S.E. ASIA TSUNAMI
Weblinks and Resource
Archived Page
Boxing Day 2004
00.59 GMT
"A large seismically generated sea wave which is capable of considerable destruction in certain coastal areas, especially where submarine earthquakes occur. The wavelength in the open ocean is of the order of 100 to 150km, and the rate of travel of a tsunami is between 400-600 miles per hour."
from "Penguin Dictionary of Physical Geography" - John Whittow (Penguin, 1984)
Earthquake which measured 9.0 on the Richter Scale occurred off the northern tip of Sumatra.
For the latest SEISMIC ACTIVITY go to the NEIC BULLETIN page, which has a report on recent seismology. A report on the earthquake is HERE. The largest earthquake for 40 years.
The shock spread northwards along a major fault line, running up through the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The seafloor displacement generated a huge tsunami (from the Japanese meaning 'harbour wave') which raced across the Indian Ocean as a movement of energy, and then broke with terrible force on all coasts facing the earthquake.
The TSUNAMI spread across the Indian Ocean, and hit coastal areas of Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Indonesia and Malaysia.
BBC NEWS has an IN DEPTH page which links through to a massive range of pages and EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS from TOURISTS and LOCALS/RESIDENTS.
RELIEF WEB has a range of useful resources and reports on the AID situation.
Some useful resources, including an interactive map of the region at the REUTERS site.
Sri Lanka was perhaps the worst hit area, and there is a large collection of NEWS LINKS at the ACADEMIC page.
CNN's TSUNAMI DISASTER page.
There is a TSUNAMI disaster warning system in place in Pacific Ocean, but not the Indian Ocean. It is based on the islands of HAWAII. The disaster system uses a series of buoys which transmit data of various kinds.
SKY NEWS had a very useful interactive page, and gave website addresses for people who were being treated in particular hospitals, or that they were OK. The Sky News channel had a ticker running along the bottom of the screen giving details of people who wanted to contact relatives. A very useful service.
CBBC has a section which has KIDS' COMMENTS on the disaster.
Apparently it was a 1 in 700 year event.
Special ITN programme broadcast on 27th December, included reports from Sri Lankan fishing village of Baya Gala. Boats washed 300 yards inland, and apparently the major wave reached up to 6km inland in places. The position of the islands relative to the quake was just one of a combination of factors which combined in this particular event.
Railway lines and roads washed away. Infrastructure ruined. Billions of pounds will be needed.
Tsunami reached Somalia in E. Africa, 4000 miles away, also Kenya, Mauritius - a small amount of damage, Reunion and the Seychelles. The energy (remember that it can't be destroyed) also leaked from the area and caused sea surges as far away as the Pacific Ocean.
Experts say the Indian Ocean
tsunami was so strong that it generated sea surges in Pacific territories
thousands of kilometres away.
Territories as far away as Fiji, American Samoa, New Zealand and Hawaii, which
lie up to 12,000 kilometres from the tsunami, saw the seas around them rise.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre says it resulted in waves measuring between
11 and 65 centimetres, but says they will have no lasting effect.
Source: ABC, Australia
http://staff.aist.go.jp/kenji.satake/animation.gif -for an Animated GIF showing the TSUNAMI. This is one of several which have appeared on various news sites during the days following the tsunami.
There has been discussion in the media about whether it is appropriate for people to arrive as tourists. Should people be sunbathing on the beach a few miles from where so many have died ? Or is it essential that people carry on coming, and start returning in large numbers very soon in order to bring in foreign exchange and start the process of rebuilding.
One place which has some photos of the destruction is POSEIDON BUNGALOWS and SIMILAN TOUR. Click to see some rather poignant pictures of the wreckage surrounding the place. Best wishes to all in the area.
A growing page is a WIKIPEDIA site: a WIKI is an open-source page which can be edited. This is a tremendous resource now, and it also has one of the most startling images to give an idea of the effect of the Tsunami. This shows Banda-Aceh before and after. The newspapers have also been producing high quality graphics on their sites too.
Useful AUSTRALIAN page on need for WARNINGS in the Indian Ocean.
Some UK based retailers have connections with Indonesia as they are supplied from there. BBC NEWS item here.
Check out TODD BINDER's PAGE which tries to visualise what 135 000 people (at the last count) looks like. Fascinating.
There are also some TSUNAMI resources on the Teacher Resource Exchange, courtesy of Neil Adam.
The earthquake may have been so strong, that the crustal movements which created it have moved islands and changed the map. The effects of the Tsunami itself will also have changed islands forever.
There have also been a number of reports about the absence of dead wildlife. It has often been thought that ANIMALS have a '6th sense' which gives them a sense of the impending disaster. There were reports of strange animal behaviour prior to the KOBE earthquake. It remains to be seen whether anyone noticed any strange animal behaviour in the vicinity of the S. E Asian quake. The ability of animals or people to have some sense of the future is called a PRECURSOR.
Report in 'The Observer' in February 2005 suggested that there could be a limit imposed on the number of tourists who can go on to the island of Phi Phi (Thailand) because of the continuing clean-up. There are fewer places to stay as some hotels which had been built without permission were washed away. Some tour operators are offering discounts on holidays to the region.
BLOGGERS proved their worth. Many of them gave details of how people could help, images, video clips, contact details of embassies and government agencies and personal accounts of the disaster. The BLOGOSPHERE moved beyond many people's earlier impression of its usefulness and showing itself to be invaluable on such occasions because of its immediacy and interconnectedness.
TEACHING RESOURCES
Thanks also to Liz Crisp, who sent a Powerpoint which could be used as a framework for discussion. It's only 90K and can be found HERE. You may need to adapt some of the statistics depending on the year group you use it with, and also remove slide 18 or adapt if you are in a location which is not near the coast.
Check out the SLN GEOGRAPHY page for some new resources which have been placed there by DIANE SWIFT of the GA's VALUING PLACES PROJECT, and Chris Kelly from Charles Edward Brooke School, Lambeth.
Diane Swift has placed 23 excellent resources on the website. These are an essential download. They deal with the sensitive task of teaching disasters to children.
For further Tsunami resources, head over to David Rayner's GEOINTERACTIVE site where you will find some splendid multimedia Power-points, one notably by Val Vannet which needs to be viewed in combination with the attached sound file. Other resources have been added by SLN Forum regulars.
Been added to a list of Tsunami resources at CHERRY HILL LIVE by K Kaplan.
An excellent selection of links has been put together by the NEW SCIENTIST. Some links are for subscribers only, but there's plenty for non-subscribers.
Also recently received from 2 different sources, the text of an e-mail from Is Allen of OXFAM giving links to 2 ONLINE resources.
The shocking disaster in Asia has touched all our lives, young and old. The importance of explaining and exploring the many issues raised by the tsunami and its aftermath
(especially with children and young people) cannot be underestimated. Oxfam GB has education material which we hope will help. Do visit: http://www.oxfam.org.uk/education/
Our Cool Planet website contains education resources to support teachers who wish to work on the issue in their schools. Teaching about the Tsunami - education materials from Oxfam GB The disaster in Asia has shocked and saddened us all. Oxfam has put together online support for teachers
that enables young people to explore and understand key issues relating to global catastrophes. There is also information about what Oxfam is doing in the affected countries, and how schools can help. The site will be updated regularly, so bookmark this page, and
pass the link to colleagues. Thanks. Finally, if you have family, friends or colleagues who have been affected by this terrible disaster please accept my sympathies. Many thanks and best wishes, Is Is Allen Advocacy Coordinator Oxfam Development Education
Contacted by Sarah Fall, who has produced a countdown of the Word's 5 biggest tsunamis. Check out her page HERE.
Also received free copy of GLOBAL EYE, in association with RGS-IBG. Had some useful links and images. Thanks to Noel Jenkins for his involvement in that publication.
