Boxing Day Tsunami

• Boxing Day tsunami background

  • 2004 in the Indian ocean
  • magnitude between 9 and 9.3
  • ruptured the ocean floor 240km North West of Sumatra Indonesia
  • Indian plate sub ducted under Eurasian plate
  • tsunami hit Sumatra, Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Maldives, Seychelles, Madagascar, Kenya and South Africa
• Boxing Day primary impacts

  • up to 300,000 people died and thousands of bodies never recovered
  • vegeation and topsoil removed up to 800m inland
  • infrastructure destroyed - Andaman and Nicobar islands cut off as jetties were washed away
  • coastal settlements such as Banda Aceh devastated
  • damage of $10-15 billion
  • salt water intrusion made farmland unusable for years
  • families were separated and many children left orphaned
  • debris, waste and toxic chemicals were washed into the ocean
• Boxing Day secondary impacts

  • 500,000 forced into refugee camps
  • fishing, agriculture and tourism industries devastated
  • 44% of population in Achen Province, Indonesia lost livelihoods
  • cost to fishing industry in Thailand was £226 million which was more than cost to tourism industry
  • negative multiplier effect weakened economies - Sri Lanka lost deep sea trawlers so fewer catches
  • water supplies and soils contaminated by salt water
  • gap between the rich and poor increased
  • lack of fresh water caused a cholera outbreak
  • lack of food as many fish died and farms destroyed
• Boxing Day long term responses

  • reconstruction programmes but thousands still left in tents
  • political barriers slowed aid distribution
  • tourist resorts rebuilt
  • native coastal communities forced out by new developments
  • UN group set up warning systems - sirens and radios
  • education on tsunami awareness
  • drills and education plans established
  • coastal zone hazard maps to identify areas most at risk
  • mangroves and coastal reefs replanted to act as natural barriers
  • strengthened disaster management laws and policies
  • deep ocean tsunami detection buoys to monitor tsunami activity
• Boxing Day tsunami causes

  • Indo-Australian plate is pushing north and is sub ducted under the Eurasian plate so the ocean floor is under pressure
  • the plates slip and the pressure is released
  • ocean floor lifts up
  • water is displaced
  • tsunami forms
• Boxing Day short term responses

  • international relief efforts established, involving more than 160 aid organisations and UN agencies
  • foreign military troops provided assistance - Australian air force improved traffic control in Indonesia
  • aid provided fresh water, water purification tablets, food, sheeting and tents
  • mass vaccination campaigns were launched to avoid outbreaks of cholera and and typhoid
  • world food programme provided food rations to survivors
  • desalinisation units were sent to prevent dehydration
  • Red cross created a data base to reunite families