Everything that starts with T ...

T is for Tsunami, The Killer Waves, and the waves of death for so many people.

I have decided to write about this topic, as it is so much in the news right now, and rightly so. Others have also wrote, and I have read most of their works, and appreciated everyone’s opinions on them, so here’s my version.

Tsunami’s happen all the time, small ones, and sometimes big ones. Tsunami is the Asian name for ‘Big Wave’, so as ...
...St. Stephen’s Day, Boxing Day, or to other’s, simply December 26th, 2004.

*How it happened*

It all happened when an under water earthquake occurred in the Indian Ocean, off the western coast of northern Sumatra, which in in Indonesia. At a magnitude of 9.0, it was the largest since the 9.2-magnitude Good Friday Earthquake off Alaska in 1964, and it tied for fourth largest since 1900.

The hypocenter, where ... more

T is for Tsunami, The Killer Waves, and the waves of death for so many people.

I have decided to write about this topic, as it is so much in the news right now, and rightly so. Others have also wrote, and I have read most of their works, and appreciated everyone’s opinions on them, so here’s my version.

Tsunami’s happen all the time, small ones, and sometimes big ones. Tsunami is the Asian name for ‘Big Wave’, so as you probably know by now, this ‘Big Wave’ happened on St. Stephen’s Day, Boxing Day, or to other’s, simply December 26th, 2004.

*How it happened*

It all happened when an under water earthquake occurred in the Indian Ocean, off the western coast of northern Sumatra, which in in Indonesia. At a magnitude of 9.0, it was the largest since the 9.2-magnitude Good Friday Earthquake off Alaska in 1964, and it tied for fourth largest since 1900.

The hypocenter, where the earthquake originated, was 160 km or 100 miles west of Sumatra, at a depth of 30 km, or 18.6 miles below mean sea level. This is at the extreme western end of the "Ring of Fire", an earthquake belt that accounts for 81% of the world's largest earthquakes .

The quake itself (apart from the tsunamis) was felt as far away as Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and the Maldives. The earthquake was unusually large in geographical extent. An estimated 1,200 km, 750 miles of fault line slipped metres, or 60 ft along the place where the India Plate dives under the Burma Plate.

As you may or may not know, underneath the Earth’s surface are many tectonic plates, which move naturally a small amount of distance, but when these plates move a greater distance than normal, an earthquake occurs.

This place was on what is called a ‘Fault line’, or a join in the plates (Los Angeles is another example). The seabed of the Burma plate is estimated to have risen several metres vertically up over the India plate, creating shock waves in the Indian Ocean that traveled at up to 800 km/h or 500 mph, forming tsunamis which, while less than a metre high in deep water, resulted in huge waves when they reached land.

The India Plate is part of the great Indo-Australian Plate, which underlies the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal, and is drifting northeast at an average of 6 cm/yr (2 in/yr) or 20 m (60 ft) per 330 years; i.e. this earthquake moved this fault 330 years worth.
The earthquake triggered massive tsunamis that struck the coasts of the Indian Ocean, the deadliest tsunamis by far in all of recorded history.

Because the 1,200 km of fault line affected by the earthquake was in a nearly north-south orientation, the greatest strength of the tsunami waves was in an east-west direction. Bangladesh, which lies at the northern end of the Bay of Bengal, had very few casualties despite being a low-lying country.

Coasts that have a land mass between them and the tsunamis' location of origin are usually safe; however, tsunami waves can sometimes diffract around such land masses. Thus, the Indian state of Kerala was hit by tsunamis despite being on the western coast of India, and the western coast of Sri Lanka also suffered substantial impacts. Also, distance alone is no guarantee of safety: Somalia was hit harder than Bangladesh despite being much farther away.

Due to the distances involved, the tsunamis took anywhere from fifteen minutes to seven hours (for Somalia) to reach the various coastlines. The northern regions of the Indonesian island of Sumatra were hit very quickly, while Sri Lanka and the east coast of India were hit roughly two hours later. Thailand was also struck about two hours later, despite being closer to the epicenter, because the tsunami travelled more slowly in the shallow Andaman Sea off its western coast.

*The Aftermath*

At least 158,000 people are known to have died as a result of the tsunamis and the count is still on. The true final toll may never be known due to bodies swept out to sea, but is likely to be considerably higher. Relief agencies warn of the possibility of many more deaths to come as a result of epidemics and starvation. The plight of the many affected people and countries prompted a widespread humanitarian response.

Tens of thousands have been reported missing, and over a million left homeless. Early news reports after the earthquake spoke of a toll only in the "hundreds", but the numbers rose steadily over the following week.

In addition to the large number of local residents, up to 9,000 foreign tourists (mostly Europeans) enjoying the peak holiday travel season were among the dead. According to Unicef, 50,000 children were killed. 1.5 m child survivors now need help to stay alive. Unicef warns that they will also need to be protected from criminals who may want to exploit them.

*Facts*

Despite a lag of up to several hours between the earthquake and the impact of the tsunamis, nearly all of the victims were taken completely by surprise. This is because there is no tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean to detect tsunamis, and equally importantly, warn the general population living around the ocean quickly. Tsunami detection is not easy because while a tsunami is in deep water it has a very low 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.

Sunamis usually occur in the Pacific Ocean due to earthquakes in the "Ring of Fire", and an effective tsunami warning system has long been in place there. Although the extreme western edge of the "Ring of Fire" extends into the Indian Ocean (the point where this earthquake struck), no warning system exists in that ocean due to the rarity of tsunamis there — the last major one was caused by the Krakatoa eruption of 1883.

In the aftermath of the disaster there is a new awareness of the need for a tsunami warning system for the Indian Ocean. The UN aims to have a working East Asia and Southeast Asia early warning system within a year. Still, it won’t bring these people back, but it may help in the future.

*Early Warning Signs*

Do you know the sign of an impending tsunami? Many people don’t. The first warning sign of a possible tsunami is the earthquake itself; however tsunamis can strike thousands of miles away, where the earthquake is only felt weakly or not at all. Also, in the minutes preceding a tsunami strike the sea often recedes temporarily from the coast. People in Pacific regions are more familiar with tsunamis and often recognize this phenomenon as a sign to head for higher ground. However, around the Indian Ocean, this rare sight.

One of the few coastal areas to evacuate ahead of the tsunami was on the Indonesian island of Simeulue, very close to the epicentre. Island folklore recounted an earthquake and tsunami in 1907 and the islanders fled to inland hills after the initial shaking — before the tsunami struck.

I also read about the story on Maikhao beach in northern Phuket, Thailand, when a 10 year old British girl named Tilly Smith had studied tsunamis in geography class at school and recognised the warning sign of the receding ocean. She and her parents warned others on the beach, which was evacuated safely. How many did she save?

*AfterShocks*
Numerous aftershocks were reported off the Andaman Islands, the Nicobar Islands, and the region of the original epicenter in the hours and days that followed. The largest aftershock was 7.1 off the Nicobar Islands.

*The Countries*

Indonesia:
The west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, the closest inhabited area to the epicentre of the earthquake, was devastated by the tsunami. More than 70% of the inhabitants of some coastal villages are reported to have died. Indonesia remains the worst-affected country, with the United Nations warning its death toll will easily top 100,000.

Sri Lanka:
More people have died in Sri Lanka as a result of the tsunami than anywhere else, apart from Indonesia. 30,513 people have been confirmed as killed by the tsunami. A further 3,870 are listed as missing.

India, south-east coast:
India's south-east coast, especially the state of Tamil Nadu, was the worst affected area on the mainland. The official toll in India has risen to 15,825 - although this includes 6,107 people the government says are missing, presumed dead.
India, Andaman and Nicobar Isles:
Salt water, which washed over the islands, contaminated many sources of fresh water, and destroyed large areas of arable land. Most of the islands' jetties have also been destroyed, as well as about 1000 deaths.

Thailand:
The west coast of Thailand was severely hit, including outlying islands and tourist resorts such as Phuket. Some bodies may still lie in the rubble of ruined hotels. Interior ministry figures put the death toll at 5,288 - including at least 2,510 foreigners.

Maldives:
Twenty of the Maldives' 199 inhabited islands have been described as "totally destroyed". The shallowness of the water limited the tsunami's destructive power, but flooding was extensive. Many resorts will be closed for months. At least 82 people are dead and another 26 missing, President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom said.

Malaysia:
Although Malaysia lies close to the epicentre, much of its coastline was spared widespread devastation because it was shielded by Sumatra. However, scores of people were swept from beaches near the northern island of Penang. 68 are confirmed dead.

Burma:
The worst affected area was the Irrawaddy Delta, inhabited by poor subsistence farmers and fishing families. Many deaths have been covered up, to avoid widespread panic. Officially, about 59 have died. Unofficially, will we ever know?

Bangladesh:
So far, 2 people have been confirmed as dead, a father and son after a tourist boat capsized in large waves, officials said.

Somalia:
Somalia is the worst-hit African state, with damage concentrated in the region of Puntland, on the tip of the Horn of Africa. The water destroyed 1,180 homes, smashed 2,400 boats and rendered freshwater wells and reservoirs unusable, the UN said in a report on 4 January. Nearly 300 Somalis are known to have died, with thousands more homeless and many fishermen still unaccounted for. About 50,000 people have been displaced.

Kenya:
One person drowned.

Tanzania:
10 people killed.

Seychelles:
One person dead.

The list of dead and missing is constantly being revised. Here are the latest figures:

Germany:: 60, missing 1,000

Sweden:: 52, missing 2,322

Britain:: 41, missing 159

France:: 22, missing 90

Japan:: 22

Italy:: 18, missing 436

Norway:: 16, missing 91

Switzerland:: 23, missing 500

Finland:: 15, missing 183

United States:: 15

Australia:: 13, missing 78

South Korea:: 11

Singapore:: 9

Denmark:: 7, missing 66

Belgium:: 6, missing 73

Netherlands:: 6, missing 200

Austria:: 7, missing 468

Hong Kong:: 6, missing 60

Canada:: 5, missing 150

Philippines:: 5, missing 13

South Africa:: 8, missing 985

Israel:: 4, missing 3

New Zealand:: 2, missing 24

Brazil:: 2

Taiwan:: 3

Russia:: 2, missing 80

Poland:: 1, missing 39

Colombia:: 1

Czech Republic:: 1, missing 23

Turkey:: 1, missing 16

Croatia:: missing 1

China:: 3, missing 15

Hungary:: missing 20

Ireland:: missing 24, and as of yesterday, one confirmed dead.

Mexico:: 1 dead, missing 14

Spain:: missing 4

Iceland:: missing 11

Luxembourg:: missing 3

Greece:: missing 7

Portugal:: missing 8

Malta:: missing 1

*From me*

All these numbers are exactly that, just numbers on here. But each of these numbers represents a person, someones friend, relative, mother, father, sibling, whatever. I admit that for a day or two after I’d heard about the tsunami’s I was in total shock, and could not comprehend the extent of the devestation, the loss, the deaths. I just couldn’t comprehend it at all.

Gathering this information has made me realise just that little bit more about it all. It could so easily have been someone I knew, it could have been someone I met fleetingly, and it’s made me realise a lot of things about myself. Death can come so swiftly, so unexpected, that maybe we should all have a think about our lives, and how we can improve it, for ourself, and for others.

So I hope and pray that for all of you reading this, that you are not directly affected, because someone is. My thoughts and prayers go out to all the victims, and that doesn’t just mean the people who have died.

Ar n-athair, ata ar neamh;go naofar d'ainm. Go D'taga do riecht. Go ndeantar do thoil ar an tabhair duinn inniu, Agus maith duinn ar b'hfiacha, Mar mhaithimid dar bhfeichiunaithe fein, Agus na lig sinn i gcathu,ach saor sinn o oic, Oir is leasta an, Riocht agus anChumhacht agus an Ghloir, Tre shaol na soaol,
Amen.

Marian x

(Some figures were gathered from various websites.)
 

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