CORRECTION TO PREVIOUS POST
This is on Deigo Garcia's official US Navy website:
http://www.dg.navy.mil/ then select Tsunami News Update at left-middle
of screen/page.


Initial indications are that Diego Garcia was not affected by the
Andaman Tsunami of 26 December 2004. It is located south of the tip of
India, well with in range of what the tsunami, with a max elevation of
22 and an average elevation of only 4 feet. Civilians monitoring
shortwave radio reported on rec.radio.shortwave that a female operator,
in answer to a query from an aircraft after giving weather information,
reported no ill effects from the earthquake.


Officials said the Diego Garcia Navy Support Facility, which houses
about 1,700 military personnel and 1,500 civilian contractors, suffered
no damage related to the earthquake and ensuing tsunamis. Personnel at
the facility reported no unusual activity or problems over the weekend.
Diego Garcia, the southernmost island in the Chagos Archipelago, sits
about 1,000 miles south of India and roughly 2,000 miles from the
earthquake's epicenter. Even though an earthquake like Sunday's
will radiate destructive waves in all directions, the damage caused by
the water differs greatly depending on the undersea topography.


Favorable ocean topography minimized the tsunami's impact on the
atoll. Diego Garcia is part of the Chagos Archipelago, situated on the
southernmost part of the Chagos-Laccadive Ridge. To the east lies the
Chagos Trench, a 400 mile long, underwater canyon that ranges in depth
from less than 1,00 meters below the surface to depths that plunge to
over 5,000 meters. It is one of the deepest regions of the Indian
Ocean. Diego Garcia is located to the west of Chagos Trench, which runs
north and south. The depth of the Chagos Trench and grade to the shores
does not allow for tsunamis to build before passing the atoll. The
result of the earthquake was seen as a tidal surge estimated at six
feet.