Tsunami!

The most deadly tsunami in 200 years struck coastal regions of India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia and a host of islands in the Indian Ocean on Dec 26, 2004. Over 200,000 people perished in the onslaught of water. The massive death toll and destruction resulted from a convergence of physical, cultural and economic environments. Vacationers seeking the warmth of tropical beaches were caught unaware of the 40 foot walls of water bearing down on coastal Sri Lanka. Poor Indian laborers feeble straw abodes that dotted coastal beaches were easily swept out to sea. If only a warning could have been issued like those that occur in the Pacific Ocean, many could have been spared.

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1. What is a tsunami and why should we not call these tidal waves?


2. What plate boundary process was responsible for the earthquake that set off the tsunami?



3. What countries were affected by the tsunami? What countries experienced the greatest death toll?


4. Describe some of the health hazards that result from disasters such as these.



 

5. What can governments and non-governmental organizations do to prevent or minimize the effect of tsunamis in the future?



 

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For Citation: Ritter, Michael E. The Physical Environment: an Introduction to Physical Geography.
2006. Date visited.  http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/textbook/title_page.html

© 2003-2008
Michael Ritter (tpeauthor@mac.com)
Last revised 06/21/07