Claim:   Photographs show the tsunami that struck Indian Ocean shorelines in Asia in December 2004.

Status:   False.

Example:   [Collected on the Internet, 2004]

Tsunamii-------Closeup shots of the killer waves I just received these photos from friend and former business associate. What a horrible disaster !! Fortunately, she is safe and now out of the country....she made a quick exit. TSUNAMI: These are taken, just before..... Contributed by my Niece from Bangalore, India NOT TOO SMART!!! HERE IS WHY SOOOO MANY PEOPLE DIED....THEY JUST STOOD THERE AND WATCH THE WAVE COME... Have attached a few photos, which gives the clear picture about the Earth Quake.

Origins:   These photographs are yet another examples of any images depicting large waves being grabbed and passed around as "real photographs" of the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. These pictures were purportedly taken in Thailand in December 2004, but they actually date from 2002 and depict not a tsunami, but a tidal bore (unusually high tides resulting in waters flowing upstream at high speeds) on the Qian Tang Jiang River, in Hangzhou, China.

Tidal bores occur at predictable times, and watching these events is a four-day-long government-sponsored tourist festival in China, hence there were plenty of people and photographers on hand to observe the one captured in the pictures above. Several news outlets in a variety of countries have been taken in by these photos and have run them as genuine pictures of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

Last updated:   11 January 2005

Urban Legends Reference Pages © 1995-2013 by Barbara and David P. Mikkelson.
This material may not be reproduced without permission.
snopes and the snopes.com logo are registered service marks of snopes.com.  

---

  Sources:

    Chakrawertti, Samiran.   "After the Deadly Tsunami, a Photo Hoax Wave."

    The Times of India.   7 January 2005.

    Hollemans, Ellen.   "Citizen Falls Into Tsunami Trap."

    [South Africa] Mail & Guardian.   10 January 2005.

    [South Africa] Mail & Guardian.   "The Citizen Eats Humble Pie."

    11 January 2005.