What year did the Boxing Day earthquake & tsunami occur in the Indian Ocean?

The story behind the answer

The Boxing Day earthquake and tsunami occurred on December 26, 2004. A massive magnitude 9.1–9.3 megathrust quake off Sumatra triggered waves that devastated coastlines around the Indian Ocean—especially Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand—killing about 230,000 people and making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in modern history.

Called the Boxing Day tsunami because it struck the day after Christmas, the disaster prompted the creation of the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System. To remember the year: think “Day after Christmas ’04”—the “4” in ’04 as a wave crest—and “Boxing Day” fixes the date to 12/26, locking in 2004.