Comments:  This series of photographs, variously labeled "Tsunami Live Photos," "Pictures of Tsunami," etc., began circulating via email within days of the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami of December 26, 2004.

They are falsely labeled.

Despite the fact that at least one of the emailed images was subsequently published as a "tsunami photo" in the Calgary Herald (Alberta, Canada) and other media outlets, that is not what they depict. Rather, they are believed to document the annual "tidal bore" in the Qiantangjiang (Qiantang) River near Hangzhou, China on September 9, 2002 (see published example in the Daily Times of Pakistan, dated 9/10/2002).

Sources and further reading:

Tidal Bore: Qiantangjiang River Near Hangzhou
Daily Times (Pakistan), 10 September 2002

High Tide at Qiantang River
China Daily, 24 September 2004

Riding the Wave
City Weekend (China), 10 September 2003

Calgary Flame-Out
NewsDesigner.com, 30 December 2004

Canadian Media Hoaxed by 'Tsunami' Photo
Editor and Publisher, 3 January 2005

Aussie Media World Champ for Tsunami Fakes
Crikey.com, 4 January 2005

Last updated: 01/10/05