Abstract
The South East Asian Tsunami in Thailand and Hurricane Katrina in the United States were natural disasters of different origin but of similar destruction and response. Both disasters exhibited synonymous health outcomes and similar structural damage from large surges of water, waves, and flooding. A systematic discussion and comparison of the disasters in Thailand and the Gulf Coast considers both calamities to be similar types of disaster in different coastal locations. Thus valuable comparisons can be made for improvements in response, preparedness and mitigation. Research needs are discussed and recommendations made regarding potential methologies. Recommendations are made to: (1) improve disaster response time in terms of needs assessments for public health and environmental data collection; (2) develop an access-oriented data sharing policy; and (3) prioritize natural geomorphic structures such as barrier islands, mangroves, and wetlands to help reduce the scale of future natural disasters. Based on the experiences gained opportunities to enhance disaster preparedness through research are presented.
Highlights
On December 26, 2004 at 7:58 in the morning, an undersea earthquake west of Sumatra Island in Indonesia initiated a strong tsunami first hitting nearby beaches with the most intense force, other countries including India, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Somalia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand
It is suggested that other coastal areas in the world heed the advice and lessons learned and be proactive by developing plans in anticipation of the disaster rather than responding after the fact
The two disasters were different in type, scale, and destruction, the Thai government’s response appears more efficient than what occurred in New Orleans
Summary
On December 26, 2004 at 7:58 in the morning, an undersea earthquake west of Sumatra Island in Indonesia initiated a strong tsunami first hitting nearby beaches with the most intense force, other countries including India, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Somalia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. The S.E. Asian Tsunami in Thailand and Hurricane Katrina in the U.S were natural disasters of different origin but of similar destruction and response. This paper discusses both the Thailand Tsunami and the Louisiana/Mississippi Hurricane Katrina in reference to environmental health planning before the disaster, the environmental health impacts, and future planning, research needs and mitigation needs in expectation of a similar event in comparable locations.
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