh, an economist, to head the new government. Singh had previously served in the Congress government of Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao in the early 1990s, when he was seen as one of the architects of India's first economic liberalisation plan, which staved off an impending monetary crisis. Despite the fact that Singh had never won a Lok Sabha seat, his considerable goodwill and Sonia Gandhi's nomination won him the support of the UPA allies and the Left Front.


2004 Indian general election
The elections saw the evolution of a Two-party system with political competition primarily concentrated between the UPA and NDA.


2004 Indian general election, Background
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had recommended premature dissolution of the 13th Lok Sabha (in accordance with a provision of the Constitution) to pave the way for early elections apparently in view of the recent good showing of the BJP in the Assembly elections in four states.


2004 Indian general election, Organisation
Counting began simultaneously on 13 May. Over 370 million of the 675 million eligible citizens voted, with election violence claiming 48 lives, less than half the number killed during the 1999 election. The Indian elections were held in phases in order to maintain law and order. A few states considered sensitive areas required deployment of the armed forces. The average enrolment of voters in each constituency is 1.2 million, although the largest constituency has 3.1 million.


2004 Indian general election, Organisation
The Election Commission of India is responsible for deciding the dates and conducting elections according to constitutional provisions. The Election Commission employed more than a million electronic voting machines for these elections.


2004 Indian general election, Organisation
According to the magazine India Today, 115.62 billion rupees (approx US$2.6 billion) were expected to have been spent in campaigning for the elections by all political parties combined. Most of the money was spent on the people involved in the election. The Election Commission limited poll expenses to Rs. 2.5 million ($57,000 approx.) per constituency. Thus, the actual spending is expected to have been approximately 10 times the limit. About 6.5 billion rupees (approx. $150 million) are estimated to have been spent on mobilising 150,000 vehicles. About a billion rupees are estimated to have been spent on helicopters and aircraft.


2004 Indian general election, Pre-poll alliances
In these elections, compared to all the Lok Sabha elections of the 1990s, the battle was more of a head-to-head contest in the sense that there was no viable third front alternative. Largely the contest was between BJP and its allies on one hand and Congress and its allies on the other. The situation did, however, show large regional differences.


2004 Indian general election, Pre-poll alliances
The BJP fought the elections as part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), although some of its seat-sharing agreements were made with strong regional parties outside of the NDA such as Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Andhra Pradesh and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in Tamil Nadu.


2004 Indian general election, Pre-poll alliances
Ahead of the elections there were attempts to form a Congress-led national level joint opposition front. In the end, an agreement could not be reached, but on regional level alliances between Congress and regional parties were made in several states. This was the first time that Congress contested with that type of alliances in a parliamentary election.


2004 Indian general election, Pre-poll alliances
The left parties, most notably the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of India, contested on their own in their strongholds West Bengal, Tripura and Kerala, confronting both Congress and NDA forces. In several other states, such as Punjab and Andhra Pradesh, they took part in seat sharings with Congress. In Tamil Nadu they were part of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led Democratic Progressive Alliance.


2004 Indian general election, Pre-poll alliances
Two parties refused to go along with either Congress or BJP, Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party. Both are based in Uttar Pradesh, the largest state of India (in terms of population). Congress made several attempts to form alliances with them, but in vain. Many believed that they would become the 'spoilers' that would rob Congress of an electoral victory. The result was a four-cornered contest in UP, which didn't really hurt or benefit Congress or BJP significantly.


2004 Indian general election, Forecast and campaigns
Most analysts believed the NDA would win the elections. This assessment was also supported by opinion polls. The economy had shown steady growth in the last few months and the disinvestment of government owned production units (a continuation of India's liberalisation policies initiated in the early 1990s) had been on track. The Foreign Exchange Reserves of India stood at more than US$100 billion (7th largest in the world and a record for India). The service sector had also generated a lot of jobs. The party was supposed to have been riding on a wave of the so-called "feel good factor", typified by its promotional campaign "India Shining".


2004 Indian general election, Forecast and campaigns
In the past, BJP has largely been seen as a hard-line Hindu party with close ties with the Hindu organisation the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Over the years, the party has slightly distanced itself from its Hindutva policies, a change that is being questioned after the party's poor showing in the elections. These elections were marked by the campaign's emphasis on economic gains. From the last few elections, BJP had realised that its voter base had reached a ceiling and had concentrated on pre-poll rather than post-poll alliances. The foreign origin of Sonia Gandhi also constituted part of the NDA's campaign.


2004 Indian general election, Analysis
Though pre-poll predictions were for an overwhelming majority for the BJP, the exit polls (immediately after the elections and before the counting began) predicted a hung parliament. However, even the exit polls could only indicate the general trend and nowhere close to the final figures. There is also the general perception that as soon as the BJP started realising that events might not proceed entirely in its favour, it changed the focus of its campaign from India Shining to issues of stability.


2004 Indian general election, Analysis
The Congress, who was regarded as "old-fashioned" by the ruling BJP, was largely backed by poor, rural, lower-caste and minority voters that did not participate in the economic boom of previous years that created a large wealthy middle class and thus achieved its overwhelming victory. Another reason which was not mentioned much but still spoken of in the public was that BJP supporters are working-class people, and the poll surveys predicted BJP win, and therefore they did not reach the ballot. Whereas the Congress support base, the weaker sections of the society, don't miss voting at all.


2004 Indian general election, Analysis
Another more prominent reason came from checking the RSS contribution, RSS cadres reached Vajpayee over the killing of 4 RSS workers in Tripura (August 1999), and Vajpayee disappointed them. RSS backed off, and results were evident.


2004 Indian general election, Analysis
Other possible reasons that have been given for the NDA defeat are:


2004 Indian general election, Impact
The rout of the ruling parties in the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala in the general elections led to calls for the dissolution of the governments of these states.


2004 Indian general election, Impact
The stock market (Bombay Stock Exchange) fell in the week prior to the announcement of the results due to fears of an unstable coalition. As soon as counting began, however, it became clear that the Congress coalition was headed for a sizeable lead over the NDA and the market surged, only to crash the following day when the left parties, whose support would be required for government formation, announced that it was their intention to do away with the disinvestment ministry. Following this, Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister (in office 2004–14) and the prime architect of the economic liberalisation of the early 1990s, hurried to reassure investors that the new government would strive to create a business-friendly climate.


2004 Indian general election analysis
The 2004 general elections defied the predictions made by pre-poll predictions and exit polls and allowed the newly formed UPA alliance led by Sonia Gandhi, to come to power. This election also saw the rise of marginalized parties like the left, to join forces with the opposition, which led to a major realignment in social and political power. Though pre-poll predictions were for an overwhelming majority for the BJP, the exit polls (immediately after the elections and before the counting began) predicted a hung parliament.


2004 Indian general election analysis
However, even the exit polls could only indicate the general trend and nowhere close to the final figures. There is also the general perception that as soon as the BJP started realising that events might not proceed entirely in its favour, it changed the focus of its campaign from India Shining to issues of stability. The Congress, who was regarded as "old-fashioned" by the ruling BJP, was largely backed by poor, rural, lower-caste and minority voters that did not participate in the economic boom of previous years that created a large wealthy middle class and thus achieved its overwhelming victory. The reverses in the pre-poll predictions are ascribed to various reasons depending on the point of view.


2004 Indian general election in Andhra Pradesh
In Andhra Pradesh, the general elections and state assembly elections were held simultaneously. In both, the ruling Telugu Desam Party-Bharatiya Janata Party (TDP-BJP) combine was routed. BJP could not win a single seat. The result was a landslide victory for the United Progressive Alliance which won 34 out of 42 seats, which reflects the state elections that occurred before the general elections, where National Democratic Alliance (NDA) member, TDP, was defeated soundly by Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and the Indian National Congress. Alliance with CPM and CPI helped the Congress party. Congress had contested in alliance with the communist parties and the TRS. The Islamist All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimen retained their stronghold in the Hyderabad constituency.


2004 Indian general election in Arunachal Pradesh
The Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh represents two Lok Sabha constituencies. Following the 25 July 2003 Congress split, Gegong Apang formed the state government with the help of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Congress had an alliance with its splinter group Arunachal Congress. Congress candidate and former Arunachal Congress leader Wangcha Rajkumar contested Arunachal East and AC candidate Kamen Ringu contested Arunachal West. Nationalist Trinamool Congress had a candidate in Arunachal West, competing against BJP. BJP won both seats with comfortable margins.


2004 Indian general election in Arunachal Pradesh
Ahead of the 2004 Lok Sabha elections Arunachal Congress talked about calling for a boycott as a protest against Chakma and Hajong refugees having been given the right to vote in the state. In the end the party did however decide to contest.


2004 Indian general election in Arunachal Pradesh
(*)= 1999 numbers are those of the Nationalist Congress Party.


2004 Indian general election in Assam
The 2004 Indian general election polls in Assam were held for 14 seats in the state. The result was United Progressive Alliance winning 9 out of the 14 seats, while the National Democratic Alliance, captured only 2 seats. Asom Gana Parishad managed to get 2 seats.


2004 Indian general election in Assam
In Assam there was a three-cornered contest between Congress, BJP and Asom Gana Parishad (the main regional party of the state). Congress contested all 14 seats in the states, BJP 12 and AGP 12. BJP supported one JD(U) candidate and the Bodo nationalist candidate in Kokrajhar. The left parties (CPI(M), CPI and CPI(ML)L) had a joint front. Congress won nine seats. AGP got a comeback, winning two seats. BJP also won two seats, although one of them was the popular singer Bhupen Hazarika.


2004 Indian general election in Assam
Hazarika stood in Guwahati, and his election ought to reflect his personal popularity, rather than that of the party he had just joined. CPI(ML)L lost its seat in the Karbi Anlong hills, largely due to a split in their mass organisation there and the resurgence of communal violence in the area. In Kokrajhar the Bodo nationalist and NDA-supported candidate, Sansuma Khunggur Bwiswmuthiary, retained his seat.


2004 Indian general election in Bihar
In Bihar the RJD leader Laloo Prasad Yadav, husband of the Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi, was able to assemble a broad coalition of anti-NDA parties. It included RJD, Congress, Lok Janshakti, NCP and CPI(M). Congress was sceptical of the coalition, since the party was only allotted four seats by Laloo. The other coalition partners argued that four seats actually reflected the decreasing strength of Congress in the state. Lok Janshakti, a party with strong support amongst Dalit communities, were allotted eight seats. NCP and CPI(M) were allotted one seat each. RJD itself contested 26 seats.


2004 Indian general election in Bihar
Two large non-NDA parties in the state, CPI and CPI(ML) Liberation, did not join the Laloo-led front but contested individually. CPI(ML)L contested 21 seats and CPI six.


2004 Indian general election in Bihar
The NDA front consisted of BJP and JD(U). The alliance was threatened at several points, over disagreements on seat-sharing formulas. In the end JD(U) contested 24 seats and BJP 16.


2004 Indian general election in Bihar
BSP contested all 40 seats and SP 32 on their own, unsuccessfully. Lok Janshakti held sway over Dalit votes and RJD over Yadav votes, thus making it impossible for the Uttar Pradesh-based caste parties to make a breakthrough in the state.


2004 Indian general election in Bihar
The result was an overwhelming victory for the Laloo-led coalition. It won 29 seats. The rest went to the BJP-JD(U) combine.


2004 Indian general election in Bihar
Voting in the state was confronted with many irregularities, and repolling was ordered in four constituencies.


2004 Indian general election in Bihar, Voting and results, Results by Party
Note: In 1999, before Jharkhand was created as a separate state, Bihar had 54 constituencies.


2004 Indian general election in Chhattisgarh
The 2004 Indian general election polls in Chhattisgarh were held for 11 seats in the state. This is the first time, that an election took place in this state after it achieved statehood from Madhya Pradesh in 2000. The result was National Democratic Alliance winning overwhelmingly by capturing 10 out of the 11 seats, while the United Progressive Alliance, captured only 1 seat.


2004 Indian general election in Chhattisgarh, Results by Alliance
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2004 Indian general election in Delhi
The 2004 Indian general election in Delhi, occurred for 7 seats in the state.


2004 Indian general election in Gujarat
In the 2004 Indian general election for Gujarat polls were held for 26 seats in the state. The result was a victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)  which won 14 seats. The remaining 12 seats were won by Indian National Congress (INC).


2004 Indian general election in Haryana
The 2004 Indian general election occurred in Haryana for 10 seats.


2004 Indian general election in Jammu and Kashmir
The 2004 Indian general election in Jammu and Kashmir to the 14th Lok Sabha were held for 6 seats. Jammu and Kashmir National Conference won 2 seats, Indian National Congress won 2, Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party won one seat and one was won by an Independent politician Thupstan Chhewang from Ladakh.


2004 Indian general election in Karnataka
The 2004 Indian general election in Karnataka, occurred for 28 seats in the state. Of the 28 seats, 24 belonged to the general category and 4 were belonging to SC category.


2004 Indian general election in Kerala
The 2004 Indian general election in Kerala were held for 20 Lok Sabha seats in the state. The result was an overwhelming victory for the Left Democratic Front (LDF) which won 15 seats. Indian National Congress, who had won 8 seats in the 1999 elections, won none this election. The other 5 seats were won by Kerala Congress (1), P.C. Thomas's Indian Federal Democratic Party (1), Indian Union Muslim League (1), Janata Dal (Secular) (1), and by an LDF supported Independent candidate (1).


2004 Indian general election in Kerala
In the aftermath of this election, the then Chief Minister of the state A. K. Antony resigned taking sole responsibility for the INC's poor electoral performance. Despite this, the outside support from the Left Front proved valuable for Congress to have a stable government in the Lok Sabha for the next 5 years.


2004 Indian general election in Kerala, Results, 2005 By-election
Due to the death of the sitting MP P. K. Vasudevan Nair, Trivandrum constituency went to bypolls. Turnout for the election was 68.15%


2004 Indian general election in Madhya Pradesh
In the 2004 Indian general election for Madhya Pradesh polls were held for 29 seats in the state. The result was a major victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)  which won 25 seats. The remaining 4 seats were won by Indian National Congress (INC).


2004 Indian general election in Maharashtra
The Indian general election, 2004 in Maharashtra were held for 48 seats with the state going to polls in the first three phases of the general elections. The major contenders in the state where the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and National Democratic Alliance (NDA). UPA consisted of the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party whereas the NDA consisted of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena.


2004 Indian general election in Sikkim
In the 2004 Indian general election for Sikkim polls the one seat of the state was one by the regional Sikkim Democratic Front.


2004 Indian general election in Tamil Nadu
The 2004 Indian general election polls in Tamil Nadu were held for 39 seats in the state. The result was a victory for the Democratic Progressive Alliance, which included the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and its allies the Left Front which won all 39 seats in the state. DMK and its allies were also able to hold on to Pondicherry, which has 1 seat, which allowed the UPA to win all 40 seats in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry.


2004 Indian general election in Tamil Nadu
The 2 larger partners Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) (16) and Indian National Congress (INC) (10) won the majority of seats, with the junior partners Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) (5) and Marumaralarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) (4) winning the rest. The remaining 4 seats were won by the Left Front parties. Due to the support of the Left Front for the government at the centre, all 39 seats in Tamil Nadu, supported the formation of the UPA-led government.


2004 Indian general election in Tamil Nadu
The DPA was formed, because DMK, PMK and MDMK, left the NDA mostly on the Ayodhya issue and created an alliance that supported the UPA. The NDA paid a price for it, when their BJP-AIADMK alliance couldn't even win a seat in this state.


2004 Indian general election in Tamil Nadu, Voting and results, Results by Pre-Poll Alliance
†: Seat change represents seats won in terms of the current alliances, which is considerably different from the last election. Also the seat change for BJP, includes the merged party MADMK, who won 1 seat in the last election. ‡: Vote % reflects the percentage of votes the party received compared to the entire electorate that voted in this election. Adjusted (Adj.) Vote %, reflects the % of votes the party received per constituency that they contested. Sources: Election Commission of India


2004 Indian general election in Tamil Nadu, Post-election Union Council of Ministers from Tamil Nadu
Source: The HinduAfter the UPA victory in this election, Tamil Nadu was rewarded with 12 berths in Union Council of Ministers, with 6 cabinet berths, which is the most this state has ever received after an election. 7 of the Ministers were from DMK, 2 from PMK, while the rest were from Congress.


2004 Indian general election in Uttarakhand
The 2004 Indian general election in Uttarakhand, occurred for 5 seats in the state. 3 seats were won by the Bharatiya Janata Party, 1 seat by Indian National Congress and 1 seat by Samajwadi Party.


2004 Indian general election in Uttarakhand, By-election
By-elections were held in 2007 for Tehri Garhwal constituency on the death of Elected MP Manabendra Shah and for Garhwal constituency as Elected MP B. C. Khanduri became the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand.


2004 Indian general election in Uttarakhand, By-election
In the election for Tehri Garhwal constituency, Indian National Congress candidate Vijay Bahuguna defeated Manujendra Shah, son of Manabendra Shah by margin of over 22,000.


2004 Indian general election in Uttarakhand, By-election
In the election for Garhwal constituency, Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Tejpal Singh Rawat defeated Satpal Maharaj.


2004 Indiana Democratic presidential primary
The 2004 Indiana Democratic presidential primary was held on May 4 in the U.S. state of Indiana as one of the Democratic Party's statewide nomination contests ahead of the 2004 presidential election.


2004 Indiana Fever season
The 2004 WNBA season was the 5th season for the Indiana Fever. The Fever missed the playoffs due to the strong competitivity in the Eastern Conference. As of the 2010 season, this was the last season Indiana had missed the playoffs.


2004 Indiana Fever season, Offseason, Dispersal Draft
Based on the Fever's 2003 record, they would pick 5th in the Cleveland Rockers dispersal draft. The Fever picked Deanna Jackson.


2004 Indiana Hoosiers football team
The 2004 Indiana Hoosiers football team represented Indiana University Bloomington during the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season. They participated as members of the Big Ten Conference. The Hoosiers played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana. The team was coached by Gerry DiNardo in his third and final year as head coach. At the end of the season, DiNardo was fired and replaced by Terry Hoeppner.


2004 Indiana elections, Senate
Popular Incumbent Evan Bayh won by a considerably large margin, even as George W. Bush won this state by 20 points at the national level.


2004 Indiana elections, Governor
Incumbent Joe Kernan lost in an upset against Mitch Daniels, this was the first time that the Republicans had held the office in 16 years, and that the Republican Party had control of most of the most important statewide offices


2004 Indiana elections, Attorney General
Incumbent Republican Steve Carter won with 59% of the vote against Democrat Joseph Hogsett


2004 Indiana gubernatorial election
The 2004 Indiana gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 2004, to elect the Governor of Indiana.


2004 Indiana gubernatorial election
Incumbent Democratic Governor Joe Kernan was defeated by Republican Mitch Daniels. Daniels' victory was the first time the Republican Party had held the governor's office for 16 years and gave the party control of all the important statewide offices. It was also the first time an incumbent governor had been defeated since the Constitution of Indiana was amended in 1972 to permit governors to serve two consecutive terms. This was part of the larger 2004 Indiana elections.


2004 Indiana gubernatorial election, Primaries, Republican
Former White House Director of the Office of Management and Budget Mitch Daniels easily defeated conservative activist Eric Miller in the Republican primary on May 4, 2004. The Republican candidate for governor in 2000, David M. McIntosh, had earlier dropped out of the race after President George W. Bush gave his support to Daniels. Daniels had quit as White House budget director in 2003 so he could return to Indiana and run for governor. President Bush came to South Bend, Indiana before the primary to support Daniels, and the President's nickname for Daniels, "My Man Mitch", became his campaign slogan.


2004 Indiana gubernatorial election, Primaries, Democratic
Frank O'Bannon had been re-elected governor of Indiana in 2000 and was prevented from running for governor again by term limits. His lieutenant governor, Joe Kernan, in 15 December 2002 said that he would not be a candidate for governor. State Senator Vi Simpson and Joe Andrew then vied for nomination for the next ten months. However, in 13 September 2003, O'Bannon had a stroke and died, resulting in Kernan taking over as governor. Kernan decided two months later, in 4 November 2003, that he would run for governor in 2004 and was unopposed in the Democratic primary after both Simpson and Andrew dropped out.


2004 Indiana gubernatorial election, General election, Campaign
Daniels campaigned by traveling throughout Indiana in his RV visiting all 92 Indiana counties at least three times. Kernan fell behind in the polls in May 2004 and never caught up, despite closing the gap in September after attacking Daniels' plan to sell an Indiana utility to an out of state firm. The economy of Indiana was a major issue in the campaign with Kernan, as incumbent, facing pressure over the state’s budget troubles.


2004 Indiana gubernatorial election, General election, Campaign
In addition to the two major party tickets, there was the Libertarian ticket of Kenn Gividen and Elaine Badnarik.


2004 Indiana gubernatorial election, General election, Campaign
All three candidates took part in two debates during the campaign. The first was held on September 28, 2004 at Franklin College with the candidates clashing over the state's economy, prescription drugs and the extension of Interstate 69 from Indianapolis to Evansville. The second debate was held on October 17, 2004 in New Albany, Indiana. Negative campaigning was the major issue.


2004 Indiana gubernatorial election, General election, Campaign
Between Daniels and Kernan the two candidates raised over 28 million dollars, easily surpassing the previous record set in 2000 of 19.2 million dollars.


2004 Indiana gubernatorial election, General election, County Results
Kernan won 17 of Indiana's counties compared to 73 for Daniels. The candidates finish tied in 2 counties.


2004 Indianapolis 500
The 88th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 30, 2004. It was part of the 2004 IndyCar Series season and the ninth Indy 500 sanctioned by the Indy Racing League. Buddy Rice won the pole position, the pit stop contest, led the most laps, and won the race for team owners Bobby Rahal and David Letterman.


2004 Indianapolis 500
The race began about two hours behind schedule due to a morning rain delay. After 27 laps had been completed, rain began to fall again and threatened to wash out the rest of the day. About two hours later, the rain had ceased, and the track was dried. The race resumed on lap 28, and cruised beyond the halfway point to make the race official. At the 150-lap mark, the race had been very competitive up to that point, but was destined to come down to the final round of pit stops to decide the winner.


2004 Indianapolis 500
Moreover, dark skies were looming, and inclement weather was moving back into the area. The race appeared to be turning into a crap-shoot. Some leaders headed for the pits for their final pit stops. At the same time, a handful of teams gambled by staying out, in hopes that they could stretch their fuel and be leading the race when the approaching rain arrived.


2004 Indianapolis 500
Despite desperate attempts to prevail over the approaching rain storm, all of the leaders ultimately were forced to cycle through their final round of pit stops. Nobody was able to stretch their fuel long enough to beat the rain. Buddy Rice, who had led the most laps thus far, re-emerged as the leader. The race was ended after 450 miles (180 laps), just 50 miles (20 laps) short of the scheduled distance. A severe thunderstorm, which eventually produced an F2 tornado, formed in the area of the speedway, shutting the track down, and sending the spectators and competitors for cover. Buddy Rice was declared the winner, his first victory in championship-level competition.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Race schedule
* Includes days where track activitywas significantly limited due to rain


2004 Indianapolis 500, Practice
Rules changes were implemented before the start of the season, which reduced engine displacement from 3.5 L down to 3.0 L. In addition, on-board capacity of fuel was reduced from 35 gallons down to 30. The changes were made in an effort to curtail speeds, which had crept up into the low 230 mph range in 2003. It was also in the wake of a fatal accident at the Speedway. On October 22, 2003, during an off-season tire test, Tony Renna was killed in a crash. On a cool 50 degree morning, Renna spun in turn three, became airborne, and crashed into the outside wall and catch fence. The car was heavily damaged, and Renna died of massive internal trauma.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Practice
For the first time, single-point refueling rigs were allowed. During pit stops, teams were now allowed to utilize a single combined fuel/vent hose assembly. This eliminated the need for a separate vent hose and dedicated vent hose operator, improving safety.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Practice, Rookie Orientation
Rookie orientation was held April 26, with seven drivers participating. Newcomers Ed Carpenter, Kosuke Matsuura, Mark Taylor, and Luis Díaz passed all four phases of the rookie tests. Jeff Simmons and Marty Roth passed three phases, and can pass the fourth phase during routine practice.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Practice, Rookie Orientation
Larry Foyt participated, but due to previous high-speed oval experience, was exempted from needing to pass the four-phase test.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Practice, Rookie Orientation
Carpenter led the speed chart at 215.584 mph. Though Díaz passed the rookie test, he did not return with Ganassi for practice come May.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Practice, Sunday May 9
Scott Dixon led the speed chart with a lap of 219.760 mph on opening day. No incidents were reported.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Practice, Monday May 10
Track remained closed most of the afternoon, due to thunder storms. The track re-opened just before 5 p.m. and Hélio Castroneves set the fastest lap of the month at 220.300 mph. Late in the day, Robby Gordon spun and hit the outside wall in turn 2 but was uninjured.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Practice, Tuesday May 11
Felipe Giaffone brushed the wall in the north chute, then slid along the wall to the entrance to the pits. He was uninjured. Adrián Fernández became the first driver of the month to break the 221 mph barrier but Kosuke Matsuura (221.857 mph) ended up with the fastest lap of the day.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Practice, Wednesday May 12
Tony Kanaan drove the fastest lap of the month, at 222.668 mph.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Practice, Thursday May 13
Rain kept the track closed until 3 p.m. The session was ended about 10 minutes early when Scott Sharp crashed in turn 1. Hélio Castroneves turned the fastest lap of the day (221.156 mph). Buddy Rice was among the top 5 for the first time all week.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Practice, "Fast" Friday May 14
The track opened at 11 a.m. but lasted only four minutes, as rain began falling and closed the track for the day. During the brief session, only four cars had entered the track with Sarah Fisher (212.616 mph) the only car to run a single lap at speed.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Time trials: weekend 1, Pole Day - Saturday May 15
Pole day dawned cool and damp. Overnight rain kept the track closed until shortly after 12 noon. During the first practice session, Tony Kanaan reached 223.224 mph, the fastest lap of the month.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Time trials: weekend 1, Pole Day - Saturday May 15
Pole qualifying began at 2:15 p.m. Roger Yasukawa earned the distinction as the first driver in the field. Shortly after, Robby Gordon qualified his car and immediately boarded a plane to Richmond to participate in the NASCAR event that evening. At 3:06 p.m., Dan Wheldon placed himself on the provisional pole position after a qualifying run of 221.524 mph. Several wave offs and two wrecks (Bryan Herta and Felipe Giaffone) characterized the early attempts.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Time trials: weekend 1, Pole Day - Saturday May 15
At 4:14 p.m., Buddy Rice took over the pole position with a run of 222.024 mph. Rice held off late runs by Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan to secure his first Indy 500 pole. At the end of the day, the field was filled to 22 cars.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Time trials: weekend 1, Second Day - Sunday May 16
Four cars completed attempts to fill the field to 26 cars. After wrecking the day before, both Bryan Herta and Felipe Giaffone put their cars safely in the field. Herta was the fastest qualifier of the afternoon.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Practice: week 2, Wednesday May 19
Mark Taylor brushed the wall in turn 2, but suffered only minor damage. Scott Dixon led all drivers at 220.576 mph, while Marty Roth was the fastest of the non-qualified cars (212.292 mph).


2004 Indianapolis 500, Practice: week 2, Thursday May 20
A. J. Foyt IV spun in turn 3 and brushed the inside wall, suffering minor damage. Kosuke Matsuura was the fastest of the day (220.784 mph). Marty Roth once again led the non-qualified cars (212.352 mph).


2004 Indianapolis 500, Practice: week 2, Friday May 21
Adrián Fernández topped the speed chart at 218.257 mph. Meanwhile, Buddy Lazier joined DRR to drive the #24 car (which later became #91 in a joint entry with Hemelgarn). On his first day of track activity, Lazier led non-qualified cars at 215.513 mph.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Practice: week 2, Saturday May 22
The final full day of practice saw heavy activity. P. J. Jones took to the track for the first time but only managed 208 mph. Buddy Lazier led the non-qualified car at over 214 mph.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Time trials - weekend 2, Bump Day - Sunday May 23
The final day of qualifying saw seven positions open in the field. P. J. Jones was the first car to qualify (213.355 mph), followed by Marty Roth and others. At 1:45 p.m., Greg Ray filled the field to 33 cars with a run of 216.641 mph; the fastest attempt of the afternoon.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Time trials - weekend 2, Bump Day - Sunday May 23
A short rain shower followed, with Robby McGehee sitting on the bubble as the slowest qualifier at 211.631 mph. At that point, it did not appear that any further cars would attempt to qualify. The only driver left on the sidelines was Jaques Lazier, who briefly practiced during the week for Foyt. However, the ride fizzled.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Time trials - weekend 2, Bump Day - Sunday May 23
During the afternoon, Tony Stewart came to visit the track. He was running full-time in NASCAR, and had raced in the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge the night prior. A. J. Foyt reportedly called Stewart while he was at the track and invited him to practice in one of his back-up cars. Stewart quickly passed his physical and went to the pit area to prepare for a possible qualifying attempt. With little else going on during the afternoon, the rumors quickly buzzed around the track and throngs of media surrounded Stewart to cover the breaking story.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Time trials - weekend 2, Bump Day - Sunday May 23
With about an hour left in the day, a car was prepared for Stewart and fired up on pit lane. Stewart had yet to climb in the car but was suited up in his drivers uniform. At 5:36 p.m., however, Stewart left the pits on foot and announced he would not make an attempt to qualify. Stewart's contracts with Joe Gibbs Racing, Home Depot, and Chevrolet precluded him from driving Foyt's Toyota Indy car.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Time trials - weekend 2, Carb Day - Thursday May 26
The final practice was held Thursday May 26. Rahal Letterman Racing with driver Buddy Rice and chief mechanic Ricardo Nault won the Checkers/Rally's Pit Stop Challenge


2004 Indianapolis 500, Race recap, First rain delay
Rain fell early in the morning between 6:00-6:20 a.m. Rain resumed at 9:18 a.m. and continued intermittently until about 10:30 a.m. Track drying efforts began and the start of the race was delayed by a little over two hours. Mari Hulman George gave the traditional command to start engines at 1:02 p.m.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Race recap, Start
At 1:07 p.m., the field pulled away for the pace laps, about two hours and fifteen minutes behind schedule. At the start, Buddy Rice took the lead from the pole position. Rice led Dario Franchitti, Tony Kanaan, Dan Wheldon, and Hélio Castroneves.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Race recap, Start
On lap 10, A. J. Foyt IV brushed the wall in turn four and spun and crashed in turn 1. Foyt was uninjured. Several of the leaders pitted under the caution. Bryan Herta led the field back to green on lap 16. Three laps later, Wheldon took the lead but on lap 22, rain began to fall again and the caution was out again. The field circulated under yellow for several laps and, on lap 28, the red flag came out. Rain was falling hard and the cars were parked in the pits. Many believed the resumption would have to be delayed until Monday.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Race recap, Re-start
After a delay of 1 hour and 47 minutes, the race was ready to resume. Robby Gordon, who was attempting to race in both the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600, departed the grounds and flew to Charlotte. Jaques Lazier was standing by, and climbed in the car to drive relief.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Race recap, Re-start
Shortly after 3:30 p.m., the race continued. Dan Wheldon led at the green but Buddy Rice quickly assumed the lead. An intense segment of racing saw several changes in position amongst the top 10 and the leaders racing closely together. On lap 56, Larry Foyt wrecked in turn two guaranteeing the Foyt team would finish 32nd-33rd.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Race recap, First half
Buddy Rice continued to lead during the next stretch of green flag racing. Dan Wheldon and Sam Hornish, Jr. ran 2nd-3rd.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Race recap, First half
The third crash of the day involved Ed Carpenter and Mark Taylor on lap 64.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Race recap, First half
As the race approached the halfway point, Rice still led and Wheldon and Hornish continued to battle for 2nd and 3rd. The top five were still within seconds of each other.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Race recap, First half
On lap 94, P. J. Jones made contact with the wall exiting turn 2. Jaques Lazier dropped out with a broken axle and leader Buddy Rice stalled exiting the pits. Dan Wheldon took over the lead with Hélio Castroneves now second and Rice dropping down to 8th.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Race recap, Second half
As the race completed the 101st lap, it was scored official and would not need to carry over into a second day. On lap 105, Darren Manning and Greg Ray got together, crashing in turn four and collecting Sam Hornish, Jr. The three cars slid into the end of the pit wall and came to rest at the entrance of the pits. Tony Kanaan now led with Rice still mired back in 8th.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Race recap, Second half
Kanaan and Wheldon traded the lead a couple times until Marty Roth brought out the next caution by crashing in turn 4. Buddy Rice worked his way up to 5th for the restart. Meanwhile, Bruno Junqueira stayed out while the leaders pitted and took over the lead. Junquiera was gambling that his fuel would outlast the leaders in case rain were to resume.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Race recap, Finish
At lap 150, Bruno Junqueira led Buddy Rice and Tony Kanaan. Approaching rain and one final round of pit stops for the leaders was looming and threatened to turn the result into a crap shoot. The first driver to go was Junqueira, who pitted for fuel and tires on lap 151.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Race recap, Finish
The lead went back to Buddy Rice, who was followed closely by Tony Kanaan and Dan Wheldon. Kanaan ducked into the pits for fuel on lap 164 and Wheldon pitted on lap 165. Two laps later, Rice was in the pits, handing the lead over to Bryan Herta. Rain was fast approaching the Speedway and the race was not expected to reach the full distance before the rain fell. More of the leaders cycled into the pits.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Race recap, Finish
Herta gave up the lead on lap 169 in order to pit for fuel. That handed the race lead to Adrian Fernandez as slight moisture was being reported around the track. Fernandez made it to lap 171 but significant rain was not falling yet and green flag conditions still prevailed. Fernandez made a quick 9-second pit stop but lost the lead. After the hectic sequence of pit stops, Buddy Rice was back into the lead.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Race recap, Finish
With Rice leading, Kanaan second, and Wheldon back to third, rain started falling on lap 174. The yellow came out with Rice the certain winner. A severe thunderstorm approached the area and the race was halted after the completion of lap 180 (450 miles (720 km)), 20 laps short of the finish. Lightning forced the victory celebration indoors to the Pagoda.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Race recap, Finish
Rice became the first American winner since Eddie Cheever in 1998. It was also the first rain-shortened 500 since 1976. An F2 tornado missed the Speedway and its quarter-million spectators by six miles as it raked across the south central portion of Indianapolis. The tornado caused widespread damage.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Race recap, Finish
On race day, May 30, precipitation in Indianapolis totaled 3.80 inches; a record single-day amount for that date, and any date during the month since records had been kept.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Results
W  = Former Indianapolis 500 winner;  R  = Indianapolis 500 rookie


2004 Indianapolis 500, Results
All cars in the 2004 Indianapolis 500 used Firestone tires.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Results
Notes: Race halted on lap 27 due to rain. The race was resumed and when rain pelted the Speedway again late in the race, officials waved the checkered flag 15 minutes after the traditional 6 PM closing time. It was only the second time in IMS history racing went past the traditional 6 PM EST closing time;  in 1995, the Brickyard 400 raced into 7 PM EST (8 PM EDT) because of rain delays.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Results
Since the state's adoption of Daylight Saving Time, there have been years where Indianapolis 500 qualifying has passed 6 PM, and the Brickyard 400 has reached past that time on occasion. It is the only Indianapolis 500 to have reached 7 PM EDT. Two races, the 1995 Brickyard 400 (8:07 PM EDT) and the 2017 Brantley Gilbert Big Machine Brickyard 400 (8:57 PM EDT), have reached the 8 PM EDT hour.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Results
During the rain delay, Robby Gordon flew to Charlotte for the Coca-Cola 600, which prompted the team to put Jaques Lazier in the car, but a mechanical failure forced the car not to finish.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Radio
The race was carried live on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network. Mike King served as chief announcer. Kenny Bräck served as "driver expert" up until the rain delay. Bräck sat out the 2004 IndyCar season due to a major crash suffered at Texas in October 2003. This was the only time, other than 2011, that Bräck served as the driver expert on an American broadcast, however, he would serve in later years on international broadcasts.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Radio
Departing from the broadcast team were two longtime members, Howdy Bell and Chuck Marlowe. Donald Davidson celebrated his 40th year as a member of the crew, while Jerry Baker reached his milestone 30th race.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Radio
Kevin Lee moved from turn two to the pit area. Adam Alexander moved from the pits to the turn two location. This was Dave Argabright's first year on the network. This was the last year for both Jim Murphy and Kim Morris.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Radio
Chief Announcer: Mike KingDriver expert: Kenny BräckHistorian: Donald DavidsonColor analyst: Dave WilsonCommentary: Chris Economaki


2004 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Radio
Turn 1: Jerry BakerTurn 2: Adam AlexanderTurn 3: Mark JaynesTurn 4: Chris Denari


2004 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Television
The race was carried live flag-to-flag coverage in the United States on ABC Sports. The broadcast was billed as the Indianapolis 500 Presented by 7-Eleven. The broadcasting crew moved to a new booth, located in the Pit Road Suites next to the Pagoda. Several innovations were introduced, including the first 180-degree on-board rotating camera, and a Skycam along the mainstretch. The network celebrated its 40th anniversary covering the Indianapolis 500.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Television
Bob Jenkins was released from ABC and ESPN after 2003, and his position as "host" was taken by Terry Gannon. Paul Page continued as play-by-play, along with Scott Goodyear. Jack Arute, who had been in the pit area from 1984-1998 and 2000-2003, moved into the booth as analyst for the 2004 race. Joining the crew for the first time were Todd Harris and Jamie Little, both as pit reporters.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Television
Despite a lengthy rain delay throughout the afternoon, ABC stayed on-air all day with coverage, and filled the downtime with highlights and interviews. The marathon broadcast totaled 8 hours and 22 minutes.


2004 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Television
The introduction, titled "The Chase," featuring Henry Rollins, would earn a Sports Emmy nomination for outstanding post produced audio/sound.


2004 Indianapolis Colts season
The 2004 Indianapolis Colts season was the 52nd season for the team in the National Football League and 21st in Indianapolis. The 2004 Colts season began with the team trying to maintain or improve on their 12–4 record from 2003, and advance farther into the playoffs. The Colts finished the season 12–4, and defeated the Denver Broncos for the second straight time in the playoffs, but they were halted in the Divisional round by the defending and eventual Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots.


2004 Indianapolis Colts season
Peyton Manning had one of the best seasons ever by an NFL quarterback, throwing 49 touchdown passes and breaking the previous record of 48 held by Dan Marino. At season's end, Peyton Manning was named the NFL MVP. For the season the Colts set an NFL record with 51 total touchdown passes. The Colts led the NFL with 522 points scored. The Colts tallied more points in the first half of each of their games of the 2004 NFL season (277 points) than seven other NFL teams managed in the entire season.


2004 Indianapolis Colts season
Despite throwing for 49 touchdown passes, Peyton Manning attempted fewer than 500 passes for the first time in his NFL career. Sports statistics site Football Outsiders calculates that Manning had the best-ever season by a quarterback, play-for-play, in 2004.


2004 Indianapolis Colts season
The 2004 Colts are the only team in NFL history to convert five or more passing touchdowns in a game four different times during the regular season.


2004 Indianapolis Colts season, Offseason, Free Agency
During Free Agency, the Colts failed to re-sign linebacker Marcus Washington and cornerback Walt Harris. Both signed with the Washington Redskins in free agency.


2004 Individual Ice Speedway World Championship
The 2004 Individual Ice Speedway World Championship was the 39th edition of the World Championship  The Championship was held as a Grand Prix series over eight rounds.


2004 Individual Long Track World Championship
The 2004 Individual Long Track/Grasstrack World Championship was the 34th edition of the FIM speedway Individual Long Track World Championship.


2004 Individual Long Track World Championship
The world title was won by Gerd Riss of Germany for the fifth time.


2004 Individual Speedway European Championship, Final
m - exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance • t - exclusion for touching the tapes • x - other exclusion • e - retired or mechanical failure • f - fell • ns - non-starter • nc - non-classify


2004 Individual Speedway Junior European Championship
The 2004 European Individual Speedway Junior Championship was the seventh edition of the Championship.


2004 Individual Speedway Junior European Championship, Final
m - exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance •  t - exclusion for touching the tapes •  x - other exclusion •  e - retired or mechanical failure •  f - fell •  ns - non-starter •  nc - non-classify


2004 Individual Speedway Junior World Championship
The 2004 Individual Speedway Junior World Championship was the 28th edition of the World motorcycle speedway Under-21 Championships.


2004 Individual Speedway Junior World Championship
The final was won by Robert Miśkowiak of the Poland.


2004 Individual Speedway Junior World Championship, World final
m - exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance •  t - exclusion for touching the tapes •  x - other exclusion •  e - retired or mechanical failure •  f - fell •  ns - non-starter •  nc - non-classify


2004 Indonesia Open (badminton)
The 2004 Indonesia Open in badminton was held in Jakarta, from December 13 to December 19, 2004. It was a five-star tournament and the prize money was US$250,000.


2004 Indonesia national football team results
This article details the fixtures and results of the Indonesia national football team in 2021.


2004 Indonesian legislative election
Indonesia held legislative elections on 5 April 2004 for both houses of the People's Consultative Assembly, the country's national legislature. This included all 550 seats in the People's Representative Council and 128 seats of the new Regional Representative Council.