On December 26, 2004, a historic earthquake shook the world. As many were celebrating the holiday season, a team of USGS scientists worked through the night, observing one of the largest and deadliest seismic events in modern history: the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake (Magnitude 9.1). This catastrophic event triggered tsunamis that claimed over 230,000 lives across Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand. But from tragedy came transformation. The aftermath led to groundbreaking changes in ho