Effect of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake on Sri Lanka
Encyclopedia
As of 16:35 GST
3 January 2005, Sri Lanka
n authorities report 30,196 confirmed deaths after the island was hit by the tsunami
resulting from the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
on December 26, 2004. Many of the dead were adults and the elderly. The south and east coasts were worst hit. One and a half million people have been displaced
from their homes. The death toll continues to rise as the threat of infectious diseases breaking out has turned into a fact, with doctors confirming first cases of cholera
.
About 1,200 dead were counted at Batticaloa
in the east. At Trincomalee
in the northeast, where the tsunami reached more than 2 km
(1.25 mi) inland, 800 were reported dead. In neighbouring Amparai district alone, more than 5,000 dead. The naval base at Trincomalee is reported to be submerged. About 1000 more dead were counted in Mullaitivu
and Vadamaradchi East http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=13744. A holiday train
, the "Queen of the Sea
", was struck by the tsunami near the village of Telwatta as it travelled between Colombo
and Galle
carrying at least 1,700 passengers, killing all but a handful on board.
The agricultural sector has been affected seriously. 259 km² of paddy land has been destroyed in the northern, eastern, southern and western coastal belt. In addition, the extensive salinization of paddy lands has rendered them unsuitable for paddy cultivation. Rubbish has also been deposited on paddy lands. A large number of agricultural vehicles and equipment have been destroyed and canals and drains have been blocked. Underground sources of water have also been salinated.
Across the island collections are being taken for those who have lost everything, vans with PA systems driving around calling on people to give whatever they can. Even in the poorest, most remote areas people flock to the roadside to hand over money, clothes, bottles of water and bags of rice and lentils.
Apart from homes, many hotels as well as shops were reported to have been damaged. Hotels along the south coast were full of both foreign tourists and Sri Lankans making use of the long Christmas
weekend. Twenty thousand soldiers were deployed in government-controlled areas to assist in relief operations and maintain law and order after sporadic looting. Curfews had been imposed in some areas to curb looting. Chinese light antipersonnel mines
of type T-72A, left after the two-decade civil war, are feared to have been washed up and spread by the surge of water. The Norwegian Peoples' Aid Organization is currently assembling a team of mine sweepers to assess the situation.
It has been noted that in the Yala National Park
, many animals seem to have moved to higher regions in order to escape the disaster. It is unclear how they detected the coming disaster, although a sixth sense
, perhaps the ability to hear the infrasound
rumble of the tremors or approaching tsunami, was mentioned in reports. Another possible reason is that many animals can run faster than people, enabling them to outrun the tsunami.
The test match
ground at Galle
, where international cricket
is played, has been devastated.
The main highway in the south of Sri Lanka
runs along the coast and was closed in the aftermath of the tsunami, delaying relief supplies. A huge initial effort to deliver supplies was made by large numbers of private individuals filling their own vans and pickup trucks with food, clothing and bottled water and driving to affected areas.
In Sri Lanka the first reports of measles
and diarrhoea reached authorities, renewing fears of a deadly epidemic. However, relief operations based in the capital Colombo
are well underway.
On the morning of Thursday 30 December, more people were wounded when people fled tsunami affected areas, after the Indian government erroneously warned of another possible tsunami.
The science fiction author and scuba diver Sir Arthur C Clarke, who lives in Colombo
, the capital, has issued a statement saying that Sri Lanka "lacks the resources and capacity to cope with the aftermath". Clarke reported that his family and staff were safe, "even though some are badly shaken and relate harrowing first hand accounts of what happened", and that his diving school (Arthur C. Clarke Diving School) "Underwater Safaris" at Hikkaduwa
had been destroyed (see this link).
Sri Lanka's most popular sport is cricket
, and the Australian
, Bangladeshi
, English
and South African
cricket teams have already announced that they are making donations to the humanitarian effort in Sri Lanka and other Asian countries. The Indian cricket team
has pledged funds to the humanitarian effort in southern India
. The cricketing world has already announced that two one-day matches will be played to raise further funds.
A three-ship fleet carrying 2,000 US Marines
out of Diego Garcia
was sent to Sri Lanka. The Marines were bound for Iraq
to assist in the January elections, but the fleet included a dozen heavy-lift helicopters and surgical hospitals, both badly needed in Sri Lanka.
On January 6, 2005, 150 members of the Canadian Disaster Assistance Response Team
(DART), a Canadian Forces
group, arrived in Sri Lanka. The team brought four water purification units and provided medical, engineering and communication services. Another 50 members of the team arrived on January 8. to help the people
Relief efforts were impeded by heavy monsoon
rain which washed-out roads and caused freshwater flooding. In most of India the winter northeast monsoon is relatively dry, but in Sri Lanka
and Tamil Nadu
it blows from Burma across the Bay of Bengal
picking up water from the sea.
GST
-Computing:* Generalised suffix tree, a tree-like data structure* GNOME System Tools, part of the GNOME desktop environment* GNU Smalltalk, an implementation of the Smalltalk language* GST Computer Systems, a group of companies based in Cambridge, England...
3 January 2005, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
n authorities report 30,196 confirmed deaths after the island was hit by the tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
resulting from the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
on December 26, 2004. Many of the dead were adults and the elderly. The south and east coasts were worst hit. One and a half million people have been displaced
Displaced person
A displaced person is a person who has been forced to leave his or her native place, a phenomenon known as forced migration.- Origin of term :...
from their homes. The death toll continues to rise as the threat of infectious diseases breaking out has turned into a fact, with doctors confirming first cases of cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
.
About 1,200 dead were counted at Batticaloa
Batticaloa
Batticaloa is a city in the Eastern province of Sri Lanka. It is the seat of the Eastern University of Sri Lanka. It is on the east coast, south by south east of Trincomalee, and is situated on an island.-Etymology:...
in the east. At Trincomalee
Trincomalee
Trincomalee is a port city in Eastern Province, Sri Lanka and lies on the east coast of the island, about 113 miles south of Jaffna. It has a population of approximately 100,000 . The city is built on a peninsula, which divides the inner and outer harbours. Overlooking the Kottiyar Bay,...
in the northeast, where the tsunami reached more than 2 km
1 E3 m
To help compare different orders of magnitude this page lists lengths between 1 kilometre and 10 kilometres .Distances shorter than 1 kilometre-Conversions:1 kilometre is equal to:* 1,000 metres...
(1.25 mi) inland, 800 were reported dead. In neighbouring Amparai district alone, more than 5,000 dead. The naval base at Trincomalee is reported to be submerged. About 1000 more dead were counted in Mullaitivu
Mullaitivu
Mullaitivu is a small town on the north-eastern coast of Sri Lanka. It is the capital of Mullaitivu District in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. A largely fishing settlement, the town in the early 20th century grew as an anchoring harbour of the small sailing vessels transporting goods between...
and Vadamaradchi East http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=13744. A holiday train
Transport in Sri Lanka
Transportation in Sri Lanka is based mainly on the road network which is centered on Sri Lanka's capital, Colombo. There is also a railway network, but it is largely a legacy of British colonial rule and is less appropriate for the modern transport requirements of the country...
, the "Queen of the Sea
Queen of the Sea train disaster
Train No.8050 Tsunami - Rail Disaster was a rail disaster with the highest count of deaths in history. It occurred when a crowded passenger train was destroyed on a coastal railway in Sri Lanka by the tsunami which followed the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake, and resulted in the greatest loss of life...
", was struck by the tsunami near the village of Telwatta as it travelled between Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
and Galle
Galle
Galle is a city situated on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, 119 km from Colombo. Galle is the capital city of Southern Province of Sri Lanka and it lies in Galle District....
carrying at least 1,700 passengers, killing all but a handful on board.
The agricultural sector has been affected seriously. 259 km² of paddy land has been destroyed in the northern, eastern, southern and western coastal belt. In addition, the extensive salinization of paddy lands has rendered them unsuitable for paddy cultivation. Rubbish has also been deposited on paddy lands. A large number of agricultural vehicles and equipment have been destroyed and canals and drains have been blocked. Underground sources of water have also been salinated.
Across the island collections are being taken for those who have lost everything, vans with PA systems driving around calling on people to give whatever they can. Even in the poorest, most remote areas people flock to the roadside to hand over money, clothes, bottles of water and bags of rice and lentils.
Apart from homes, many hotels as well as shops were reported to have been damaged. Hotels along the south coast were full of both foreign tourists and Sri Lankans making use of the long Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
weekend. Twenty thousand soldiers were deployed in government-controlled areas to assist in relief operations and maintain law and order after sporadic looting. Curfews had been imposed in some areas to curb looting. Chinese light antipersonnel mines
Land mine
A land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....
of type T-72A, left after the two-decade civil war, are feared to have been washed up and spread by the surge of water. The Norwegian Peoples' Aid Organization is currently assembling a team of mine sweepers to assess the situation.
It has been noted that in the Yala National Park
Yala National Park
Yala National Park is the most visited and second largest national park in Sri Lanka. Actually it consists of five blocks, two of which are now open to the public; and also adjoining parks. The blocks have individual names also, like Ruhuna National Park for the block 1 and Kumana National Park or...
, many animals seem to have moved to higher regions in order to escape the disaster. It is unclear how they detected the coming disaster, although a sixth sense
Extra-sensory perception
Extrasensory perception involves reception of information not gained through the recognized physical senses but sensed with the mind. The term was coined by Frederic Myers, and adopted by Duke University psychologist J. B. Rhine to denote psychic abilities such as telepathy, clairaudience, and...
, perhaps the ability to hear the infrasound
Infrasound
Infrasound is sound that is lower in frequency than 20 Hz or cycles per second, the "normal" limit of human hearing. Hearing becomes gradually less sensitive as frequency decreases, so for humans to perceive infrasound, the sound pressure must be sufficiently high...
rumble of the tremors or approaching tsunami, was mentioned in reports. Another possible reason is that many animals can run faster than people, enabling them to outrun the tsunami.
The test match
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
ground at Galle
Galle
Galle is a city situated on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, 119 km from Colombo. Galle is the capital city of Southern Province of Sri Lanka and it lies in Galle District....
, where international cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
is played, has been devastated.
Aftermath
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
runs along the coast and was closed in the aftermath of the tsunami, delaying relief supplies. A huge initial effort to deliver supplies was made by large numbers of private individuals filling their own vans and pickup trucks with food, clothing and bottled water and driving to affected areas.
In Sri Lanka the first reports of measles
Measles
Measles, also known as rubeola or morbilli, is an infection of the respiratory system caused by a virus, specifically a paramyxovirus of the genus Morbillivirus. Morbilliviruses, like other paramyxoviruses, are enveloped, single-stranded, negative-sense RNA viruses...
and diarrhoea reached authorities, renewing fears of a deadly epidemic. However, relief operations based in the capital Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
are well underway.
On the morning of Thursday 30 December, more people were wounded when people fled tsunami affected areas, after the Indian government erroneously warned of another possible tsunami.
The science fiction author and scuba diver Sir Arthur C Clarke, who lives in Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
, the capital, has issued a statement saying that Sri Lanka "lacks the resources and capacity to cope with the aftermath". Clarke reported that his family and staff were safe, "even though some are badly shaken and relate harrowing first hand accounts of what happened", and that his diving school (Arthur C. Clarke Diving School) "Underwater Safaris" at Hikkaduwa
Hikkaduwa
Hikkaduwa is a small town on the south coast of Sri Lanka. It is located in the Southern Province, about 17 km north-west of Galle. Hikkaduwa is famous for its beach, surfing, corals and night life....
had been destroyed (see this link).
Sri Lanka's most popular sport is cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, and the Australian
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
, Bangladeshi
Bangladeshi cricket team
The Bangladesh national cricket team is a national cricket team representing Bangladesh. The team is administered by the Bangladesh Cricket Board . Bangladesh is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status...
, English
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
and South African
South African cricket team
The South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status...
cricket teams have already announced that they are making donations to the humanitarian effort in Sri Lanka and other Asian countries. The Indian cricket team
Indian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
has pledged funds to the humanitarian effort in southern India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. The cricketing world has already announced that two one-day matches will be played to raise further funds.
International assistance
Indian navy medical team arrived in Colombo within hours of the tsunami. Eventually India deployed 14 ships, nearly 1,000 military personnel and several dozen helicopters and airplanes to its devastated island neighbor to help with relief efforts.A three-ship fleet carrying 2,000 US Marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
out of Diego Garcia
Diego Garcia
Diego Garcia is a tropical, footprint-shaped coral atoll located south of the equator in the central Indian Ocean at 7 degrees, 26 minutes south latitude. It is part of the British Indian Ocean Territory [BIOT] and is positioned at 72°23' east longitude....
was sent to Sri Lanka. The Marines were bound for Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
to assist in the January elections, but the fleet included a dozen heavy-lift helicopters and surgical hospitals, both badly needed in Sri Lanka.
On January 6, 2005, 150 members of the Canadian Disaster Assistance Response Team
Disaster Assistance Response Team
The Disaster Assistance Response Team is a rapidly deployable team of 200 Canadian Forces personnel. It provides assistance to disaster-affected regions for up to 40 days. DART's headquarters is in Kingston, Ontario...
(DART), a Canadian Forces
Canadian Forces
The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...
group, arrived in Sri Lanka. The team brought four water purification units and provided medical, engineering and communication services. Another 50 members of the team arrived on January 8. to help the people
Relief efforts were impeded by heavy monsoon
Monsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
rain which washed-out roads and caused freshwater flooding. In most of India the winter northeast monsoon is relatively dry, but in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
and Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
it blows from Burma across the Bay of Bengal
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal , the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered mostly by the Eastern Coast of India, southern coast of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the west and Burma and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the...
picking up water from the sea.
External links
- Aftermath of the 2004-12-26 Tsunami in Sri Lanka
- Kalutara, Sri Lanka Quickbird satellite image, DigitalGlobe Inc., 26 December 2004
- How to help Sri Lanka A collaboration tool for all volunteer organizations who want to help Sri Lanka Recover from the Disaster
- Shock and loss in Sri Lanka, CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, 28 December 2004 - The Power of Humanity by Thrishana Pothupitiya Daily News, Sri Lanka
Blogs
- Autism Awareness Campaign Sri Lanka blog - Tsunami in Sri Lanka News & Information
- ceneus.blog - Blogging a Tragedy, Sri Lanka
- This Way Please's Extra Extra out of JaffnaJaffnaJaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna district located on a peninsula of the same name. Jaffna is approximately six miles away from Kandarodai which served as a famous emporium in the Jaffna peninsula from classical...
, Sri Lanka