The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, by far the worst disaster in the number of lives lost during peacetime for Finland, killed 179 Finns in Thailand and Sri Lanka, and caused widespread public debate and investigations into the actions of Finnish officials who were claimed to have failed to help their citizens in the affected areas.
The undersea megathrust earthquake was 9.1 to 9.3 on the moment magnitude scale and struck the Indian Ocean off the western coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia.
By 31 May 2005, a total number of 179 Finns have been proclaimed dead as caused by the tsunami; as of October 2006, one adult and three children were still officially missing in the affected areas.
[2] In Sweden, the country in Europe with the highest number of casualties as a result of the tsunami, widespread criticism towards the government led to the resignations of top politicians, but these consequences didn't occur in Finland.
Miikkulainen, Mäkinen and a crew of tourist agents also circulated hospitals and evacuation centers around Khao Lak and Phuket in order to find Finnish people and give them information about the situation.