Brooke Carrig

Physics Paper
My article is from the day that the earthquake hit and the tsunami hit southern Asia in
2004. It explains a little about what happened including the magnitude of the earthquake under
water and how it created the wall of water that lead to the ultimate destruction of Asia. At this
point they only reported that over 10,000 people had died but on the side tab it shows from what
we know now and mentions that it killed over 200,000 people. It goes on to talk about the
tragedies that people are now facing and the impact that it is having on people all over Asia.
(BBC,2004)
Citation and Weblink:
BBC ON THIS DAY | 26 | 2004: Thousands die in Asian tsunami. (2004). Retrieved June 20,
2016, from
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/26/newsid_4631000/4631713.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/26/newsid_4631000/4631713.stm (Lin
ks to an external site.)
Not only did this natural disaster kill hundreds of thousands of people, it left people
without homes and in an ultimate state of disaster. When questioning natural disasters there isnt
anything that we can do to actually stop them from occurring, which is one that is truly horrific
about them. What we can do is look at disasters in the past and see how we can prepare for the
next time that one hits. There can be precautions taken to ensure more safety when hit.
In my article it says The wall of water fanned out across the Indian Ocean at high speed
and slammed into coastal areas with little or no warning. (BBC,2004). In the first chapter we
learned that science can help us predict things about the World. Using science to predict the
magnitude of waves will help us be able to warn people how hard the disaster is going to hit.
Though these kinds of things cannot be prevented we can take extra time to work on being aware
of what is going on in the Ocean as well as outside of the Ocean. We can use science to work on
the structural support of buildings to help with the shock from the waves and vibrations from the
aftermath of an earthquake or Tsunami like this one. These coastal areas were hit with a huge
surprise and we need to use science and what we have learned about the World when doing
urban planning for these coastal cities.
In my article it mentions the Tsunami starting because of an earthquake with a magnitude
of 8.9 underwater. (BBC, 2004) The forces of the waves that the Earthquake created were
monstrous. In order to be able to stop the force of a wave you would have to have something as
equally strong as these waves, which would be very difficult to predict. But a safer bet is just to
not be where the waves could reach you. Like I mentioned in a previous application, if we were
someday able to predict a tsunami then a way to avoid so many causalities would be to get higher
on shore or even up on a mountainside near a shore. Whenever a storm hits the sea level rises
and during a Tsunami the safest place to be would be up on a mountainside. Even when looking
at photos of the shore you can see the pool of water and damage that was left down below. If we

were able to detect the Tsunami and evacuate people to the mountains, I believe many people
could have been saved.
Tsunamis waves have such a high speed and with high speed, there is going to be a high
kinetic energy. One way of preventing a massive amount of destruction from this energy would
be to build a higher barrier from the Ocean. Walls would take the force from the waves instead
of all of the buildings on land. Though this doesnt seem like the most appealing thing to tourists,
walls could help with the heavy force that Tsunami waves create. Something that most people
may not realize is that we have natural barriers, our coral Reefs. According to Speak Up For
Blue, the Coral Reefs can help reduce the power of Tsunamis Tsunami waves cannot be
stopped; however, their energy can be reduced. (Speak Up For Blue) We need to bring
awareness of this and protect our reefs.
Another measure that could be taken to help with the Tsunami would be floodgates.
Though floodgates wouldnt be something very normal or appealing at every coastline, they are
able to help control the flow of the water. According to BBC, the waves travelled at speeds of
up to 800km/h (497mph). Thats an insane speed for water to come crashing into land. There
are a few things that flood gates take in to account, the pressure of the water rushing through
which includes the density, the acceleration due to gravity and the height of the water.
Floodgates control the amount of water that is being pushed through and when it is being pushed
through, being opened and closed. Though this Tsunami was coming at such a high speed,
floodgates may have helped protect from some of the impact.
By using science and constantly finding new discoveries and methods, I hope that
someday we are able to find a miracle way to stop natural disasters from striking. But until then I
feel as though these are methods that should be acquired to help prevent the intensity of
Tsunamis.

Works Cited:
BC ON THIS DAY | 26 | 2004: Thousands die in Asian tsunami. (2004). Retrieved June 20,
2016, from
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/26/newsid_4631000/4631713.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/26/newsid_4631000/4631713.s
tm (Links to an external site.)
Speak Up For Blue: (http://www.speakupforblue.com/can-coral-reefs-reduce-damagesfrom-tsunamis (Links to an external site.))