Tsunami: The Indian Ocean Disaster: Focus

TSUNAMI: THE INDIAN OCEAN DISASTER
Introduction
Focus
Few years have

ended more tragically than did 2004.
This News in Review module examines the Indian
Ocean tsunami that
devastated so much
of the region on
December 26, 2004.
We look at why it
happened, whom it
most affected, why
the damage was so
extensive, and
what is being done
to help rebuild the
countries so badly
damaged.
Teachers will be
interested to know
that tsunami
teaching materials
are available for
free at www.save
thechildren.ca.
Definition
Blog is a relatively
new term. It is
short for Web log.
It refers to a Web
page featuring a
publicly accessible,
personal journal
that is chronological and frequent.
YV Sections
marked with this
symbol indicate
content suitable for
younger viewers.
It may well turn out to be one of the

critical events of the 21st century. On
December 26, 2004, one of the most
devastating natural disasters in history
met up with the age of high technology,
and within minutes the whole world
was watching. Time (January 10, 2005)
summed it up very aptly in describing
disaster and response. First, What
made last weeks disaster so extraordinary was the way in which it was a truly
global event. The tsunami placed a
girdle of death around half the earth.
Second, mass tourism and modern
technology (including the Internet,
mobile phones, and especially text
messaging) made the disaster uniquely
personal to those who lived thousands
of miles away.
Cell phone technology had an immediate impact. Cell phones are almost
everywhere, even in the developing
world. Short Message Service (SMS)
continued to function even in areas
where all other forms of communication
were down. People used it to reassure
family and friends, to warn others, and
to locate survivors. Many now feel that
SMS should be a significant part of any
future government warning networks.
The Internet also proved to be an
invaluable aid in dealing with the
tragedy. The Globe and Mail (January
1, 2005) described it as the eyes and
ears of the tsunami disaster. It provided an opportunity for thousands in
the affected areas to communicate with
outsiders through e-mails and blogs. It
also, through picture transfer, helped
enormously in the identification of the
missing. Within days of the event, it
made satellite imagesbefore and after
of the most isolated areas available to
agencies planning relief. The Internet

was also of critical importance in the
unprecedented fundraising efforts by a
variety of charities.
An Unprecedented Response
The outpouring of offers of aid from
governments and individuals alike was
a response like no other. Citizens urged
their governments to speed up aid
efforts. Initially critical of what it felt
was an inadequate international response, the United Nations announced
that billions of dollars would be needed
to fund a recovery, and billionsover
$7-billionwere pledged or contributed
in the month following the tsunami.
Because of the collapse of most of the
infrastructure in the hardest-hit areas,
the need for special transportation to
reach the victims led many countries to
offer their armed forces ships, planes,
and helicopters to assist local governments. The government of Indonesia,
long at loggerheads with the United
States, accepted a U.S. offer to help
deliver critical supplies to its rebellious,
war-torn Aceh province. The Abraham
Lincoln, a U.S. aircraft carrier, became
a centre of operations, anchored in
Indonesian waters. Planes from
Singapore and Australian warships also
assisted in the effort.
The Politics of Aid
The U.S.-Indonesian assistance agreement is just one example of how politics and relief efforts are connected in
many of the regions countries. After
the tsunami, Indonesia opened Aceh
province to foreign-aid workers and
journalists for the first time in years.
Because of a lengthy conflict between
CBC News in Review February 2005 Page 6
Note
This event was so
massive and unexpected, that facts
and figures relating
to the tragedy are
constantly changing. Readers are
reminded that
statistics used in
these pages relate
to January 2005,
little more than
one month after
this terrible cataclysm.
Did you know . . .

Prime Minister Paul
Martin made a
special effort to
speak to Tamil
representatives
when he visited Sri
Lanka? Canada is
home to many
Tamils, and Canada
wanted to make
sure its aid flowed
freely to all citizens
of Sri Lanka.
Definition
DART refers to
Canadas highly
specialized Disaster
Assistance Response Team that
provides medical
and engineering
experts to help
rebuild basic services such as water
purification.
the Indonesian government and the

rebels of the Free Aceh Movement, the
province has been a highly restricted
military zone. Many Indonesians,
pointing to a U.N.-sponsored independence referendum in East Timor, believe that foreigners are plotting to
dismember their country. However,
since the tsunami, the government has
offered the guerillas provincial autonomy and an amnesty in exchange for
a ceasefire. Peace talks are being held
in Helsinki.
Sri Lanka is another country where
politics complicate the aid effort. The
country has a Sinhalese government,
but Tamil rebels control large parts of
it. There is currently a two-year-old
ceasefire in effect between the two
groups. Nonetheless, Tamils feel they
have to set up their own relief organizations to ensure that their parts of the
country will receive appropriate relief
supplies and dollars. Efforts are being
made to ease tensions between the two
groups. On January 28 the first direct
talks between government and rebels
over relief efforts were held.
Planning for the Future

The world has been generous. The task
now will be to make that generosity
count, in an enduring way (The Economist, January 8, 2005). One of the
dangers is that there is so much money
readily available that countries may just
use it to restore what was destroyed,

repeating past errors, and setting themselves up for another disaster. As it
rebuilds, the area needs to look at all the
changesecological, engineering,
educationalthat will prevent another
catastrophe when the next tsunami (or
earthquake or cyclone) strikes.
There is also a need for all countries
to examine the efficiency of the global
system for delivering humanitarian aid.
The first response to the tsunami was
slow (one example was the length of
time it took to decide where and when
to deploy Canadas DART team). There
is an obvious need for a number of
countries to have soldiers, medical staff,
and others prepared to go into action at
short notice.
Relief efforts also need better initial
co-ordination, especially in a disaster
that affects millions of people over
thousands of miles. At the outset, no
one seemed to be in charge. The U.N.
Office for Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (www.reliefweb.int.) must
play a key role in sorting out which
relief organization does what, but at
first it seemed hesitant to act. Now,
however, it appears to be firmly in
control, and is meeting this test of the
United Nations administration abilities.
The next logical step should be the
development of a permanent chain of
responsibilities.
For Reflection
What has most impressed you about this sweeping human and natural disaster?
Has it changed you in any way? Explain.

YV Video Review
Carefully answer
the questions as
you watch the
video.
Part I: Recall Questions

1. Where did the earthquake that caused the Indian Ocean tsunami take
place? _______________ What was its magnitude? __________________
2. What percentage of the dead in Thailand were foreign tourists? _______%
Did you know . . .

Before the Indian
Ocean Disaster,
natural disasters
had killed 478 000
people and affected more than
2.8 billion people
during the last 10
years?
3. How fast did the waves travel? _____________________________

4. Which country refused foreign assistance? _____________ Why?
5. Other than providing food and water for survivors, what has become the
main concern for relief workers?
6. Where on Canadas Atlantic coast did a tsunami strike in 1929? __________

7. Why is a big tsunami considered to be inevitable on the coast of B.C.?
8. When was the last major tsunami warning in British Columbia? __________
9. How many West Coast Canadian communities have an early warning
system in place? _____
Part II
Read this set of instructions on how to prepare for a tsunami. Then, as you
watch the video, try to determine which groups of people would have been
prepared for the tsunami before it hit. Had you been a tourist in the area,
would these rules have better prepared you for what was to come?
Tsunami specialists agree that thousands of liveslocals and touristscould
have been saved if people had known the basic signs of danger in a tsunamiprone area. The (U.S.) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and
the state of Oregon provide the following advice (as reported in NewScientist,
January 15, 2004)
If you feel an earthquake:
Drop, cover, hold until the earthquake is over, protect yourself.
Move immediately inland to high
ground and away from low-lying
coastal areas.
Go on foot if at all possible.
Do not wait for an official warning.

Do not pack or delay.
Do not return to the beach.
Wait for an all clear from local
emergency officials before returning
to low-lying areas.

YV What Is a Tsunami?
Further Research
A series of excellent
tsunami
visualizations,
including some
from the Indian
Ocean tsunami, is
available at
serc.carleton.edu/
NAGTWorkshops/
visualization/
collections/
tsunami.html.
The word tsunami is Japanese for

harbour wave. While sometimes
referred to as tidal waves, that term is
incorrect. A tsunami is not influenced
by the moons gravitational effect.
We should think of a tsunami as a
series of multiple destructive waves
rather than a single wall of water. There
is always more than one wave, and it is
often not the first that is the most destructive in the series.
A tsunami can be caused by a number
of different events, including coastal
landslides and the explosion of undersea volcanoes. The most common is an
undersea earthquake. To result in a
tsunami, the triggering event must
cause a vertical disturbance that moves
a huge amount of water either up or
down, causing a series of waves to
move away from the centre of the
disturbancea ripple effect.
A Classic Example
The December 26, 2004, tsunami was a
near-perfect example of how these
waves are generated, and their destructive power. Scientists will likely be
studying the event for years (see Reconstructing a Deadly Wave in
NewScientist, January 15, 2005). Some
of the basics are already known and
illustrate how these waves develop and
destroy.
Miles under the Indian Ocean, the
Indian tectonic plate slowly moves
northeast at a rate of six centimetres a
year. As it does so, it is forced beneath
the Burma plate to the east. Stress has
been building up for years between the
two plates.
At 7:58 a.m. local time on December
26, 2004, off the west coast of Sumatra,
Indonesia, 30 kilometres below the

surface of the ocean, that stress was
suddenly relieved. The surface of the
Indian plate slipped by about 20
metres, and the Burma plate snapped
upward about 15 metres. This dislocation took place along a line of about
1 200 kilometres. As a result, trillions
of tonnes of water were displaced in
just a few seconds.
The water that rushed to the surface
spread outward in classic tsunami
waves. These are long and shallow
waves that are hardly noticeable as
they move along the surface of the
ocean. They are often over 100
kilometres from crest to crest, and no
more than a metre high.
These waves, however, travel long
distances at jet-plane speeds of almost
800 kilometres per hourthe deeper
the water, the faster the wave. They
lose little energy in the open ocean,
until they slow down as a result of
resistance from the sea floor near the
shore. The Indian Ocean tsunami was
so powerful that it killed over 200
people in East Africa, more than 5 000
kilometresand seven hoursfrom
the earthquakes epicentre.
When the waves approach a shoreline where the waters depth decreases, the wavelength shortens,
energy is compressed, and the height
of the tsunami increases. This results
in a wave that can be as tall as a 10storey building.
A tsunami rarely comes ashore as a
wall of water, but usually appears as a
rapidly rising or falling tide (which is
why they have been called tidal
waves). When the trough is leading
the wave, water withdraws an unusual
Quote
Incredibly, we still
have no integrated
warning system
available for the
Atlantic 75 years
later. Arthur
Carty, science
advisor to Paul
Martin (Toronto
Star, January 10,
2005)
Further Research
An excellent publication, Surviving a
TsunamiLessons
from Chile, Hawaii,
and Japan from
the United States
Geological Survey,
is available at:
pubs.usgs.gov/circ/
c1187.
distance from the shoreline, leaving

behind marine life. The water may
recede up to 25 minutes before a wave
hits. Often, observers are drawn into the
path of the incoming wave when they
go onto the beach out of curiosity or to
scoop up the fish left behind. The
retreat of the water from land is often as
quick as it came ashore, and equally
or even moredestructive. Often the
retreating wave carries huge amounts of
debris.
Some lives are also lost when people
who are unaware that tsunamis consist
of more than one wave return to the
affected area after the first wave withdraws. A series of waves may continue
for several hours.
A Threat to Canada
North America has been hit by tsunamis
in the past. Canadas most vulnerable
area is coastal British Columbia. Under
the Pacific Ocean, the Juan de Fuca
plate moves slowly under the North
American Plate in what is known as the
Cascadia subduction zone. A major

earthquake and tsunami, caused by an
event similar to the 2004 earthquake
under the Indian Ocean, occurs in the
region every 300 to 500 years. The last
was on January 26, 1700. Scientists
believe the epicentre of the next earthquake will be only 100 kilometres off
Vancouver Island, and that a tsunami
with 10-metre-high waves will hit the
coast within one half-hour.
While Atlantic Ocean tsunamis are
rarer, they are not unknown. On November 18, 1929, an undersea earthquake occurred at the southern edge of
the Grand Banks, about 250 kilometres
from the Burin coast of Newfoundland.
The shifting of the ocean floor triggered
an underwater landslide. The result was
a tsunami that was recorded as far south
as South Carolina, and across the
Atlantic in Portugal. A seven-metrehigh wave crashed into the Burin peninsula, destroying dozens of homes, ships,
and businesses. It killed 27 people.
Discussion
Scientists agree: It is inevitable that a tsunami will hit Canadas west coast, and
not at all unlikely that one will also strike the east coast. Who bears the responsibility to prepare Canadians for this event? Explain clearly and completely.

YV A Relentless Tide of Death
By December 29,
2004, The Globe
and Mail was able
to headline a story
Disaster Likely
One of the Worst in
Recorded History.
A Relentless Tide
of Death was the
headline of The
Globe and Mails
lead story on
December 31, when
the newspaper
reported that over
120 000 people
were known to
have died as a
result of the tsunami, and the total
was likely to keep
climbing.
Quote
All the planet is
vibrating. Enzo
Boschi, head of
Italys National
Geophysics Institute
(Toronto Star,
December 27, 2004)
While nothing can really explain the

true horror of this event, here are some
basic facts about the Indian Ocean
tsunami and similar disasters:
The earthquake that caused the tsunami was the strongest in 40 years,
measured at magnitude 9.0. The
previous one was in Alaska in 1964,
magnitude 9.2. The Alaskan quake
caused a tsunami that killed more than
100 people in Alaska, four in Oregon,
and 13 in California. That tsunami
also did about US$100-million in
property damage; parts of British
Columbia were severely damaged.
The most powerful earthquake of the
previous century was a magnitude 9.5
quake in Chile in 1960. The quake
killed 5 700 in Chile, and the tsunami
that resulted left 61 dead on the island
of Hawaii and 100 on Honshu (Japan).
The most devastating earthquake of
the 20th century was in Tangshan,
China, in 1976. It is believed to have
killed as many as 750 000 people (The
exact number is unknown; China did
not share its disaster information with
the outside world at that time).
In the Indian Ocean, cyclones have
killed even more people than this
tsunami. More than 500 000 people
were killed in Bangladesh by a 1970
cyclone.
Until 2004, the tsunami that was
believed to hold the record for largest
number of deaths took place in 1755
following the Lisbon (Portugal)
earthquake. An estimated 60 000
people were killed.
The total number of dead in the Indian
Ocean quake is over 221 000 (January
2005), with thousands more missing.
At least five million people have been

directly affected.
The country that suffered the most
was Indonesia, especially Aceh province on the island of Sumatra:
166 320 people were killed; between
6 200 and 12 000 remain missing.
The United Nations has estimated that
1.8-million people are in danger of
starvation unless they receive aid; at
least 500 000 are known to be totally
dependent on aid.
600 000 people have been left homeless.
33 per cent of the islands 4 312
villages are without a functioning
government.
More than 1 150 schools, 5 800
kilometres of roads, and 490 bridges
have been destroyed.
Children returned to school in Aceh
on January 26, but nearly 180 000 of
them have no school to go to; 1 750
primary school teachers are also dead
or missing.
Another country directly in the
tsunamis path was Sri Lanka:
As of January 20, 29 854 are known to
be dead. Of these, 12 000 are children.
800 000 people are homeless.
1 000 children have been orphaned;
another 3 200 have lost one parent.
Indias Tamil Nadu province also
took a direct hit:
10 749 people died and 5 000 are
missing.
2.7-million people have been directly
affected.
In an area heavily dependent on
fishing, 7 000 boats have been lost.
Quote
What do you say
when people tell
you that the waters
withdrew after the
earthquake, trapping thousands of
fish, and perhaps
hundreds of
women and children along the
coast ran into the
mudflats to gather
up the bounty only
to be buried beneath a wall of
water, mud, and
debris? Paul
Dhillon Reporter
(The Globe and
Mail, January 1,
2005)
Other countries have reported the

following number of deaths:
Thailand 5 313 (about half of them
tourists)
Somalia 150
Maldives 82
Malaysia 68
Myanmar 59
Tanzania 10
Seychelles 3
Bangladesh 2
Kenya 1
While most of the tourists killed were
Europeans, Canadians were not exempt:
The country that lost the largest
number of its citizens as tourist casu-
alties was Sweden. Sweden has a

population of nine million. Twenty
thousand Swedes were in Thailand for
the Christmas holidays. Eight days
after the tsunami, 60 of them were
known to be dead; another 2 900 were
reported as missing. Swedish officials
expected that about 80 per cent of
these were likely dead.
It was initially believed that as many
as 150 Canadians might have died
during the tsunami. On January 30 the
official figures stood at six Canadians
dead, 15 still missing. Foreign Affairs
Canada had received 40 000 phone
calls related to missing persons by
January 1, 2005.
Discussion
Further Research
Detailed information, anecdotal and
statistical, on the
effects of the 2004
Indian Ocean
tsunami and earthquake is available
from Wikipedia at
en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/2004_Indian_
Ocean_earthquake.
1. Some media commentators have stated that the presence of so many

holidaying tourists was responsible for some of the attention the world
paid to the tsunami. In the face of the statistics listed above, do you think
this is an accurate statement?
2. Describe the impact that the tsunami story has had on you personally.
Describe any aid or fundraising activities in which you have been involved.

YV International Assistance
Further Research
Contacts for recognized charitable
agencies may be
found at the CBC
Web site at
www.cbc.ca/news/
background/
asia_earthquake/
helping.html; and
the CIDA Web site
listing of agencies
approved by the
Canadian government at www.acdicida.gc.ca/
cida_ind.nsf/vall/
EAD6101111C22CD
185256F810048B5
CB?OpenDocument.
Further Research
Excellent up-todate information
on international
pledges to tsunami
relief is available
from Wikipedia at
http://
en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Humanitarian_
response_to_the_2004_
Indian_Ocean
_earthquake.
International response to the Indian

Ocean tsunami was absolutely unprecedented in human history. Once the
extent of the devastation became
known, governments and individuals
were eager to provide assistance. Over
US$2-billion was pledged worldwide in
the first week following the disaster.
It almost seemed that there was a
contest to see which government could
pledge the most assistance. At press
time, total international government aid
pledges had totalled over US$7.3billion. The amount pledged to help the
people directly affected was calculated
at about $800 per personwell over 20
times any previous international allocation. Most charities were almost overwhelmed by the generous response.
Doctors Without Borders was the first
group to request that donors stop sending them money; they had enough to
meet their needs for some time to come.
The Red Cross and Red Crescent
societies were the charity of choice for
many donors, and on January 27, 2005,
they announced that they were actually
winding down their tsunami
fundraising. The Canadian Red Cross
announced that the 181 national Red
Cross and Red Crescent societies had
collected $1.4-billion for tsunami aid.
In Canada alone individuals, corporations, and governments contributed
$160-millionnot including the matching funds from the federal government
program.
Canadian Red Cross Secretary
General Pierre Duplessis commented on
the massive number of donations. The
outpouring of care and generosity has
been overwhelming here in Canada
and around the world. With donations

we now haveand those we are counting on from initiatives not yet concludedRed Cross is confident well
have enough to complete our tsunami
relief, recovery and rehabilitation
programs over the next 10 years
(www.redcross.ca/article.asp?
id=011739&tid=001).
Varieties of Canadian Aid

Canadian governments and individuals
responded generously to the needs of
survivors of the tsunami. An initial
pledge of $4-million from the federal
government rose rapidly as the full
extent of the devastation became apparent. By January 10, the federal pledge
had risen to $425-million, including a
commitment to match all donations by
individuals to approved charitable
agencies. Canadian provinces also
pledged amounts ranging from $20 000
from Prince Edward Island to
$8-million from British Columbia.
Organized fundraisers brought in
millions of dollars. A Canada for
Asia concert organized by the CBC
and broadcast on radio and television
across the country raised over
$4-million. Thousands of dollars were
raised by students returning to school
after their seasonal holidays. Later,
CTV ran another successful concert
from British Columbia and raised
$3-million
On January 12, the day after the
federal contribution matching expired,
The Canadian Press news agency was
able to report a hugely successful
campaign:
Did you know . . .

One of the more
imaginative
fundraising activities was a hockey
game played
between Canadians
and the World in
Thailand? It raised
money and morale.
One of the worlds
greatest experts on
tsunamis is a Canadian, Tad Murty?
He helped develop
the warning system
that is in place for
the Pacific Ocean.
OTTAWA (CP) - Approximate total of

donations to major Canadian aid agencies for tsunami relief as of Wednesday,
Jan. 12. The federal government promised to match contributions by individuals made before midnight Jan. 11, dollar
for dollar; some of this money has yet
to be counted by these agencies.
Canadian Red Cross: $99-million
World Vision Canada: $20-million
UNICEF Canada: $13.5-million
CARE Canada: $2.5-million
Oxfam Canada and Oxfam Quebec:
$5.9-million
Save the Children: $2.3-million
Canada also responded in other ways.
The governmentafter some debate
decided to deploy the militarys Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART)
to Sri Lanka. The team, consisting of
medical and engineering specialists, is
designed to deal with the relief and
rebuilding phases of disasters; it is not a
search and rescue unit. Accused of being
slow to deploy it, the federal government
responded that it wanted to be certain
that it went where it was needed.
DART arrived in Sri Lanka on January 8. More than 150 Canadian troops
were deployed to the Ampara region on
the east coast of the island; from there a
number of small teams fanned out to
needy areas. DARTs goals were to
provide purified water where required,
improved sanitation, and basic health
care. They were also trying to assist
with the psychological trauma of survivors who lost family members.
Other Canadians have also offered
special expertise to area governments,
including a group of 12 RCMP officers
in Thailand assisting in victim identification. Canada also pledged to help set
up an Indian Ocean tsunami early
warning system.
In the spirit of previous Canadian
responses to the needs of disaster
refugees, Citizenship and Immigration
Canada also made a contribution by
fast-tracking approximately 1 000
immigration applications from the
region, mostly in an attempt to reunite
family members as quickly as possible.
To Consider
How do you feel about Canadas response to this human tragedy? Be specific
and detailed.

YV Aftermath
Further Research
Some pre- and
post-tsunami
satellite images are
available for viewing at www.space
imaging.com/
gallery/tsunami/
and at
unosat.web.cern.ch/
unosat/asp/
default.asp.
Definition
An aquifer is the
layer of rock where
groundwater is
stored.
Did you know . . .

Many scientists see
earthquakes and
tsunamis as horrible human events,
but a necessary
part of nature?
These events can
help renew and
reshape the planet.
Interestingly, no
other planetary
bodies appear to
suffer these same
forces.
The length of time and the number of

ways in which the tsunami will affect
life in coastal areas of the Indian Ocean
are uncertain. Most authorities, however, expect the impact to last for
decades. In some cases, the changes
may be permanent.
Ecological Impact
Along the Indonesian coast, the tsunami
may have destroyed entire coastal
ecosystems, leaving little or no natural
vegetation to re-establish itself in these
devastated areas. Agriculture throughout the region has been severely affected; crops and fruit trees have either
been destroyed or poisoned by salt left
behind in the waters retreat.
Contamination of wells by salt water
is another major problem. All contaminated wells need to be pumped out, and
then treated with chlorine to destroy
contaminants. But scientists are concerned that, in some countries such as
Sri Lanka, the aquifer itself may have
been contaminated, in which case this
solution will not work. The well contamination problem is a huge one; even
in Somalia, hundreds of wells in coastal
villages have suffered salt contamination.
Some islands, including many in the
Maldives, now have no fresh water.
Islands inhabited for thousands of years
have been abandoned; by the time their
aquifers restore themselves, the inhabitants will likely have left for good.
The state of the ocean itself is in
doubt. Some coral reefs were likely
severely damaged, and huge amounts of
synthetic debrisincluding many items
containing toxic chemicalswere
washed into the sea. How this will
impact on marine life is unclear, and a

full picture may not be available for
years. The first indications, however,
will come when the regions fishers
return to the sea. The fishery, of course,
is critical to the survival of many of the
regions inhabitants. It is expected that,
in shallower coastal waters, the numbers of fish will be reduced.
Preliminary satellite analysis of
shorelines showed significant changes
that will likely affect marine navigation.
Some harbours may need to be
remapped and dredged before ships can
enter them.
Human Impact
The most obvious impact of the tsunami, other than the staggering number
of people killed, is the number of
people who have been left homelessa
number that is in the millions. Many of
them have been placed in refugee
camps; some will never be permitted to
return to the communities they were
forced to abandon. For most, it will be
years before they are able to resume
their normal lives.
A major concern is the refugees
vulnerability to a variety of diseases,
especially water-borne and mosquitoborne diseases that often break out in
these situations. Possibly even more
medically significant will be the mental
trauma suffered by these survivors.
Doctors estimate that tens of thousands
of people may suffer permanent mental
harm. The most commonly observed
condition is post-traumatic stress disorder, which leaves people crippled by a
sense of helplessness and fear, unable to
look after themselves. Others have been
paralyzed by a combination of grief (for
Quote
The minds may be
damaged worse
than the bodies.
Late at night, at 1
or 1:30, the children begin having
dreams and I keep
hearing them
screaming, The
water is coming,
the water is coming! Doug
Saunders (The
Globe and Mail,
January 8, 2005)
Further Research
You can find the
Tearfund report to
the World Conference at
www.tearfund.org/
webdocs/Website/
Campaigning/
Policy%20and%
20research/
BDS%20Kobe%
20Jan%202005.pdf.
those they have lost) and guilt (at

having survived a disaster that wiped
out so many). Women and children are
especially vulnerable.
The problems of mental trauma have
been especially apparent in Aceh and
Tamil Nadu. Neither area has anything
approaching the number of experts
necessary to provide psychological
counselling.
There are other special problems
involving children. Trafficking in
children for brothels has increased since
the disaster; sexual predators have been
observed around many refugee camps,
especially in Aceh. In Sri Lanka, the
Tamil Tiger guerrillas have been accused of recruiting orphaned children.
Aid agencies have made family reunification and the care of orphans two main
priorities. Especially in Aceh, UNICEF
is working with several agencies to set
up special centres to focus on childrens
needs.
International Impact
It was ironic that one of the greatest
natural disasters in recorded history
took place just before the World Conference on Disaster Reduction, scheduled for January 18-22, 2005, in Kobe,
Japan. The conference was called in
response to the need to reduce the
economic costs and human casualties
caused by natural disasters. The number
of people affected by such disasters has
risen dramatically in recent years,
especially in poor countries.
For years, disaster experts and charitable groups (such as Tearfund from the
United Kingdom) promoted easy methods for improving disaster preparedness. These include building techniques, using dykes and replanting trees
along shorelines, and providing emergency shelters. The U.S. Geological
Survey estimates that a world-wide
investment of $40-billion in such
measures during the 1990s would
already have saved $280-billion. The
tsunami only helped to make the need
for such measures truly obvious.
Discussion
1. Who has the responsibility for ensuring that appropriate disaster prevention methods are put into effect? Is it the United Nations and other international organizations? Or are the individual countries ultimately responsible? How can countries be forced to take the appropriate measures to
protect their populations from natural disasters?
2. Some nations such as Thailand are urging tourists to visit their country as a
way to rebuild the economy. Would you visit Thailand in the future? Why?
Why not/?

Revisiting the Relief Effort
Note to Teachers
While this exercise
has been created
for the spring of
2005 it can easily
be adapted to be
used in many years
to come.
It is an unfortunate fact of 21st century life that the attention of the average
person tends to jump from one major event to another. This seems to work for
natural disasters just as for anything else. We empathize, even with people a
world away, and mourn their losses. We contribute our sympathy and our
money, and then move on to other concerns. We rarely get an opportunity to
take a long, hard look at how things are developing months and years after the
disaster occurred. This exercise will give students that chance.
Massive international commitments have been made to the relief effort, but
many questions remain. Among them:
Will rich governments honour their commitments? Over $1-billion was
pledged to assist the residents of Bam after the 2003 earthquake. The Iranian
governments states that it only received a total of $17.5-million.
Will aid be diverted from others who need it? This is a concern of many charities. Internationally, there is special fear that the fight against AIDS and the
needs of African refugees will be neglected. Domestically, it has been noted
that fewer than one per cent of recognized Canadian charities are involved
with international relief efforts. Will these others find their available funds
reduced? (Governments have pledged that this will not happen. Historically,
members of the public also continue to give to their usual charities even after
large contributions for emergency relief. Nevertheless, neither of these is
guaranteed in this circumstance.)
How will the political situations in places like Aceh and Sri Lanka affect the
overall recovery effort? Will the efforts at negotiation result in the reconciliation between warring parties? Will their disagreements slow or completely
impede the relief process?
What expected and unexpected long-term ecological problems have
emerged? Are the soils ruined for farming? Are fish stocks depleted?
What medical/psychological problems have become prominent among survivors?
Are the children, who were especially hard-hit, being well cared for, or are
there still predators taking advantage of their weakness?
UNESCO has proposed that a $37-million tsunami early warning system be in
operation in the Indian Ocean by 2006. Is this development underway? Are
other measuresquake-proof seawalls, detailed hazard maps showing danger
areas, well-defined evacuation routes and shelters, education of coastal
people about the dangersbeing built and developed?
Have there been positive results from the World Conference on Disaster
Reduction, held in Kobe in January 2005 (www.unisdr.org/wcdr/)? Is any attempt being made by the United Nations to ensure better co-ordination of
relief attempts should a similar crisis occur?
Procedure
1. Choose a convenient date, two or three months in the future, when
students will be given an opportunity to revisit the effects of the Indian
Ocean tsunami.
2. Divide the class into small groups.
3. Assign each group one or more questions from the list on the previous
page, or other questions raised by this News in Review module.
4. One week or more before the due date, each group should check a number of resources to see what updated information they can find to answer
their question. The group may assign different types of sources to individual students. One student may review newspapers, another news
magazines, another a charity Web site, a fourth the United Nations and
official government Web sites, etc. The selection of resources will depend
on the question being asked. Recommend that students consult their
teacher-librarian, who may suggest resources or databases of which they
are unaware.
5. Ask the students to document their research process, keeping track of
what resources they visited, and what they found. In some cases, they may
find that there is little or no new informationa valuable finding in itself.
As long as they can document the process, the exercise remains valuable.
6. Each group should choose a spokesperson who, on the assigned date, will
present a brief report on the outcome of the groups research.
Notes

Tsunami: The Indian Ocean Disaster: Focus

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TSUNAMI: THE INDIAN OCEAN DISASTER

Few years have

It may well turn out to be one of the

agencies planning relief. The Internet

CBC News in Review February 2005 Page 6

Did you know . . .

the Indonesian government and the

Planning for the Future

use it to restore what was destroyed,

CBC News in Review February 2005 Page 7