© MICAH B RUBIN

  • Tsunami 2004

    On December 26, 2004, a magnitude 9.1 earthquake shredded the fault between the Burma and Indian plates and unleashed an explosion of energy equivalent to 23,000 Hiroshima-sized atomic bombs. The resulting tsunami caused a 100-foot wave in places, and claimed more than 227,000 lives. In India’s Nagapattinam district, more than 6,000 people were killed when waves reached 16-foot heights. Shortly after the tragedy, I travelled there to document the devastation, volunteer, and help survivors rebuild.

  • A construction worker installs corrugated tar paper roofs on shelters for tsunami survivors. Nagapattinam, India, 2005
  • Work crews operating heavy machinery clean up the devastated landscape two weeks after the tsunami struck. Nagapattinam, India, 2005
  • Food being distributed to hungry survivors. Nagapattinam, India, 2005
  • A shattered pile of fishing boats in the Nagapattinam port. Nagapattinam, India, 2005
  • A relief worker bleaching streets to stave off outbreaks of disease. Nagapattinam, India, 2005
  • A survivor of the tsunami disaster, Nagapattinam. India, 2005
  • Children were amazingly resilient despite having lost their possessions and oftentimes family members. Nagapattinam, India, 2005
  • Donated clothes abandoned by tsunami survivors litters the ground outside of a relief warehouse. Nagapattinam, India, 2005
  • A survivor of the tsunami disaster. Nagapattinam, India, 2005
  • A Muslim woman watches the ocean in Tamil Nadu. Nagapattinam, India, 2005

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