Write a Newspaper Article on Tsunami 26th December 2004 (India) (about 150 words)
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On 26th December 2004, the Indian Ocean was hit by tsunamis which are considered to be the most catastrophic in the living memory of the inhabitants of the coastal areas of this ocean. It was caused by a severe earthquake which measured 8.9 on the Richter scale.
Seismologists at Northwestern University in Illinois later upgraded the earthquake to magnitude 9.3 on Richter scale. This is perhaps the highest magnitude for any earthquake ever recorded anywhere in the world. This earthquake had its epicentre off the coast of Sumatra (Indonesia) at 3.5° north latitude and 95° east longitude. This place happens to be at the tri-junction of the Indian, Australian and Burmese (Myanmarese) plates.
1. Death Toll:
The tsunamis that hit the Indian Ocean on 26th Dec. 2004 claimed over 1.5 lakh lives in different countries of Asia and Africa. The soaring waves killed people of at least 40 nationalities including tourists from various countries of the world.
Surprisingly Malaysia suffered only a fraction of destruction despite its being located so near to the epicentre of the earthquake. This is because of the location of Sumatra which acted as buffer for Malaysia.
In India, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands were the closest to the epicentre of the earthquake and hence the origin of tsunamis, and was the worst sufferer. Areas like Car Nicobar, Katchal, Nancowry, Campbell Bay, Champion Island, Chowra and Teresa Island have been badly affected. In Car Nicobar, half of the total population of about 20 thousand was reportedly missing.
TABLE 8.5 Number of Persons killed by Tsunamis:
Country Number of Dead Persons
1. Indonesia 1,13306
2. Sri Lanka 30,196
3. India 15,160
4. Thailand 5,186
5. Other countries 20,842
The largest number of deaths was reported from Nagapattinam, Kanniyakumari, Cuddalore and Chennai districts. Out of a total population of about 15 lakhs in Nagapattinam district about five thousand persons were killed, 2 lakh injured and 1.5 lakh were rendered homeless.
As many as 80 villages were completely swept away by waves. Fishing boats were wrested ashore to a distance of one kilometre with many landing on rail tracks near Nagapattinam railway station. The story was almost the same in Kanniyakumari, Cuddalore and Chennai districts.
After Nagapattinam, Kanniyakumari district reported the heaviest toll. Kanniyakumari itself looked like a ghost town. The toll has been heightened because across the Tamil Nadu coast, villages of fishermen are situated between the low tide and high tide areas. In the pilgrim town of Tiruchander, sea water entered inland as far as 2 km. Like Kanniyakumari, Cuddalore looked like a ghost city.
In Andhra Pradesh, all the nine districts on the coast were badly affected by tsunamis though four south coastal districts were the worst affected. Most victims met their watery grave as they were taken unawared. The fishing community which lived in makeshift houses near the head was totally washed away. A large number of deaths had been reported from Krishna, Prakasam, Nellore, West Godawari and East Godawari districts.
In Kerala, the highest toll was reported from Kollam district followed by Alappuzha and Ernakulam districts. In north Kerala, damage by waves was reported from Kozhikode and Kannur districts.
Severe damage was reported from Karaikal in Pondicherry.
The countries which reported death toll higher than India were Indonesia and Sri Lanka. In Indonesia, Sumatra and Java including Aceh Province were the worst sufferers. In Sri Lanka, Matara, Galle, Weligma, Hambantota, Batticaloa and Colombo reported heavy casualties. The Jaffna peninsula also suffered heavy casualties. High death toll was also reported from Phuket island of Thailand.
Besides a large number of tourists from Europe, North America, South America and Australia who had come to the tsunami affected countries to celebrate Christmas and New year also lost their lives.
2. Loss of Property:
Property worth crores of rupees has been damaged as a result of attack by tsunamis. Infrastructural elements like houses, public buildings, transport and communication system etc. had been damaged almost beyond repair.
Sea water even entered the nuclear power plant at Kalpakkam which was closed for a number of days. In Sri Lanka, rail tracks were twisted near Colombo and a train was derailed in which about 1,000 persons were killed.
According to preliminary findings of the government of India, the coastal areas of India, which include large coastal tracts of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Pondicherry and Kerala, have suffered financial losses of billions of rupees. The financial loss in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands was pegged at Rs. 2,500 crore.