Final Project Assignment

2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake

Alson known as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake, was an undersea earthquake that occurred on December 26, 2004. The earthquake generated a tsunami that was among the deadliest disasters in modern history, killing well over 200,000 people.

Various values were given for the magnitude of the earthquake, ranging from 9.0 to 9.3, though authoritative estimates now put the magnitude at 9.15.

In May 2005, scientists reported that the earthquake itself lasted nearly ten minutes when most major earthquakes last no more than a few seconds; it caused the entire planet to vibrate at least a few centimetres. It also triggered earthquakes elsewhere, as far away as Alaska .

The earthquake originated in the Indian Ocean just north of Simeulue island, off the western coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The resulting tsunami devastated the shores of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, South India, Thailand and other countries with waves up to 100 feet. It caused serious damage and deaths as far as the east coast of Africa, with the furthest recorded death due to the tsunami occurring at Port Elizabeth in South Africa, 5,000 miles away from the epicentre.

Human Removal of Coral Reefs

In an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal, published five days after the tsunami, a journalist, Andrew Browne, argued that the human destruction of coral reefs may have played a role in exacerbating the destruction caused by the tsunami. Many countries across Asia, including Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, have put forth efforts to destroy the coral surrounding their beaches, and instead make way for shrimp farms and other economic choices. On the Surin Island chain of Thailand's coast, Browne argued, people may have been saved as the tsunami rushed against the coral reefs, lessening its impact.Many reefs areas around the Indian Ocean have been destroyed using dynamite because they are considered impediments to shipping, an important part of the South Asian economy. Similarly, Browne argued that the removal of coastal mangrove trees may have intensified the effect of the tsunami in some locations. He argued that these trees, which lined the coast but were removed to make way for coastal residences, might have lessened the force of the tsunami, in certain areas. Another factor, Browne argued, is the removal of coastal sand dunes.

Signs and Warnings

Despite a lag of up to several hours between the earthquake and the impact of the tsunami, nearly all of the victims were taken completely by surprise. There were no tsunami warning systems in the Indian Ocean to detect tsunamis or to warn the general populace living around the ocean. Tsunami detection is not easy because while a tsunami is in deep water it has little height and a network of sensors is needed to detect it. Setting up the communications infrastructure to issue timely warnings is an even bigger problem, particularly in a relatively poor part of the world. This was a huge problem when looking at the technological paradigm because hundreds of thousands of lives could have been saved if these systems were put in place. These people had no clue what they truly had coming there way. This lack of warning caused so many deaths alone. When combining little to no warning with the removal or natural Tsunami deterrents such as coral reefs and mangrove trees on the coast this truly escalated to a natural disaster very quickly. 

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