Celeste Abrahams 12 KCT

Why was Sri Lanka so Vulnerable?

The Facts:On the 26th of December 2004, just the day after Christmas, disaster struck South-East Asia. At 7.58 am (ICT) an earthquake off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, which measured over 9 on the Richter Scale. This lead to a ginormous Tsunami which hit Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia and many other countries and caused over 230,000 casualties

How the Tsunami was Formed... The earthquake occurred along the Indian and Eurasian plates and caused a 1,200km section of the earth's crust to rush upward, displacing a large amount of water.

In the deep water the waves travelled fast but remained shallow however once they hit shallow water they slowed down but started to increase in height

The tsunami reached speeds of up to 800 km/h and heights of up to 30 metres.

A diagram to show how tsunamis are formed

The ConsequencesSri Lanka was extremely badly hit by the Tsunami sue to its close proximity to Indonesia. There were over 30,200 deaths, most of which were of the elderly. One and a half million people, around 8% of Sri Lanka's population, were displaced due to their houses being destroyed by the tsunami. Not only was there a high death toll from the tsunami itself, but it has lead to an outbreak in many deadly waterborne diseases such as cholera. Sri Lanka's agriculture has also been severely affected. 259km2 of paddy field have been destroyed and many have been deemed unusable due to the severe destruction or the litter caused by the tsunami, this is extremely bad for a LIC like Sri Lanka, which relies strongly on agriculture as a source of income.

Paddy Fields Post Tsunami

Celeste Abrahams 12 KCT

WHY SRI LANKA?Sri Lanka was extremely venerable for three reasons, the education of the people, their warning system, and the recent demolition of mangroves.Education:In Sri Lanka only small population of children attend a school which teaches them about the geographical reasons behind tsunamis, how to spot them and what to do when this occurs. This is true for a large proportion of the population of Sri Lanka, including much of the government, who did not know what to do and how to stay safe once the tsunami hit. “No one in Sri Lanka really knew what a tsunami was or how to react to it, back then. When the waves receded, people went out to collect shells,” Gamini Hettiarchchi, director general of the island’s Disaster Management Centre (DMC) told AlertNet.The Warning System:There is no formal, or structured tsunami warning system in place in Sri Lanka making the people living on the coast highly venerable. This is because they could not be told hours in advance of the tsunami that it was going to strike. Because Sri Lanka is not well developed it lacks the money or equipment of an adequate earthquake predictor, putting it at a higher risk.Mangrove Clearance:Because of the recent increase in shrimp farming, man mangroves in Sri Lanka and other part of South-East Asia have been destroyed, offten illegally. This lead to Sri Lanka's coast being at a very high risk due to the fact that mangroves work as a natural defence against tsunamis as they absorb the waves energy. This meant that areas on the coasts without mangroves were affected a lot more than those with mangroves.

"No one in Sri Lanka really knew what a tsunami was or how to react to it, back then. When the waves receded, people went out to collect

shells" Gamini Hettiarchchi

Who Was Affected:The death toll is now over 30,000The Locals:

Many people who lived on the coast of Sri Lanka were either killed or strongly affected with their homes and livelihoods destroyed.

Around 500,000 people have been displaced

Tourists: The coast of Sri Lanka and countries

like Thailand are a hotspot for tourists during Christmas, the total tourist death toll was around 9000

Sri Lanka - Post Tsunami 1

Celeste Abrahams 12 KCT

East vs West: East coast was hit first

and the worst due to it facing the epicentre of the earthquake

The southern coast was hit next, and has a high mortality rate due to it being a tourist 'hotspot'

Usually areas with a landmass between them and an earthquake are safe however this earthquake defected around Sri Lanka to the western shore.

The Affects, Long Term and Short Term:Short Term:

High mortality rate Loss of farming land and livihoods Loss of farming animals Destruction of tourist areas Cutting off of transportation and

communication to affected areasLong Term:

Water supply affected as many people depended on wells which were destroyed in the tsunami

The tsunami also poured seawater into the wells making them unusable

Long term mental effects to those who experienced it

Many organisations such as Christian Aid and Rebuilding Sri Lanka, have been working in Sri Lanka to help those affect to regain their livihoods.

Tsunami Facts (All Countries Affected):Time: 0758 local time on 26 December 2004Magnitude: 9Ranking: The fourth largest since 1900Epicentre locality: 250 km south-south-east of Banda AcehEnergy released: Equivalent to the explosion of 475,000 kilotons of TNTHeight and speed of tsunamis: 50 centimetres high but travelling at up to 800 km/h (in open water)Distance waves travelled inland: Up to 2000 metresNumber of countries damaged: 13People killed: At least 226,000Number of people injured: Over 500,000Number of people affected: Up to 5 million people lost homes, or access to food and waterNumber of people left without the means to make a living: 1000000Total cost of tsunami: $7.5 billionTotal international aid promised to Tsunami-ravaged nations $7 billion