Effects of Tsunami

These are natural disasters which occur during the sudden surge of seismic activities in the floor of the ocean where two continental plates meet and may be called the effects of tsunami. Among the high level of recorded seismic activities is the Ring of Fire which is no nicknamed that it has resulted in untold destruction of both human life and properties

Tsunami is one of the world’s deadliest natural disasters and is caused by tidal waves hitting the shore line. The term tsunami is a Japanese term although the disaster can strike all or several South Asian and East African countries. The effects of Tsunami could result in untold human life and destruction of properties. Many believe that Tsunami is one of the consequences of global warming. To understand what causes global warming, you should refer to the link.

This would mean that several of the world’s most densely populated countries which reside near to the Ring of Fire are bound to be affected by them. The Ring of Fire is actually situated in the Pacific Ocean and though the epicenter of the tsunami is there it’s after effects can be felt more seriously in some of the South Asian countries.

After effects of Tsunami

The tsunami damage is caused by rising tidal waves triggered by the shock from the ocean floor. Although seen gentle while at the bottom the shock wave that when rises up can lift the waves several meters above their normal size. These huge tidal waves then hit the shore line of the countries successively till the shock lasts and then lay waste to everything that come up on their pathway.

Effects of tsunami always hits the lowest section of the poor and it is a foregone conclusion that most of them are residing in underdeveloped and less developed countries are the most affected. The tsunami’s killer tidal wave is the most feared by the people of these countries as it can literally destroy everything and anything.

The matter becomes even more serious as most part of the huge population of these countries lives near to the sea so that they work for their livelihood which means fishing.

Huge clean up cost and cost of repair

Tsunamis cause huge damages and to bring back the shattered lives of the people and the destroyed infrastructure could mean enormous money that can run up to billions of dollars. As tsunami strikes without as much as even a warning there is little the people can do to shift themselves and their properties to a safer place. One moment they hear a loud unusual restlessness of the sea surface and the next the huge tidal wave is upon them engulfing them along with their properties.

Effects of tsunami are so awful that the waves simply do not stop after hitting the shoreline, but continue flooding the place for another mile or so. During its advancement it destroys everything on its path like destroying building structures, telephone lines, bending and wrenching out electric post and smashing vehicles one on the other such that there is yet another trigger of panic, injuries and death due to these mishaps.

It is true that tsunamis flood the places near to the shore, but that is where the densest population resides and lives and their main occupation is fishing. Therefore it is no wonder that the cost too is so huge and few countries in the region can meet them with their own funding. Hence, many countries of the region ask the help of the developed countries so as to mitigate some part of the problem although it would take several more years to actually remove the traces of the havoc.

It is generally seen that it is indeed an awesome effort to rehabilitate those who have lost everything as tsunami would leave vast areas of land inundated. Another factor is that because the countries are poor the people by and large are living in houses which are not all that strong and built out of weak materials. Thus, when tsunami strikes it destroys every single house. Even structures that are spared are later demolished because they would sooner or later tumble to the ground causing more deaths and injuries.

So what’s beyond the effects of tsunami

The most gruesome factor during a tsunami strike is that the tidal waves destroy the pipelines and this means that both the sewage links and the fresh water become united causing widespread diseases. The death toll therefore rises even more alarmingly as people contract contagious diseases and since there are no proper medical facilities around as they too would have been destroyed the catastrophe becomes even more shocking.

Illnesses like malaria and other air and water-borne diseases strike mercilessly and more people succumb to death in many areas than what the tsunami actually caused. Further, in a study conducted by WHO it was seen that in Sri Lanka alone 14 and 39% of the children hit by the tsunami and managed to survive had post traumatic stress disorders.

The deadliest of all tsunamis recorded in history was the one that struck on Dec 24, 2004 on the island of Sumatra. It recorded an earthquake shock of 9.2 and took a death toll of 300,000 to 350,000 victims. The psychological effect on the people would last for weeks, months and years and for some people it would continue for a life time due to the effects of tsunami. It was recorded that the above particular tsunami was so powerful that the earth shook reducing its sidereal day and made it vibrate up to an inch.

Previously, I have written about co codamol side effects.  In the next post, I will talk about zopiclone side effects.