Operation Madad is the name of rescue operations conducted by Indian Navy in various occasions within India . The word "madad" in Hindi means "help". On 26 December 2004 starting at 00:58:53 UTC, a massive earthquake measuring between 9.1 and 9.3 on the moment magnitude scale occurred off the West coast of Sumatra . The earthquake resulted in a devastating series of tsunamis along most landmasses bordering the Indian Ocean . With waves up to 30 meters high, the tsunami killed over 230,000 people and inundated most coastal communities in the affected areas.