Tsunamis: Past, Present & Future - Presented by Kaylee Anderson, Kristin Gregory, Kari Poulain

1. Tsunami’s: Past, Present & Future Presented By:Kaylee Anderson Kristin Gregory Kari Poulain

2. How Tsunamis are Formed • Formed by a displacement of water caused by one of the following: • Landslide • Volcanic eruption • Slippage between two tectonic plates

3. How They Cause Damage • Travel about 600 mph at the epicenter, but slow down to about 30-40 mph as it moves towards the shoreline • Actually multiple waves, not just one • Aftershock can create more tsunamis if strong enough

4. Environmental Impact

5. “The environment is in trouble, there’s no question”-Bill EichbaumWorld Wildlife Fund

6. Ground/Drinking Water • The tsunami compromised much of the area’s safe drinking water. • Breeding ground for disease • People in this region dependent on wells vs. running water

7. The Land • Rice Fields are brown • Much farmland now ‘useless’ • Changed the contours of the land • Costal forests lay in ruin • Beaches washed away or littered with debris

8. The Water • Much of the natural reef in the region has been destroyed or will die in the near future. • Suffocating under layers of mud • Marine life from the shore to a mile out suffered the most damage. • 6th Sense • Fisheries • Mangroves vital for protection

9. Human Impact

10. After a major catastrophe, people are vulnerable to diseases Water borne and others Women were hit hardest The people in the communities are greatly effected Bad for their economy Their Effects on Humanity

11. Threat of Disease • There is a threat for typhoid, malaria, cholera, dysentery, and waterborne disease • Children and elderly most at risk

12. Contaminated Water • The water may carry more than 50 different diseases • It’s the leading killer of populations affected by disaster • Surging seawater, hot and humid weather, sewage, and decomposing bodies are contaminating many water supplies • Ideal breeding grounds for mosquitoes • Not much dry land for burying corpses • CNN.com

13. 3 times more women than men were killed on average This scarcity of females has led to women being sexually assaulted an increase in domestic violence and; women being forced into marriage (mainly for protection) The radical changes in the population of these villages will likely alter their communities for good. (CNN.com) Men are now in a difficult position. The Tsunami Hit Women Hardest

14. Destruction • The waves destroyed many cities, fishing villages, and resorts along the coast • The fishing nets swept out to sea are a potential threat to fish, birds and mammals • Killed over 250,000 people – “one of the worst human tragedies in history” (the UN Environment Programme)

15. Fears of contaminated Seafood • People fear the fish could pass on disease or bacteria • Although scientific evidence shows no contamination • People are choosing dried fish over a fresher product, causing the fish markets to suffer

16. Seafood cont… • Churning sea made an abundance of food available for the fish • Micro-organisms • Plankton • Plants • Other dead fish • Experts say the tsunami will have a positive effect on the food chain

17. The Future

18. How to Prevent Future Disasters The Importance of Tsunami Warning Systems

19. Why It’s Important: • “What we would like to see happen is countries managing the risks instead of managing emergencies.” -Max Dilley, research scientist at Columbia • We should be proactive as opposed to reactive

20. How to be Proactive • Strengthening building codes • Implementing early warning systems • Warning centers with computer technology • Education for populace

21. Difficulties in Asia • TIMING • warnings need to occur within 10-20 minutes • variable timing (hard to determine) when waves will hit the shoreline • COMMUNICATION • Much of Asia’s population lives without modern communications • warning becomes difficult and useless

22. A Logical Approach • Model warning system for the Indian Ocean after the Pacific Ocean’s system • System could be in place within the next two years

23. Pacific System Logistics • Has been in place for decades • implemented in 1965 after years of tsunamis • Currently links 26 nations • Network of buoys and seismic stations • hundreds of seismic stations • coastal tide gauges • deep-water buoys

24. How Buoys Work • Contain two parts: pressure sensor and surface transmitter • pressure sensor: ability to sense when sea level rises above normal by only a centimeter, warning of a tsunami • information then sent to surface transmitter, which sends information to stations by satellite

25. Cost-Benefit Analysis • Cost of each buoy: $250,000 • Extremely expensive maintenance costs • About 6 major tsunamis hit the Pacific each decade, Asia experiences far less • Benefits • if system had already been in place in the Indian Ocean, thousands of lives in Asia could have been spared

26. What Needs to be Done? • Mangroves need to be rehabilitated and added onto • Less dependence on well water • Government Intervention and continued UN presence. • Use this as a lesson for the future, because tsunamis will happen again!

27. Why Should We Care? • Moral obligation • Business sense/globalization • Diplomatic ties • In hopes that other countries will follow suite

28. Quiz Time!

29. What are two of the three ways a tsunami can be formed?? Landslides Volcanic Eruptions Movement of Plates Question #1

30. How fast do tsunami’s travel? (Either at the epicenter or around land) 600 MPH at epicenter 30-40 MPH by coastline Question #2

31. What is the major effect of the landscape changing? Increases likeliness of flooding, especially in areas that previously weren’t at an especially high risk. Question #3

32. Who did the tsunami hit the hardest? Women Question #4

33. What is the name of the buoy system currently in place in the Pacific? The Pacific System Logistic Question #5

34. How You Can Help… • Red Cross • www.redcross.org • UNICEF • www.unicef.org • AmeriCares • www.americares.org • Asia Foundation • www.give2asia.org/projects/tsunami • Habitat For Humanity • www.habitat.org • Save the Children • www.savethechildren.org/emergencies/tsunami • Relief International • www.ri.org

35. Sources Consulted • CNN • Dr. Wayne Nafziger • Tsunami Museum • Boston Globe • World Environmental News • The New York Times