Earthquake on December 26. Measures taken after the tragedy

Video, Tsunami, Thailand, Tsunami Thailand (Koh Phi Phi) - 12/26/2004

Eyewitness video. Tsunami in Thailand December 26, 2004.

An undersea earthquake in the Indian Ocean, which occurred on December 26, 2004 at 00:58:53 UTC (07:58:53 local time), caused a tsunami that was considered the deadliest natural disaster in modern history. The magnitude of the earthquake was, according to various estimates, from 9.1 to 9.3. This is the third most powerful earthquake on record.

The epicenter of the earthquake was in the Indian Ocean, north of the island of Simeulue, located off the northwestern coast of the island of Sumatra (Indonesia). The tsunami reached the shores of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, southern India, Thailand and other countries. The height of the waves exceeded 15 meters. The tsunami caused enormous destruction and a huge number of deaths, even in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, 6900 km from the epicenter.

According to various estimates, from 225 thousand to 300 thousand people died. According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the death toll is 227,898. The true death toll is unlikely to ever be known, as many people were swept into the ocean.

Tsunami propagation across the Indian Ocean

The earthquake north of Simeulue Island was initially estimated at magnitude 6.8 on the Richter scale. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) assessed it at magnitude 8.5 immediately after the event. The moment magnitude, which more accurately estimates earthquakes of this magnitude, was 8.1. Upon further analysis, this score was gradually increased to 9.0. In February 2005, the strength of the earthquake was estimated at 9.3 magnitude. The PTWC accepted this new estimate, while the USGS estimates the magnitude of the earthquake to be 9.1 magnitude.

Since 1900, recorded earthquakes of comparable magnitude have been the 1960 Great Chile earthquake (magnitude 9.3–9.5), the 1964 Great Alaskan Ice Bay earthquake (9.2), and the 1952 earthquake off the southern coast of Kamchatka ( 9.0). Each of these earthquakes also resulted in a tsunami (in the Pacific Ocean), but the death toll was significantly lower (several thousand people at most) - perhaps because the population density in those areas is quite low, and the distances to the more populated coasts are quite large .

The hypocenter of the main earthquake was located at coordinates 3.316° N. latitude, 95.854° east. (3° 19′ N, 95° 51.24′ E), at a distance of about 160 km west of Sumatra, at a depth of 30 km from sea level (initially reported 10 km from sea level ). It is the western end of the Pacific Ring of Fire, an earthquake belt that accounts for up to 81% of the world's largest earthquakes.

The earthquake was unusually large in a geographical sense. About 1200 km (according to some estimates - 1600 km) of rock shifted over a distance of 15 m along the subduction zone, causing the Indian plate to move under the Burma plate. The shift was not one-time, but was divided into two phases within a few minutes. Seismographic data suggests that the first phase formed a fault measuring approximately 400 km by 100 km, located at approximately 30 km above sea level. The fault formed at a speed of about 2 km/s, starting from the shore of Ase towards the northwest for about 100 seconds. There was then a pause of about 100 seconds, after which the rift continued to form north towards the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The Indian Plate is part of the larger Indo-Australian Plate that lines the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal, moving northeast at an average rate of 6 cm per year. The Indian Plate touches the Burma Plate, which is considered part of the larger Eurasian Plate, forming the Sunda Trench. At this point, the Indian plate is being pushed under the Burma plate, which contains the Nicobar Islands, the Andaman Islands and the northern part of the island of Sumatra. The Indian Plate gradually slides deeper and deeper beneath the Burma Plate until increasing temperatures and increasing pressure turn the subducted edge of the Indian Plate into magma, which is eventually ejected upward through volcanoes (the so-called Volcanic Arc). This process is interrupted by the interlocking of the plates for several centuries until the build-up of pressure results in a major earthquake and tsunami.

With the sharp movement of tectonic plates, the seabed also rises by several meters, thereby giving rise to destructive tsunami waves. Tsunamis do not have a point center as such, as is erroneously assumed from illustrations of their propagation. Tsunamis propagate radially from the entire fault, which is approximately 1200 km long.

(G) (O) 3.316 , 95.854 3° N. w. 95° E. d. /  3.316° N. w. 95.854° E. d.(G) (O)

The earthquake was unusually large in a geographical sense. About 1200 km (according to some estimates - 1600 km) of rock shifted over a distance of 15 m along the subduction zone, causing the Indian plate to move under the Burma plate. The shift was not one-time, but was divided into two phases within a few minutes. Seismographic data suggests that the first phase formed a fault measuring approximately 400 km by 100 km, located at approximately 30 km above sea level. The fault formed at a speed of about 2 km/s, starting from the shore of Ase towards the northwest for about 100 seconds. There was then a pause of about 100 seconds, after which the rift continued to form north towards the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The Indian Plate is part of the larger Indo-Australian Plate that lines the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal, moving northeast at an average rate of 6 cm per year. The Indian Plate touches the Burma Plate, which is considered part of the greater Eurasian Plate, forming the Sunda Trench. At this point, the Indian Plate is being subducted under the Burma Plate, which contains the Nicobar Islands, the Andaman Islands and the northern part of the island of Sumatra. The Indian Plate gradually slides deeper and deeper beneath the Burma Plate until increasing temperatures and increasing pressure turn the subducted edge of the Indian Plate into magma, which is eventually ejected upward through volcanoes (the so-called Volcanic Arc). This process is interrupted by the interlocking of the plates for several centuries until the build-up of pressure results in a major earthquake and tsunami.

With the sharp movement of tectonic plates, the seabed also rises by several meters, thereby giving rise to destructive tsunami waves. Tsunamis do not have a point center as such, as is erroneously assumed from illustrations of their propagation. Tsunamis propagate radially from the entire fault, which is approximately 1200 km long.

Aftershocks and other earthquakes

Several subsequent aftershocks were recorded near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, as well as in the area of ​​the epicenter during the next few hours and days after the first earthquake. The highest recorded magnitude was 7.1 (near the Nicobar Islands). Other tremors with a magnitude of up to 6.6 continued to occur in the area of ​​the epicenter almost every day. .

The earthquake occurred three days after a magnitude 8.1 earthquake struck an uninhabited area west of New Zealand's Auckland Islands and north of Australia's Macquarie Island. This is quite unusual, since earthquakes of magnitude 8 or more occur on average no more than once a year. Some seismologists suggest a connection between these two earthquakes, saying that the later one was triggered by the first one, since both earthquakes occurred on opposite sides of the Indo-Australian tectonic plate. However, the USGS does not see a connection between them.

Coincidentally, this earthquake occurred exactly one year (to the hour) after the magnitude 6.6 earthquake that occurred in the city of Bam in Iran.

Like subsequent tremors, the energy released by the first earthquake continued to act, with vibrations still being detected a week after the earthquake, providing important scientific data about the internal structure of the Earth.

Earthquake power

The total energy released by the Indian Ocean earthquake is estimated to be approximately 2 exajoules (2.0 10 18 joules). This energy is enough to boil 150 liters of water for every inhabitant of the Earth, or the same amount of energy humanity uses in 2 years. It is assumed that the Earth's surface made a fluctuation of 20-30 cm, which is equivalent to tidal forces acting from the Sun and Moon. The shock wave of the earthquake passed through the entire planet, in the USA, in the state of Oklahoma, vertical vibrations of 3 mm were recorded.

The mass shift and huge release of energy did not change the Earth's rotation much. The exact figure has not yet been determined, but theoretical models suggest that the earthquake shortened the length of the day by about 2.68 microseconds (2.68 μs), that is, by about one-billionth due to the decrease in the Earth's flattening. The earthquake also caused the Earth to wobble 2.5 cm around its own axis in the direction of 145° East longitude, or perhaps even 5 or 6 cm. However, under the influence of the Moon's tidal forces, the length of the day increases by an average of 15 microseconds each year, so any increase in rotation speed will quickly disappear. In addition, the natural wobble of the Earth on its axis can be up to 15 m.

Some small islands southwest of Sumatra were shifted southwest by up to 20 meters. The northern end of Sumatra, which is on the Burma Plate (southern regions of the Sunda Plate), may also be shifted 36 meters to the southwest. The shift was both vertical and lateral; some coastal areas are now below sea level. Measurements made using GPS and satellite photographs provide insight into how much the geophysical situation has changed.

Characteristics of a tsunami

Sharp vertical shocks of the seabed of several meters during the earthquake caused the movement of huge masses of water, which resulted in a tsunami that reached the coasts of the Indian Ocean. Tsunamis that cause damage very far from where they originate are usually called "telotsunamis", and they are more often caused by vertical displacement of the seafloor than by horizontal displacement ( Earthquakes and tsunamis, Lorca et al.).

This tsunami, like the others, behaves very differently in the deep parts of the ocean than in shallow waters. In the deep-sea part, tsunami waves look like a small bump, just noticeable, but seemingly harmless, and they move at a very high speed (500-1000 km/h); in shallow water near the coasts, the tsunami slows down to tens of kilometers per hour, but at the same time forms huge destructive waves.

According to Ted Murty, vice president of the Tsunami Society, the total energy of the tsunami waves was comparable to five megatons of TNT (20 petajoules). This is more than twice the energy of all the live shells detonated during World War II (including the two atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki), but orders of magnitude less than the energy released by the earthquake itself. In many places the waves traveled up to 2 km of land, and in some (notably the coastal city of Banda Aceh) 4 km.

Since the 1,200-kilometer fault was located approximately in the north-south direction, the tsunami waves reached their greatest strength in the east-west direction. Bangladesh, located at the northern end of the Bay of Bengal, suffered the least damage despite being located fairly low above sea level.

Coasts that have a natural terrestrial barrier to tsunami waves were mostly left unaffected; however, tsunami waves can sometimes diffract around such terrestrial barriers. Thus, the Indian state of Kerala suffered from the tsunami, although it is located on the western coast of India; The western coast of Sri Lanka was also heavily damaged by the tsunami. In addition, a large distance from the place where waves occur does not guarantee safety either; Somalia suffered much more than Bangladesh, although it is much further away.

Depending on the distance, the time it took for the tsunami to reach the coasts ranged from 50 minutes to 7 hours (in the case of Somalia). The northern regions of the Indonesian island of Sumatra encountered the tsunami very quickly, while Sri Lanka and the east coast of India did so only 90 minutes to 2 hours later. The wave also reached Thailand two hours later, although it was closer to the epicenter - due to the fact that the tsunami moved more slowly in the shallow Andaman Sea.

Some tsunami energy escaped into the Pacific Ocean, resulting in small but noticeable (to measure) tsunamis along the western coasts of North and South America (20-40 cm high on average). A wave height of 2.6 m was recorded at Manzanillo, Mexico. Some experts note that this relatively large tsunami over such a long distance was caused by a combination of the effects of the Pacific Ocean and local geography.

Signs and warnings

Despite the delay of up to several hours between the earthquake and the tsunami strike, for almost all the victims this very strike came as a complete surprise; There was no tsunami detection system in the Indian Ocean and, most importantly, a general warning system for the population of coastal areas. Detection of a tsunami in itself is not so easy, since at the moment when the wave is far from the shore, it does not have a high height that a network of sensors and sensors can detect. But building a sufficient communication infrastructure for timely tsunami warning is also a problem.

A few hours before the arrival of the tsunami waves, many animals left the coastal zones, moving to higher ground.

Damage and casualties

The reported death toll from the earthquake, tsunami and subsequent flooding fluctuates widely due to confusion and conflicting reports from the ground. The total number of deaths is estimated at approximately 235 thousand people, tens of thousands are missing, and more than a million people were left homeless. Casualties were initially reported in the hundreds of lives, but over the following week the number of known casualties increased greatly. On the southwestern coast of Sri Lanka, waves 7-9 meters high destroyed the overcrowded Samudra Devi passenger train located near the coast, killing about 1,700 people - worst train accident in world history.

Charities say about a third of those killed were children. This is a result of the high proportion of children in the settlements of many of the affected regions and the fact that children were the least able to resist the rising waters.

In addition to the huge number of local residents, over 9,000 foreign tourists (mostly Europeans) vacationing in the regions affected by the tsunami died or went missing, especially tourists from Scandinavian countries. Perhaps the heaviest European blow hit Sweden, with 60 dead and 1,300 missing reported.

A state of emergency was declared in Sri Lanka, Indonesia and the Maldives. The UN has announced that the current rescue operation will be the most expensive ever undertaken. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said reconstruction would take five to ten years. Governments and non-governmental organizations feared that the death toll could double in the final stages as a result of disease.

In terms of the number of victims, the earthquake was one of the 10 most destructive in history. It is also one of the worst tsunamis in history, the previous “record” being held by the 1703 tsunami in Awa (Japan), which killed about 100,000 people.

Disaster-affected countries

BANGKOK, December 26 - RIA Novosti, Evgeny Belenky. Ten years ago, on December 26, 2004, six thousand people died in the resorts of southern Thailand as a result of a devastating tsunami that swept along the Indian Ocean coastline. More than half of the dead were foreign tourists, including Russians. A tourist paradise in southern Thailand turned into absolute hell within one hour.

Indian Ocean Tsunami - Ten Years LaterOn December 26, 2004, an underwater earthquake with a magnitude, according to various estimates, from 9.1 to 9.3 shifted the tectonic plates of the Indian Ocean. The resulting tsunami immediately hit the shores of the island of Simelue, Sumatra, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Africa.

Phuket

Having arrived in Phuket the night before and spent the night searching for surviving Russians in hospitals in Phuket and five surrounding provinces, on the morning of December 27, driving along a relatively intact section of the embankment in the Patong Beach area, we saw for the first time in daylight and realized the scale of the destruction. Completely collapsed and dilapidated houses of the first line, cars half sticking out of the windows of the third floor, and a small car wrapped around a cracked concrete pillar, so that the front bumper was in contact with the rear. There were no more bodies of the dead on the streets, there was only debris from wooden buildings demolished by the wave and mangled cars and motorcycles, and this made the picture even worse: imagination filled in what was missing. In Patong, the wave was “only” three to five meters high, but its speed at the moment of impact reached 500 kilometers per hour. On the embankment there were palm trees, bare as lampposts, not broken by the wave, but completely devoid of leaves.

Phuket was less affected than the mainland coast of neighboring Phanga province or Phi Phi island in Krabi province, and had fewer fatalities. But it was in Phuket on the day of the tsunami that there were the largest number of Russians, more than 900 people, and two of them died.

On December 28, in one of the hospitals in Phuket, the body of a young woman from Moscow was found, who came to rest with her four-year-old son and on the day of the tsunami refused an excursion deep into the island, going with the child to the beach. Her son's body was discovered in another hospital the next day, and together with visiting relatives of the victims, Russian diplomats and local doctors made a visual identification, then confirmed by identification from dental records. On the island of Phuket itself, no more Russians died.

Phuket became the center for survivors and the identification center for all surrounding provinces. On the very first day, the Thai authorities provided a plane for the flight from Bangkok to Phuket for consular workers of those countries whose citizens were in the disaster zone. On the third day after the tsunami, the evacuation mechanism was already in full swing: a transit camp for foreign victims in Phuket, free flights to Bangkok, refugee camps in Bangkok, from which tsunami victims were sent home.

All the bodies of people who died both on the island itself and in neighboring provinces were brought to Phuket. There were no places in the morgues, so the bodies were placed in plastic bags and sheets on the floor of hospital basements, where there were such, or on the ground in the courtyards of hospitals and on the territory of several Buddhist monasteries. Only before the New Year, the first 12 refrigerated containers arrived in Phuket, but even a week later, when there were already several dozen of them, there were still not enough containers, and a decision was made to temporarily bury the unidentified bodies. Most of the bodies found after several days in the water could not be visually identified. For several years after the tsunami, an operation was underway to identify the victims by DNA.

There was a lot of confusion: for example, Russian diplomats had to defend the body of a Muscovite who died in Phuket, which their colleagues from Italy suddenly began to lay claim to: one elderly Italian recognized her as his daughter from a photograph. The body had already been identified by the Russian woman’s relatives and identified by doctors, so the Russian side invited the Italian side to carry out a DNA comparison. The analysis was done in Rome and showed a negative result, after which Italian diplomats were forced to apologize to the Russians. Then the German rescuers working with the refrigerators introduced their own body numbering system, “cancelling” the previous one used by the Israeli rescuers who had worked before them, and they had to open the refrigerators one by one to find the identified bodies that had to be prepared for shipment to their homeland. It turned out, however, that the neat Germans had nevertheless compiled a list of matching numbers, but for some reason they decided to stick it not to the outside, but to the inside of the door of one of the 18 containers standing nearby.

Phanga Province

In the Khao Lak area of ​​Phanga province on the mainland, a forty-minute drive from Phuket, a strip of beach lined with several five-star hotels looked like something out of a crazy surrealist's dream on the second day after the tsunami. There was no asphalt road that previously led from the highway to the Sofitel Khao Lak Hotel. In its place was a broken and washed out dirt road. Along it, mattresses, mini-fridges from rooms, and safes hung on the branches of completely bare trees. The hotel's concrete and brick buildings were intact, but they looked as if some giant rabid cat had torn off the paint and plaster from the first to the third floor with its claws. The piles on which the buildings were built were exposed, and underneath them darkened eerie, almost black water. Paths made of plywood boards were laid between the hulls, along which the Thai sailors leading the rescue operation moved. A wave 15 meters high here traveled almost two kilometers deep into the shore.

“We collected most of the bodies, but not all the bodies have been removed here yet, some are under buildings, some are under plywood shields. We had to put these shields on the dead in some places so that we could collect and transport other bodies, from the beach and from the pools ", said the officer commanding the operation.

It was at Sofitel that seven of the ten Russian tsunami victims died. A family of three from Buryatia, a girl guide from St. Petersburg who came to discuss their vacation program with them, a young couple with a daughter from Moscow.

Another Russian died at the nearby Grand Diamond Hotel. He walked out of the hotel building onto the beach, while his family stayed in the room and survived.

Survivors at the Sofitel told how powerful whirlpools tore people out of rooms on the first floor through window panes broken by the first blow of the wave. An elderly woman from Kazakhstan and her one-year-old grandson survived because the bed they were lying on rose to the ceiling. The grandmother and grandson took turns breathing air from the air pocket that had formed there. within fifteen minutes. Another grandson of this woman, an eleven-year-old boy, took the blow of a wave at the door of his hotel building - he returned from the beach to get swimming goggles - also survived, although he broke his ribs on the statues that stood between the buildings. His last memory before the impact was of his father and mother running along the beach from the wave towards him, already knowing that they would not have time to escape, and putting all their strength into warning their son: “Run, run up!”

1,500 Russians survived the tsunami in southern Thailand

The emergency headquarters at the Russian embassy in Bangkok worked around the clock, receiving 2,000 phone calls per day. The first list compiled by the headquarters included one and a half thousand Russians, presumably located in the provinces that suffered the disaster.

All subsequent days, until January 6, when this list was “closed,” a search was carried out for everyone mentioned in it individually. Names were crossed out one by one only after double-checking confirmation that the person was alive and well. Most of the names were “closed” by the Bangkok headquarters, which received calls from relatives and the wanted persons themselves. The rest were searched for and found by Russian diplomats who flew to Phuket on the evening of December 26 - in hospitals, in hotels, in evacuee camps.

From the first day in Phuket, they were helped by volunteers - employees of travel agencies, Russians living in different parts of Thailand, the mother of one of the Russian citizens who disappeared in Sofitel, who came to look for her son and did not want to sit back and wait for news, journalists from Russian TV channels and newspapers who came to cover the consequences of the tsunami.

Gradually the lists melted away, people were found, and at the same time another list began to be drawn up - for evacuation flights of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations. On the very first flight, which brought bottled drinking water to Phuket before the New Year (there was a chronic shortage of it on the island), Russian diplomats managed to send home more than 80 Russians and citizens of neighboring countries, including Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania.

There was a third list: those who were considered missing, but due to the circumstances of their location at the time of the tsunami and eyewitness testimony, most likely died. On January 8, this list became final. Ten names left. Identification of the dead took years. The list has not changed, only the people named in it have today ceased to be considered missing and have become officially dead. Here are their names: Oksana Lipuntsova and her four-year-old son Artem, Sergei Borgolova, Natalya Borgolova, their son Vladislav Borgolova, Maria Gabunia, Olga Gabunia, Evgeniy Mikhalenkov, Alexandra Gulida, Vitaly Kimstach.

The tsunami in 2004 was one of the most destructive disasters of our time. Although the epicenter of the tsunami was in the eastern Indian Ocean, near Indonesia, the giant wave also reached Sri Lanka. The tsunami in Sri Lanka in 2004 was very destructive.
The incident in Sri Lanka on December 26, 2004 occurred unexpectedly - tsunami waves hit the island without warning, so the population did not have time to evacuate and prepare to face this cataclysm. Therefore, there is nothing surprising in the large number of victims and injured during this natural disaster. A total of 13 tsunami tidal waves hit Sri Lanka. Only the northern part of the island was practically unaffected by the tsunami, while areas in the southwest, southeast and south of Sri Lanka were heavily damaged by this cataclysm.
The tsunami in Sri Lanka in 2004 was caused by earthquakes off the coast of Sumatra with a magnitude of 9.1 on the Richter scale. It was the third most powerful earthquake on Earth since the recording of earthquake power on the Richter scale began. Because of this earthquake, a tsunami was formed, which went in all directions from the epicenter of the earthquake. Countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand were hit the hardest, but other Asian countries and even some East African countries were also affected.
There were at least two, and sometimes even up to six, tidal waves before the tsunami penetrated into the interior of the island of Sri Lanka. These waves also caused great damage to the island. In addition, the receding water also destroyed buildings and carried various objects and people into the ocean. This is why after the tsunami many people were considered missing.

Which areas of Sri Lanka were affected by the tsunami?

Sri Lanka was hit hard by the 2004 tsunami. Almost all areas of the island were affected. These are, in particular, not only areas in the south and southwest of Sri Lanka, but also areas of South-Eastern and Western Sri Lanka. Thus, almost three-quarters of the island's coastline was affected. In addition, the tsunami resulted in the country's worst train accident, with more than 1,000 casualties. Another very negative effect was that the tsunami made it virtually impossible to locate the more than a million anti-personnel mines on the islands that had been planted during the civil war.

Death toll from the 2004 Sri Lanka tsunami

Although Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia are thought to have the highest number of tsunami casualties, Sri Lanka actually had the second highest death toll from the 2004 tsunami.
Reports on the number of deaths vary. As of March 1, 2005, an estimated 36,603 people died in the months following the tsunami. 800,000 people living on the coast of Sri Lanka are considered to be directly affected by the tsunami. They were injured and/or lost shelter or some other important property. Tourism and fishing have created high population densities along the coast. The coastal lifestyle of people in Sri Lanka contributed to the high mortality rate resulting from the tsunami. Below you will see an image that shows the death toll by region in Sri Lanka. In addition to the large death toll, approximately 100,000 buildings and 180 schools were destroyed. The houses were easily destroyed since they were built mainly from wood.
The damage caused by the 2004 Sri Lanka tsunami is visible even today. The country's infrastructure, which has been badly damaged, is being restored very slowly. The Sri Lankan government estimated the damage from the tsunami at $1.4 billion. One can imagine what this money means for such a poor country as Sri Lanka. Today, only monuments visually remind of the tsunami. One of them is the memorial in Hikkaduwa, which was built with financial support from Japan and is dedicated to the victims of the tsunami.

The impact of the tsunami on the nature of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is an island with a variety of plants and animals, many of which are endemic. Sri Lanka is also home to very delicate ecosystems such as rainforest, coral reefs and mangrove wetlands. The long-term impact of tsunamis on these ecosystems is not as clear as the impact on humans. Ecosystems, although very fragile, can withstand long periods of time after being harmed, making it difficult to judge how well they will recover from immediate damage. Wetlands and forests were initially destroyed, but how quickly and effectively they are restored is not yet known. It is important that these areas recover and regain the enormous biodiversity they once had.
The Sri Lanik forests acted as a barrier or cushion for the waves. Forested areas of the coast helped ease the impact of waves on the interior. No one knows how many lives have been saved by the forest environment.
There is an irony that is very evident in the tsunami story. The natural environment caused this disaster and stole the lives of many people. When the dust settled, people turned to the environment for food, shelter, and income, just as they had before. The importance of preserving coastal forests and wetlands to provide buffers for future tsunamis is emphasized. Fishermen whose boats were not destroyed are heading back to the oceans and tourists are once again toying with the idea of ​​a holiday in Sri Lanka. The irony is that the source of such a horrific event was the giver of life on the island of Sri Lanka.

Earthquakes in Sri Lanka and the risk of a new tsunami

As you know, Sri Lanka has already experienced earthquakes and tsunamis. Today, many are interested in the question of what is the likelihood of a new tsunami or earthquake in Sri Lanka? Before attempting to answer this question, it is best to understand what is the main cause of earthquakes and tsunamis. First of all, it should be noted that predicting the time and date of future earthquakes and tsunamis is one of the frontiers of scientific research. Anyone who tries to predict a future earthquake may be considered to be speculating. So it's better to just look at what the actual probability of an earthquake in Sri Lanka is.
About 1000 km east of Sri Lanka lies the main plate boundary. It is close to Indonesia, Sumatra, Nicobar and Andaman Islands. This area is as active as ever. In fact, this particular plate boundary is the most active in the world right now. It was on this border that a gigantic earthquake measuring more than 9.0 on the Richter scale occurred, causing a tsunami in 2004. It is clear that this region is hyperactive and has experienced hundreds of earthquakes over the past few years. Although major earthquakes occurring in this region do not affect Sri Lanka, except for minor tremors due to distance, a tsunami cannot be ruled out. Not all earthquakes underwater cause a tsunami, but there is definitely a chance that one will cause a tsunami.
Many people still believe that the island of Sri Lanka is quite safe from earthquakes and that, with the exception of minor tremors, nothing like this can happen here. It should be mentioned, however, that in 1615 there was an earthquake in the Colombo area, after which more than 200 deaths were recorded. What does it mean? This only means that the geological conditions are favorable for a moderate sized earthquake to occur in Sri Lanka. So there really is a possibility of an earthquake in Sri Lanka, and it is stupid to exclude such a development of events. Indeed, many people would have laughed if they had been told before 2004 that Sri Lanka would be hit by a devastating tsunami. Historical records are often dismissed with contempt. In August 1883, a tsunami already hit Sri Lanka after the eruption of the Krakatoa volcano.
Several other geological options should not be ignored either. According to one scenario, the northern end of the plate on which Sri Lanka sits could slam into the Asian plate with such force that it would trigger a massive earthquake across the entire plate. The stress at the northern end of the plate will be transmitted across the Indian mainland and Sri Lanka may also be affected by this stress transmission. This buildup of stress within the Sri Lankan landmass will also lead to instability and possibly lead to tremors, which would be facilitated by the many fractures and lineaments that cross Sri Lanka.
In general, new earthquakes and tsunamis in Sri Lanka cannot be ruled out. However, since 2004, Sri Lankans have indeed learned some hard lessons and are now better able to warn people of impending disaster, thanks to the National Disaster Management Center and the Bureau of Geological Surveys and Mines.

On that day, December 26, 2004, there were no signs of trouble in Thailand. Happy tourists were preparing for the New Year holidays and basking in the sun on the seashore. However, “Mother Nature” decided to play a cruel joke on them. At 7:58 am Thai time, a powerful earthquake occurred at the bottom of the Indian Ocean, which became the primary source of a series of deadly waves and killed more than 200,000 people.

Experts estimated the power of the tragic earthquake at 9-9.3 on the Richter scale. Such a terrible natural phenomenon occurred at the junction of two tectonic platforms in the depths of the Indian Ocean. For centuries, the oceanic plate moved towards the continental plate at a speed of 6.5 km/year. As a result, instead of sliding under one another, they collided head-on. The platforms rested against each other for a long time, and when the tension between them reached a certain level, the 1200-kilometer continental plate moved 18 m. The sharp shift led to a rise in the water level to the west of the fault and a decrease to the east. In just 2 minutes, millions of tons of water shifted in the ocean. It was this colossal displacement of water masses that caused the tsunami in Thailand in 2004.

Hell in paradise

Oddly enough, the most powerful earthquake in history was felt less significantly on land than under water. A premonition of tragedy arose only among the birds and animals that fled from the coast. An hour after the collision of tectonic plates, the water began to sharply move away from the shore, freeing large areas of the seabed. Unsuspecting tourists, instead of looking for salvation, began to collect shells and fish.

A powerful stream of water moved along the bottom of the sea, without revealing itself for a long time. However, the surface of the sea was fraught with mortal danger. Waves as high as a 5-story building rose only on the shore.

When the sign of a tsunami was obvious, it was already useless to run. With unimaginable speed, thousand-ton avalanches of water crushed and washed away everything in their path.

The storm moved deep into the coast from several hundred meters to 4 kilometers in some places. When it seemed that the forces of disaster had dried up, a new, stronger wave arrived. At the same time, injuries and death were caused not so much by the water itself, but by the objects that were in it. Tree branches, pieces of concrete, furniture and fittings, as well as cars knocked down those who, grabbing onto some support, tried to survive. All coastal areas were mercilessly destroyed.

Only wild animals felt the precursor of trouble on the coast. Unlike people, they fled to safer areas. Therefore, during the liquidation of the disaster, rescuers practically did not find any dead animals.

Consequences of the tragedy

After the water left the land of Thailand, the survivors could not recognize one of the most popular resorts in Asia. It seemed as if military operations with atomic bombs had taken place here. A huge number of household and interior items were reduced to small pieces, many hotels were completely demolished, concrete buildings with more powerful structures stood half destroyed.

Boats, cars, and boats could be found in unexpected places. They were in some of the surviving buildings or on their roofs.

However, panic and horror were most evoked by the bodies of people who could not cope with the elements.

Having made sure that the disaster had completely subsided, local authorities immediately began to take action to eliminate the terrible consequences of the tsunami. Hundreds of military and police officers ensured that victims had access to clean water, food and organized camps.

The flow of water that passed through Thailand destroyed the sewerage system, as well as fuel stations, as a result of which outbreaks of various infections were predicted. That is why the authorities, and simply local residents, did everything to clear the rubble as quickly as possible, discover the bodies of the dead and bury them properly.

Some sources estimate the number of deaths on the coast of Thailand to be approximately 8500 people, half of whom came as tourists from 37 countries. Moreover, a third of the total number who could not cope with the disaster were children.

Later, having assessed the total damage from the deadly tsunami, experts came to the conclusion that the 2004 disaster was a powerful tragedy in the history of mankind.

Which regions of Thailand are affected?

The western part of Thailand, which faces the Andaman Sea, was hit the hardest by the deadly tsunami. At the same time, the natural disaster developed differently in different areas. The most serious consequences and number of victims were recorded in Phi Phi, Lanta, Koa Lak, Similan Islands and Phuket. The entire coastal area was completely destroyed, many small fishing boats were washed out into the Indian Ocean, although their number has not yet been counted. The disaster destroyed all communications connecting Thailand with the outside world. Nobody knew about what happened for quite a long time.

Tsunami in Phuket

On the island of Phuket, located in the south of Thailand, the approach of natural disaster was deceptively slow. The first wave of the tsunami was not as powerful as it was observed in other areas of the resort. Therefore, many tourists who were in hotels mistook it for the slow flooding of hotels. After the water receded, the Phuket guests went outside to assess the situation. The situation on the beach was calm.

At that moment, tourists did not realize that subsequent tsunami waves could arrive with some delay, with a difference of 15-20 minutes, and sometimes an hour. At the same time, the power of their flow only intensifies.

The disaster did not spare almost the entire western coast of Phuket. Cafes, hotels, clubs, the best beaches of the island - and were almost completely destroyed. According to general estimates, the number of victims here was several hundred people. It was in this area that the grandson of the King of Thailand died as a result of the disaster. This fact only confirms that the authorities really were not aware of the impending disaster.

Compared to other areas of Thailand, the entire infrastructure in Phuket was completely restored by 2006. There was no trace left of the tragic day on the island.

Should we be wary of a tsunami in Thailand today?

Only the fatal consequences of the tsunami, which took the lives of thousands of people, forced the kingdom's authorities to seriously think about increasing the level of safety for tourists and local residents. Today, at the bottom of the Indian Ocean there is a unique warning system that is capable of recording even the most minor changes in the underwater world. This device was already useful in 2012. Radars detected tremors near Indonesia. Then a siren sounded on all the beaches of the resort and all vacationers were evacuated to the mountains.

But, despite the fact that the power of the tremors was estimated at 9 points on the Richter scale, fortunately, no disaster occurred. Experts explained this by the fact that the collision of the plates occurred horizontally (along the bottom), and not vertically - towards the top.

Based on this, you can be sure that the security system in Thailand works perfectly.

What to do if a tsunami happens?

In most cases, the precursor to a tsunami is an earthquake, unless, of course, the source of the disaster is too far from the coast. Also, the security system in Thailand, sensing any changes in the depths of the ocean waters, will report impending danger. If you feel tremors or local residents tell you about an impending tsunami, you need to:

• collect all important documents and valuables, warn the maximum number of people about the danger and leave the disaster zone;
• escape from the tsunami to the mountains or to an area located as far as possible from the water;
• pay attention to special signs that depict the shortest path to the safe zone. They often exist in potentially hazardous areas;
• remember that the first wave of the elements will not necessarily be the strongest. You should stay in a safe place for several hours to ensure complete calm.

Also, do not ignore the strong and sharp ebb. In this case, you should act even faster.

Documentary about the tsunami

The film presents the events of the disaster, eyewitness accounts, and what scientists did to prevent a repeat of the 2004 tragedy.

The events of 2004 in Thailand will forever remain in the hearts of not only those who found themselves at the epicenter of the tragedy that day, but also the people of the whole world. At the resorts themselves today, the only reminders of the global catastrophe are signs that display the rules of behavior in the event of danger. Tourists from all over the world flock to the kingdom, leaving fears of a possible tsunami in the past.