A ranar 26 ga Disamba, 2004, bayan girgizar kasa ta Tekun Indiya ta 2004, tsunami ya lalata Maldives. An bayar da rahoton cewa tsibirin tara ne kawai suka tsere daga duk wani ambaliyar ruwa, yayin da tsibirin hamsin da bakwai suka fuskanci mummunar lalacewar muhimman abubuwan more rayuwa, tsibirin goma sha huɗu dole ne a kwashe su gaba ɗaya, kuma an lalata tsibirin shida. An tilasta wa wasu tsibirin hutu ashirin da ɗaya su rufe saboda lalacewar tsunami. An kiyasta jimillar lalacewar ta kai sama da dalar Amurka miliyan 400, ko kuma kusan kashi 62% na GDP. An bayar da rahoton cewa Maldivians 102 da baƙi 6 sun mutu a cikin tsunami. An rage tasirin lalacewar raƙuman ruwa a kan tsibiran da ke ƙasa ta hanyar gaskiyar cewa babu wani babban tudu ko babbar ƙasa wanda zai iya samun tsayin raƙuman ruwa. An bayar da rahoton cewa raƙuman ruwa guda ɗaya ya tsere zuwa ƙafa 14 (4.3 m).
fiye da dalar Amurka miliyan 400