The December 26, 2004 Tsunami in Southeast Asia
... kilometers. A shift has occurred averaging fifteen meters along the Burma and India boundary as a result of this faulting. Not only did the tsunami affect human lives, it also affects the environment. “Human debris such as fabrics and plastics will remain on the coral for months, causing reef loss through dragging with the wave movement” (In Society News). After the tsunami hit land, the media had photographic images and video of the trees being taken away by the waves in the water. The tsunami’s effects could bring extinction of some animals like turtles and fish. The coral reefs were forced off when the tremendously strong waves hit land. In Sri Lanka over thirteen thousand fishermen were killed, five thousand were evacuated, and eighty percent of the fishing fleet was severely destroyed. Four thousand and five hundred fishing vessels were destroyed on the Thai coast putting the lives of one hundred and twenty thousand people living in the fishing villages in jeopardy. There were fishermen that were in the boats that couldn’t be found. The decline of human life meant more fish for those who survived in the fishing village. There was a pair of US-French satellites that was out to the west, north, and northeast after two hours after the tsunami. They had 3,000-kilometer (1,900-mile) that extend the tsunami’s leading boundary when it hit Sri Lanka and India and it measured the sea levels of the Bay of Bengal. The tsunami had two waves that moved 500-800 kms (300-500 miles) separately, their maximum height of about 50 meters? The tsunami waves were about 5 feet in height that struck the island of Simeulue that close the earthquake’s epicenter; the 70,000 inhabitants were killed by the waves on land. It destroyed about 90% of the building, but along five people died in each building. It was a surprise for people that live in Southeast Asia because the large tsunami struck 11 of the nations that are close to the India Oceans. “ Warning and evacuation systems can help to prevent that loss of life. Any of these events may happen, at any time and with little or no warning, in any of the world’s oceans” (News and Departments). Earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions generate most tsunamis, and meteorites can also cause loss of lives. In the Simeulu Island, the tsunami didn’t cause deaths and destruction because the amount of uplift was larger than the tallness of the waves. The most stress and energy was located in Northern Sumatra because the release of the moving air caused the tsunami to be very destructive. The tsunami traveled in different time in unusual areas and the least it traveled was ten minutes but the most is seven hours. The early warning system and the preparation plan for the magnitude of the tsunami disaster should have been on, so people could get to higher ground. The warning could help people to get to high area so they can save their lives and there would have been fewer deaths in South Asia. “Many, whose homes were destroyed, have been allotted temporary sheds. But few people who have experienced natural disasters view themselves as in need of mental health care, and are therefore unlikely to seek help” (World Report). They had to bring shortages of food and water to Southeast Asia because the people were serving after the tsunami. The major worry of administration agencies was to offer sanitation services and clean drinking water to hold the increase of diseases such as cholera, diphtheria, dysentery and typhoid. In the time after the tsunami experience, many were exhausted in burying bodies quickly for fear of illness. The community strength risks may have been made too much of and this may not have been the greatest way to assign wealth. There were 1.3 million people affected by the tsunami that were provided with food from The World Food Programmer. The Australi...