Tsunami - Indian Ocean

26th Dec 2004, caused by eathquake of 9.1 on the richter scale.

Coutries affected: Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia and Thailand.

Impacts - 230,000 people killed or still missing, whole towns and villages destroyed, 1.7 million people lost their homes, infrastructure (roads, water pipes and electricity lines) of many countries were severely damaged, 5-6 million people in need of emergency food, water and medical supplies, economic damage - millions of fishermen lost their livelihoods, tourism industry suffered because of the destruction and people were afraid to go on holiday there, environmental damage - salt from seawater has meant plants can't grow in many areas, mangroves, coral reefs, forests and sand dunes destroyed by the  waves.

Short-term responses - within days hundreds of millions of pounds had been pledged by foreign governments, charities, businesses and individuals to give survivors food, water and shelter. Foreign courntries sent ships, planes, soldiers, and teams of specialists to help rescue people, distribute food and water to begin clearing up.

Long-term responses - billions of pounds pledged to help re-build the infrastructure of the countries affected, programmes set up to re-build houses and help people get back to work, tsunami warning system has been set up in the Indain Ocean, Disaster management plans have been put in place in some countries, volunteers trained so that local people know what to do if a tsunami happens again.