On 26th December 2004, an earthquake that registered 9.0 on the Richter scale struck just short of the Northern Sumatra coast. Studies regarding earthquakes reveal that this is one of the most severe cases ever recorded (karan and Subbiah, 2010 ). In fact, the earthquake caused a displacement of about 15 meters on the seabed, thereby creating large ripples on the water surface. The Joint Environment Unit, which is a partnership between the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), described this calamity as a tsunami of overwhelming magnitudes that blew out across the Indian Ocean in a wave of destruction.
Causes of the Disaster
The Indian Ocean earthquake and Tsunami happened solely as a result of natural forces and had no human influence. The point of origin of the earthquake, also referred to as the focus, was about 30 kilometers below water away from the western coast of Sumatra (karan and Subbiah, 2010 ). The earthquake was brought about by the Sunda mega thrust, which translates to a long mass of land along the south-western area of Sumatra. This thrust caused rupturing even after scientists had claimed it is very unlikely. This magnitude of seismic activity had the outcome of triggering a tsunami which struck Indonesia too.
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The Impact of the Disaster
The tsunami struck the northern Sumatra coast of Indonesia, specifically at Banda Aceh within thirty minutes of the earthquake, leaving 90,000 people dead. It then hit the coast of Thailand one and a half hours later, India half an hour after that, and then Sri Lanka two and a half hours afterward. The death toll for the three areas was 31,000 ( Srinivas and Nakagawa, 2008 ). The Maldives Islands were also hit by the tsunami one and a half hours after Sri Lanka, killing 82 people. In total, about 300,000 people lost their lives or recorded as missing or presumed dead in this calamity.
Several observations on the impact of the calamity on the environment were evaluated in the affected areas. Such observations involve both natural and artificial elements of the environment. The debris left by the tsunami and solid waste remained the most vital environmental issues experienced the affected countries. The nature and scope of the tsunami meant that the amount of debris was more than what that region could cope with. Additionally, there were also toxic substances and hazardous materials that unintentionally mixed up with normal debris. Such materials and substances include oil fuel, asbestos, and other industrial chemical wastes ( Srinivas and Nakagawa, 2008 ). The prompt clean-up that was initiated immediately after the disaster also led to unsuitable disposal techniques including open dumping and air burning, which resulted in secondary effects on the environment. Another critical environmental impact of the disaster was the consequent soil and water pollution. The salination of water bodies in the affected countries, for instance, had a negative effect on soil fertility which affected and continues to affect the quality and quantity of agricultural yields ( Paris et al., 2009 ). There was water pollution particularly from harmful substances flowing into rivers and inland lakes from damaged toilets and septic tanks, as well as sewage.
Response Plans
Given the magnitude of damage and the number of countries involved in the incident, the response required was large and prompt. Resources ad to be drawn from many countries worldwide, especially from developed countries ( Bachmann, 2013 ). Within one day of the tsunami, teams were sent to countries surrounding the Indian Ocean. The Joint Environment Unit dispatched environmental experts who were then integrated as part of the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team in the affected counties. Overall, after evacuating the affected regions, the response team was mainly concerned with waste management.
Likelihood of Future Tsunamis
Following the 2004 tsunami, Indonesia as well as other affected were linked to a tsunami detection system in the Indian Ocean. The purpose of such a system is to relay earthquake signals via satellite with the aim of warning environment experts and stations throughout the world of a possible tsunami. The reason why these countries were linked to this system in the first place is because of the realization that tsunamis were likely to happen in future ( Srinivas and Nakagawa, 2008 ). Many studies showed that the nature of seismic activities in these areas remained unchanged after the 2004 tsunami albeit with smaller magnitudes. It was projected that earthquakes, and therefore, tsunamis, were likely in the following decades.
Lessons Learnt
The Indian Ocean tsunami led to the establishment of several new tools and procedures. A few months following the disaster, OCHA carried out a lesson-learning program to evaluate the handling of environmental emergencies ( Srinivas and Nakagawa, 2008; Paris et al., 2009 ). The participants in this program often raised issues concerning the techniques employed while conducting rapid environmental tests. For instance, the interviewees held that the methods used were inconsistent among the affected areas. Also, the techniques used were not “express” enough in the event of tsunamis in the future. Accordingly, the Joint Environment Unit made three recommendations. First, it was clear that the Unit needed to develop a methodology that would promote consistency of reporting and comparability of outcomes. Second, it was concluded that the Unit should establish a response technique that enabled experts to identify critical secondary risks during an emergency assessment exercise. Finally, the Unit asked the Netherlands National Public Institute for Environment and Public Health to create an enhanced and swift method for the initial evaluation in the event of a natural calamity.
References
Bachmann, G. (2013). Emergency Response: Clustering Change. In Trans governance. Springer Berlin Heidelberg 124(1), 235-254.
Karan, P. P., & Subbiah, S. P. (Eds.). (2010). The Indian Ocean tsunami: the global response to a natural disaster . University Press of Kentucky.
Paris, R., Wassmer, P., Sartohadi, J., Lavigne, F., Barthomeuf, B., Desgages, E., & Gomez, C. (2009). Tsunamis as geomorphic crises: lessons from the December 26, 2004 tsunami in Lhok Nga, west Banda Aceh (Sumatra, Indonesia). Geomorphology , 104 (1), 59-72.
Srinivas, H., & Nakagawa, Y. (2008). Environmental implications for disaster preparedness: lessons learnt from the Indian Ocean Tsunami. Journal of environmental management , 89 (1), 4-13.
