A tsunami..
A tsunami is the displacement of a substantial volume of water or perturbation of the sea. This displacement of water is usually attributed to either earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, or more rarely by meteorites and nuclear tests. The waves formed in this way are then sustained by gravity. Tsunamis can be generated when the sea floor abruptly deforms and vertically displaces the overlying water. Tectonic earthquakes are a particular kind of earthquake that are associated with the earth's crustal deformation; when these earthquakes occur beneath the sea, the water above the deformed area is displaced from its equilibrium position. More specifically, a tsunami can be generated when thrust faults associated with convergent or destructive plate boundaries move abruptly, resulting in water displacement, due to the vertical component of movement involved. Movement on normal faults will also cause displacement of the seabed, but the size of the largest of such events is normally too small to give rise to a significant tsunami.
Effect...
the Thai government reported 4,812 confirmed deaths, 8,457 injuries, and 4,499 missing after the country was hit by a tsunami caused by the Indian Ocean earthquake on 26 December 2004. The Thai authorities estimate that at least 8,150 are likely to have died. The popular tourist resort of Phuket was badly hit. The smaller but increasingly popular resort area of Khao Lak some 80 km north of Phuket was hit far worse with 3,950 confirmed deaths, however, the death toll in Khao Lak may have exceeded 4,500.
Official figures as of 7 January 2005 | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Province | Thai deaths | Foreign deaths | Total deaths | Thai injured | Foreign injured | Total injured | Missing |
Krabi | 288 | 188 | 476 | 808 | 568 | 1,376 | 890 |
Phang Nga | 1,950 | 2,213 | 4,163 | 4,344 | 1,253 | 5,597 | 2,113 |
Phuket | 154 | 105 | 259 | 591 | 520 | 1,111 | 700 |
Ranong | 167 | 2 | 169 | 215 | 31 | 246 | 12 |
Satun | 6 | 0 | 6 | 15 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
Trang | 3 | 2 | 5 | 92 | 20 | 112 | 1 |
Total | 2,568 | 2,510 | 5,078 | 6,065 | 2,392 | 8,457 | 3,716 |
TSUNAMI 2004 AND ITS IMPACT...
The 26 December tsunami was the worst natural disaster to ever strike Thailand, causing loss of life as well as major damage to property, the environment and the economy. The severe impact on the natural environment in turn had serious consequences on the fishing and tourism industries and, therefore, thousands of families' livelihoods.
Sunday 26 December 2004 (timings given for Khao Lak, Baan Nam Khem village)07.58 Earthquake off west coast of Sumatra measured over 9 on the Richter Scale09.35 Sea receded to 100 metres from the Andaman coast for about 5 minutes
09.38 Large wave strikes, 2-3 metres high
09.43 First tsunami strikes - 6-7 metres high
10.03 Second tsunami strikes - 10 metres high
10.20 Third tsunami strikes, 5 metres high: causes hour long inundation
12.00 Sea level returns to normal
Description | Figure |
No. people killed | 5,395 |
No. people missing | 2,817 1,972 Thai, 2,248 foreign nationals : 37 countries |
Bodies still unidentified | 1,650 |
No. of affected people | 58,550 |
Children orphaned (loss of one or both parents) | 1,480 |
Lost livelihoods in fisheries | 30,000 |
Fishing boats destroyed or damaged | 7,500 |
Lost livelihoods in tourism | 120,000+ |
Houses destroyed or badly damaged | 4,806 |
Estimated value of damages (not. inc. housing) | 353.4 million USD |
Thai Government assistance /compensation (as of 01 September 2005) | 1.06 billion USD (inc. budget contributions, Prime Minister's Office, bank credit) |
Relief Fund for Disaster Victims | 31.75 million USD |
UN emergency phase relief assistance | 2.6 million USD |
UN recovery programming (till mid 2006) | 38.3 million USD |
References:
Wikipedia, Inc. (2010) Tsunami. Retrieved from
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsunami
Un, Inc. (2008) Impact of tsunami. Retrieved from
- http://www.un.or.th/tsunamiinthailand/Tsunami2004anditsimpact.html