The biggest news stories of the century
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9. Asian tsunami (2004)
The Global Language Monitor (GLM) records trends in word usage of the top 5,000 print and electronic media sites worldwide to determine what the most popular news items have been. The GLM tracks news stories within the first 72 hours after the event, and came up with this list of the top news stories of the 21st century to date.
The Asian tsunami occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. It killed more than 225,000 people in eleven countries via waves up to 30 meters (100 feet) high.
As one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history and the second largest earthquake ever recorded by seismograph, it made international headlines. Over $7 billion was raised in humanitarian aid.
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