ILLUSTRATES Frank William
For conspirologists, dark interests provoked the tragedy that devastated Southeast Asia and moved the world at Christmas 2004
1) blood wave
On December 26, 2004, an earthquake measuring 9.1 on the Richter scale in northern Indonesia triggered the biggest tsunami in recent history. It caused over 230,000 deaths in 13 countries. In Indonesia alone, it killed 40,000 people and left another 2 million homeless. Geologists claim that the earthquake was natural, but some conspirologists have other theses…
2) remote control
Founded in 1993 in the USA, the haarp project researches how to improve radio wave transmissions in the highest layers of the atmosphere. But, according to conspiracy theorists, their high-frequency antennas could modify the air mass that protects the planet. This would cause huge changes in temperature and pressure conditions, triggering the giant waves.
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3) The earthquake saved the Earth
Years after the tragedy, an email circulated saying that the earthquake that caused the tsunami was artificially created by nuclear warheads from a US submarine sunk in the Indian Ocean since 1978. The country detonated these explosives to cause a change in the Earth’s axis, saving the planet from collision with an asteroid that would arrive here in March 2014
India was to blame
According to the Egyptian tabloid al usbuthe tragedy was the result of a series of secret nuclear tests promoted by India, with the help of the USA and Israel. According to the newspaper, the explosions took place in deserted areas, hundreds of kilometers from populated areas, but their impact was so great that it managed to trigger giant waves.
Oil, always him!
At the time, the online rumor mill said that interventions by oil companies British forces in the region could have caused the disaster. Supposedly, they would use horizontal drilling at 90º angles, which would increase the flow of oil produced, but could also affect tectonic plates. After the catastrophe, these companies covered up all evidence
4) Wet Revenge
Indonesia is home to the largest Muslim population in the world. It was enough for many to claim that the US had tested weapons of mass destruction, as retaliation for the September 11, 2001 attacks. The main evidence would be that the US military base in the region, Diego Garcia, suffered little damage
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EXPLAINING THE TRUTH
Science and history do not support the “on-demand” tsunami thesis
– Several geological studies and monitoring records around the world point beyond a doubt that the tsunami was caused by the shock of the shifting tectonic plates of India and Burma
– Located on the border of these plates, the region constantly suffers from earthquakes and giant waves. There is a natural predisposition
– Hours before the giant wave formed, residents reported the flight of animals to the interior of the continent, which would only have happened due to their sensitivity in recognizing the slightest earthquakes
– In addition to there being no records of oil spills in the region at that time, there have never been documented cases of oil drilling causing earthquakes
– In an official statement, the US Navy stated that the Diego Garcia base was protected by the deep ocean topography at the site. Experts also attested that the greatest damage took place near the north coast of Sumatra, and not to the south, where the base is located.
– There is no record of US submarines lost in 1978. Also, there were no geopolitical reasons for them to sail or stay in the Indian Ocean in the 1970s
– For scientists, the waves emitted by Haarp are not capable of influencing the climate and end up being absorbed imperceptibly by the stratosphere
CONSULTANCY Ideval Souza Costa, geologist at the Department of Geology at the University of São Paulo
SOURCES Websites Telegraph, Al Jazeera, indian daily It is BBC