The 2004 Tsunami - Essay Example

The 2004 Tsunami The 2004 tsunami reached 9 magnitudes of the Ritcher scale making it the biggest ever experienced in the last 40 years and affected more than 12 countries along the Indian Ocean. The earthquake and tsunami of the year 2004 will be remembered as one of the greatest human tragedies of the century due to losses and devastation it caused to people. Hundreds of people were directly killed, millions of people displaced, and their property destroyed. Millions of people living around the Indian Ocean were greatly affected psychologically, socially and economically (UNEP 12). The tsunami affected people from Banda Aceh, to the tourist resort of south Thailand, fishing villages of Sri Lanka, as far as the coast of some African countries. People who lost their lives were as many as 250 000 across the shores of the Indian ocean and millions of people were displaced from their homes and their livelihoods destroyed. Countries that were directly affected by the earthquake include Indonesia, Maldives, the Seychelles, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Yemen. The livelihoods of people were greatly affected especially the poor people who depended on the ecosystem and natural resources for survival. People lost their food stores and the shops in the coastline were greatly affected. Impact on environment/pollution Environmental impact assessment showed that there are great damages to both human and natural resources. The damage could have been larger but the natural resources also provided a first line defense to the tsunami effects. The damage needed an environmental reconstruction programme that cleaned the hotspots, carried the rehabilitation of the livelihoods and ecosystem, and strengthens environmental policies. The water and soils within the periphery of the coastal systems were greatly contaminated thus interfering with the coastal ecosystems (Samarajiva 14). Inland waters, wetlands, and agricultural lands that support people with food were greatly salinated thus affecting the agricultural yields. Shallow wells and ground water supplies in the small islands and in the coastal lands were greatly affected since their fresh waters were also salinized with the waters that overflowed from the ocean. About 90% of the toilets on the badly affected highlands and coastal regions lost and the waters contaminated with sewage. The living conditions were greatly affected since the survivors stood great chances of contaminating water borne diseases. In Sri Lanka; more than 25% of the wells become contaminated when the waters from the saline Indian Ocean and sewerage treatment systems mixed with them (UNEP 15). Waterborne diseases and vector borne diseases increased considerably resulting to high mortality rates along affected coastlines. The environmental infrastructure like water and sanitation systems together with disposal sites were tampered and greatly damaged. Contamination from waste deposits caused health and environmental problems that threatened livelihoods for several years. Most lives were saved due to the enormous humanitarian response that was quickly mobilized across the globe with appropriate mitigation measures put in place to improve environmental standards (Dawson & Stewart 17). Production of goods and services/Economic impact The economic activities in the coastline and the coastal highlands were greatly affected by the tsunami. Sources of daily income and food were totally destabilized leaving people vulnerable to hunger and thirst. Many of the victims were involved in fisheries prior to the attack but they are left with no source of income since their boats were destroyed and the aquatic system destabilized. Mangrove systems and the aquaculture provided a sustainable balance in the coastal systems that were greatly interfered with in the course of mangrove attack (UNEP 19). Rice crops in islands were seen to be yellowing in the field few weeks after the deadly tsunami, an indication that they were drying out. Soil conditions doubled their salt content needed by plants for survival thus rendering most of them useless for farming. The food reserves were greatly affected leaving people desperate for a means of survival. More than a half of the fishing boats were damaged leaving people with no means of continuing with their economic activity in the region. Fish factories along the coastline were also destroyed and institutions that deal with fishing education and research were destroyed leaving them with no capacity to continue with their mandate. The tourism sector that is a good source of income to countries that lay along the coastline were rendered nonfunctioning leading to more losses than anticipated. Most of the hotels and restaurants were either partially or completely destroyed and some tourists and hotel worker either killed or injured with the tsunami. In Indonesia alone, the damage was estimated to cost over 4 billion dollars while the impact on families and communities is hard to rate in terms of dollars (Samarajiva 16). Comparison with Japan 2011 Tsunami in terms of damage and warning systems The years 2004 and 2011 are synonymous with world tsunamis since they are the periods when both Indonesia and Japan tsunamis took place respectively. Whereas the magnitude of the 2004 tsunami was 9.1 in magnitude, the tsunami of 2011 was 9.0 in magnitude but the former caused more damage to lives and properties than the ladder (Clarisse 1). The death toll of the two tsunamis ware also quite different with the 2004 tsunami killing more than 200, 000 while the 2011 tsunami only consuming about 2400 lives. Both tsunamis took place within the Asian continent but the epicenter of the 2004 tsunami was at Sumatra while the epicenter of Indonesian tsunami was in Sendai Japan (Howson 1). The tsunami that took place in 2004 lacked properly installed Tsunami Warning System and for this reason, it was agreed by the United Nations in 2006 that such a system be put in place to alert people of suck a disaster within two minutes. The warnings are sent to social places like churches, schools, and market and delivered through short messages, email, and broadcasting systems (Samarajiva 19). Cause of tsunami There are several causes of tsunami and they include; the down drop or thrust of the earth’s crust resulting to earthquake, undersea landslide, submarine volcanic activities, and large meteor that falls into the sea. Earthquakes the common cause of tsunami since they displace water thus leading to energy transfer through waves that reach the land and cause tsunami. Tsunamis are more frequent in areas whereby the land is geographically unstable and volcanoes, landslides, and earthquakes are likely to take place. Work Cited Clarisse. “Difference Between 2004 Tsunami and 2011 Tsunami”. difference between. 2011. Web. 05 Dec. 2013 Dawson, Alastair & Stewart, Ian. Tsunami Geoscience. Progress in Physical Geography,  2007; vol. 31, 6: pp. 575-590. Howson, Margaret. Japan Tsunami and 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. google.com. 2013. Web. 05 Dec. 2013 Samarajiva, Rohan. Policy Commentary: Mobilizing information and communications technologies for effective disaster warning: lessons from the 2004 tsunami. New Media & Society,  2005; vol. 7, 6: pp. 731-747. United Nations Environmental Program. After the Tsunami: Rapid Environment Assesment. 2005. New York City: United Nations. Read More