Boxing Day Tsunami case study

What: A magnitude 9.1 earthquake caused a tsunami which travelled at around 800 km/h and reached heights of around 30m (98 ft).

Where: The epicentre of the earthquake causing the tsunami was off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia.

When: 26th December 2004 at 7:59 am local time (00:59 am GMT).

Plates involved: Indo-Australian and Eurasian

Plate margin type: Destructive

Image copyright of the BBC

Social Impacts:

• There were about 230,000 deaths and approximately 125,000 injured
• Approximately 1.7 million people were left homeless

Economic Impacts:

• Fishing was made impossible due to the boats being destroyed
• The infrastructure was destroyed
• The tourism industry was also hit heavily as less people wanted to go to the affected countries
• There is now a high demand for reinforced fibreglass catamarans produced by the Indian state of Tamil Nadu

Environmental Impacts:

• There has been severe damage to habitats such as mangrove forests and coral reefs, as well as sand dunes and coastal wetlands
• Fresh water has been contaminated by the sea

Short Term Responses:

• Within days, hundreds of millions of pounds had been pledged by foreign governments, charities and businesses such as microsoft
• Foreign countries sent ships, planes, soldiers and specialists to help rescue people, distribute food and water and begin clearing up

Long Term Responses

• Billions of pounds have been donated to help rebuild the infrastructure
• Programmes have been set up to help people to rebuild their homes
• There is now a tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean
• Disaster management plans have been put  in place, with trained volunteers who know what to do if there is another disaster