Tsunamis
A collection of excellent BBC videos about the 2004 Asian Tsunami:
The Asian Tsunami: Causes and effects – http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/the-asian-tsunami-causes-and-effects/3195.html
The Asian Tsunami: Damage to coral reefs – http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/the-asian-tsunami-damage-to-coral-reefs/3200.html
The Asian Tsunami: Disease – http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/the-asian-tsunami-disease/3197.html
The Asian Tsunami: Effects on tourism – http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/the-asian-tsunami-effects-on-tourism/3201.html
The Asian Tsunami: Eyewitness accounts in Sri Lanka – http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/the-asian-tsunami-eyewitness-accounts-in-sri-lanka/3198.html
The Asian Tsunami: Predicting a future event – http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/the-asian-tsunami-predicting-a-future-event/3203.html
The Asian Tsunami: Variable impacts – http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/the-asian-tsunami-variable-impacts/3202.html
Awesome series of animations – http://library.thinkquest.org/04oct/01724/causes_sum.html
Videos showing the effects of the 2011 Japan Tsunami
Japan Tsunami March 2011
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Facts
The tsunami happened on Friday 11th March 14:46 Japan time
Tsunami was triggered by a magnitude 9 earthquake on the Richter Scale
Primary effects
Flooding of the land
Putting out fires
88,873 houses, 3,970 roads and 71 bridges destroyed
Over 15, 281 people died
Secondary effects
Radiation leak from the Fukishima nuclear power plant
Oyster fishing industry destroyed loss of jobs
Economic slow-down as companies like Toyota had to stop production
People leaving coastal towns forever due to fear of another tsunami
Large amounts of debris crossing the Pacific Ocean and potentially hitting the USA
Fires from burst gas pipes
Short-term responses
Putting out fires
People were rescued by helicopter
Companies such as Japan Emergency NGO started to rebuild houses
The Japanese Government have set an Aid budget of £2.8 billion
Temporary pre-fab houses set up in Rikuzentakata
Temporary schools set up
Long-term responses
Clearing the 20 million tonnes of debris from the tsunami
Tsunami detection and warning systems to be upgraded across the whole of the Pacific
Building a 15m high sea wall in Rikuzentakata
Rebuilding houses and businesses
The Boing Day Tsunami, Asia – 2004
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The earthquake that caused the Boxing Day tsunami was estimated to be between 9.0 and 9.3 on the Richter scale – one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded. The tsunami then moved as a series of ripples’ across the Indian Ocean which built up as massive waves when they approached the land. It was one of the worst natural disasters in history – nearly 300,000 people killed or disappeared completely. Loss of tourism income as tourists stayed away from the effected areas.
Responses to the tsunami
Immediate responses
clean water, food, tents and plastic sheeting arrived as aid
$7 billion was donated worldwide for the affected countries
people in the UK donated £300 million (more than the government)
The UN’s World Food Programme provided food and for more than 1.3 million people
Long-term responses
tsunami warning system – the disastrous effects of the Boxing Day tsunami led to the setting up of a tsunami early warning system in the Indian Ocean. Formal warnings are now sent to countries throughout the region if there’s a tsunami threat. These warnings are then passed on to individuals via radio, television and e-mail or by bells, megaphones and loudspeakers attached to mosques
restoring mangrove swamps – the tourist industry in Thailand and Sri Lanka had grown rapidly before the tsunami. Many coastal areas had been cleared of mangrove swamps to make way for hotels. But mangroves act as a natural barrier – absorbing wave power and helping to protect coastlines and inland areas from tsunamis. After 2004, some projects to restore mangroves were started e.g. the Green Coast Project in Aceh, Indonesia. The new mangroves will help to increase the protection for a future tsunami, and also help to provide a livelihood for people affected by the 2004 tsunami, because mangroves are good breeding ground for fish.