Impact of December 2004 Tsunamion Indian Coasts and Mitigation Measures

Abstract

Tsunamis are among the most terrifying natural hazards known to man and have been responsible for tremendous loss of life and property. For example, the Indian coastline experienced the most devastating tsunami in recorded history on 26 December 2004. The tsunami was triggered by an earthquake of magnitude 9.3 Mw at 3.316° N, 95.854° E off the coast of Sumatra in the Indonesian Archipelago at 06:29 hours making it most powerful in the world in the past 40 years (DOD, 2005; Rossetto et al., 2007). Though various natural hazards, viz., droughts, flash floods, cyclones, landslides, and snowstorms had caused great threats to the Indian subcontinent, tsunamis were rather unknown. Other dangers include frequent summer dust storms, which usually track from north to south and cause extensive property damage in North India. Many powerful cyclones, including the 1737 Calcutta cyclone, the 1970 Bhola cyclone and the 1991 Bangladesh cyclone have led to widespread devastation along parts of the eastern coast of India and neighboring Bangladesh (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_disasters_in_India). Widespread death and property destruction were reported each year in exposed coastal states such as Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. India’s western coast, bordering the more placid Arabian Sea, experiences cyclones only rarely; cyclones mainly strike Gujarat and, less frequently, Kerala (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_disasters_in_India). Floods are the most common natural disaster in India. The heavy southwest monsoon rains cause rivers to distend their banks, flooding surrounding areas. Many of the above hazards are related to the climate of India and cause massive losses of Indian life and property.