LIC- Tsunami, Boxing day 2004

• Causes

  Massive 9.0 earthquake caused by the subduction of the Pacific Plate under the Indo-Australian Plate triggered a tsunami up to 10 meters tall
• Primary Impacts

  250 000 people died across the Indian Ocean

  Schools, hospitals and homes destroyed

  Crops destroyed

  Salt water contaminated fresh drinking water
• Secondary Impacts

  The tourism industry was negatively affected as people chose to stay away from the region for many years

  2 million people made homeless

  Salt water intrusion made it impossible for crops to grow for a number of years
• Short term Response

  Immediate search and rescue

  Fresh water, water purification tablets, food, sheeting and tents provided in aid.

  Medical teams and forensic scientists (to identify the dead) arrived.
• Long term Response

  An Indian Ocean wide warning system was set up in June 2006 to warn people of on-coming tsunamis – this was proved to work a few years after

  Education programmes were set up to teach people what to do in a disaster

  Homes rebuilt (this took longer than hoped due to the wide scale destruction of infrastructure)
• Background

  GDP = $3 800 per capita (Indonesia)

  Population Density = 140 per km2 (Indonesia)

  Literacy rate = 95% (Indonesia)