Tsunami Case Studies
2004 Indian Ocean and Tsunami (Boxing Day Tsunami)
What



Where






When
Cause




9.1-9.3 magnitude quake (third largest
even recorded)
Longest duration of earthquake ever
recorded (between 8.3 and 10 minutes)
Epicentre of the coast of Sumatra,
Indonesia
Worst tsunami ever recorded
Landmasses bordering the Indian Ocean
affected
Indonesia hardest hit, then Sri Lanka,
India and Thailand
Other places affected: Somalia, Burma,
Maldives Malaysia, Bangladesh, Kenya,
Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania and
Yemen
Affected but no causalities: Madagascar,
Australia, Mauritius, Oman and Singapore
26th December 2004
Indian Plate subducted under the Burma
Plate this then triggered tsunami waves
No tsunami warning systems in the
Indian Ocean
Destruction of coral reefs and mangroves
may have had an impact, as they would
have lessened the tsunami’s impact,
some have been destroyed for shrimp
farming and other economic reasons
Effects
Short
term
Social
 230,000 people died
 High proportion of the dead were
children (1/3) as they were unable to
resist being pulled under. Four times
as many women died as men as they
were looking after children and
waiting for fishing boats to return.
9,000 tourists died
 Shortages of food and water
 Bodies were buried quickly as there
was a fear of disease spreading,
however, this may not have been
the nest use of resources.
Economic
 Also long term
 Increased fibre-glass
reinforced boats as
51,000 vessels destroyed
by the tsunami
 Tourism industry badly
affected
 Has affected shipping due
to changes in seabed
depth
Environmental
 Waves up to 30 metres
high
 Triggered other
earthquakes as far away
as Alaska and there were
lots of aftershocks
 Whole planet vibrated as
much as a centimetre
 Sea retreated, this was a
warning sign of the
tsunami but people didn’t
realise and just watched,
some even stopped to
collect stranded fish.
Long
Term






Prompted worldwide humanitarian
response $14 billion donated
Epidemics a concern due to high
population density and tropical
climate as well as lack of sanitary
conditions and fresh drinking water
Some supplies of drinking water
contaminated with sea water
Physiological problems were a major
problem after the tsunami

Local economies in ruined
but overall impact to
national economies were
minor.
Fishing industry affected
as fishing communities
ruined, loss of equipment
and many fishermen (the
main earners of families)
were killed


Farm fields contaminated
with sea water
Damage to coral reefs and
mangroves as well as
other ecosystems
Chemical waste, pollution
and debris was washed
back into the sea, as well
as sewage
2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami
What




Where



When
Cause



Magnitude 9 earthquake
(most powerful known to
have ever hit Japan, and
5th in the world)
Epicentre 70km of the
coast of Oshika Peninsula
Depth of 30km Duration
of 6 minutes
Triggered a powerful
tsunami (waves up to
40.5 metres and travelled
as far as 10km inland)
Effects
Short
term
Japan
Other areas were
prepared for the tsunami
around the pacific rim
11th March 2011
Tsunami defences didn’t
work even though they
are 12m high and cover
40% of island’s coast
Philippine Plate was
being subducted below
the North American Plate
Long
Term
Social
 Death toll: 15,883
 Injured: 6,150
 Missing: 2,651
 Vehicles swept away
 58% of people in coastal areas in Iwate, Miyagi,
and Fukushima prefectures heeded tsunami
warnings immediately after the quake and
headed for higher ground. Of those who
attempted to evacuate after hearing the
warning, only five Percent were caught in the
tsunami. Of those who didn't heed the warning,
49% were hit by the water.
 1.5 million people lost water supplies
 4.4 million without electricity (nuclear power
automatically cut off due to risk)
 Blackouts affected a lot of areas so residents
were advised to use less electricity to reduce
frequency of blackouts
 Over 200,000 people evacuated due to
radioactive leak, state of emergency was later
declared as levels outside the plant were 8 times
higher than normal
 Railway services suspended
 Cellular and telephone services disrupted

 129,225 buildings collapsed
 Further 254,204 damaged buildings
 11 hospitals completely destroyed
 Radiation detected in drinking water, soil, food
products, fishing was banned,
Economic
 Sendai airport flooded
 Ports briefly closed and
some destroyed
 19 National treasure sites
affected meaning tourism
industry was.
Environmental
 10,278 aftershocks (one
caused electricity loss and
4 deaths)
 Soil liquefaction took place
and caused the damage of
quite a few buildings
 Landslides
 Irrigation dam ruptured
causing flooding , and 6
others cracked





Cost £13 billion
10% of fishing ports
damaged which had an
effect on industry
Oil refinery set alight, this
along with the damage of
nuclear plants means that
more oil and gas may have
to be imported to meet
demand.



Shifted the seabed
Moved Honshu (main
island of Japan) 2.4m east
Shifted Earth on its axis by
between 10 and 25cm
24-25 billon tonnes of
rubble created
Radioactive leakage from
nuclear power plant in
Fukushima