Tsunami Causes, Impact, Needs, Response, and Preparedness - A case study

29th October 2011

PROF. (Dr.) S.P. AGARWAL

M.S. (Surg.) M.Ch (Neuro), FICS, D.Sc. (h.c.)

SECRETARY GENERAL
National Headquarters Indian Red Cross Society

Tsunami is a Japanese word. Tsu means harbour and nami means wave. In earlier times the Japanese fishermen on return to coast from sea voyage found devastation when nothing happened to them at sea, and hence named it TSUNAMI.

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Tsunami is a wave-train (a series of waves) generated in large body water (sea or ocean) due to an impulsive (sudden) disturbance of the floor (sea bed) that vertically displaces the water column. This sudden vertical displacement can occur due to massive earthquake or underwater landslide or volcanic eruption or collapse or even the impact of cosmic body.

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What is a Tsunami

Tsunamis are mostly generated along, or close to, the deep ocean trenches. They are caused by:Faulting (earthquakes) Landslides Volcanic eruptions But they cause widespread damage in coastal areas

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Although earthquakes and tsunamis cannot be predicted they can be measured

Earthquakes magnitude can be measured by a device called Seismograph invented by Charles Richter in 1935

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Table for comparison of Magnitude and Equivalency and Observation at Epicenter

Richter Magnitude 3-4 4-5 Equivalent Hiroshimasized Atomic Bomb 1/100 3/100 1 37 1160 36,700 Witnessed observations at Epicenter

Feels like vibration of a nearby truck

Small objects may turn. Sleepers awaken Difficult to stand. Damage to masonry General panic, items on shelf fall Large scale destruction, large landslides Total damage. Waves can be seen on ground surface
Adapted from www.usgs.gov 6/72

5-6
6-7 7-8 8-9

 The wave height increases as it

approaches the shore

Wave

heights are typically between 8 and 40 feet, but can be up to 100 feet

The interval between waves can

vary from minutes to hours

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NHK coverage of Japan earthquake

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AP coverage of Japan earthquake

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226405

www.em-dat.net, Centre for Research on Epidemiology of Disasters, Belgium

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Characteristics of Tsunami

1. There is no effect of Tsunami in the sea, even if you are only half to one kilometer from coast.

2. Tsunami may come in waves, with a time gap of 40 minutes to one hour between successive major waves. In one major wave, there may be two to three sub waves. 3. Although the speed of the approaching Tsunami waves at coast gets reduced from 700-800 km to 50-60 km per hour, they carry enormous energy. 4. The height of waves at coast can go up to 50 to 70 feet.
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Contd
5. The retreating Tsunami waves are as quick and as dangerous as their approach and cause as much damage. 6. Major devastation is restricted up to 500 meters.

7. Tsunami causes more havoc along beaches which have ocean thousands of meter deep, near the coast. In comparison, if the shallow water extends to more than 100 km, the effect will be that much less.
8. If you are caught in a Tsunami wave due to inadequate /little warning, try to hold on to a stable object like tree/ pole.

9. Hold your breath while the approaching/ retreating wave pass over, to avoid dirt and sea water choking your body system
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How Do Tsunamis Differ From Other Water Waves?

Wind-generated waves are characterized as shallow-water

waves, with significant periods and wave lengths.

The wind-generated swell spawned by a storm rhythmically

rolls in, one wave after another, might have a period of about 10 seconds and a wave length of 150 m.
Tsunami, on the other hand, can have a wavelength in excess

of 100 km and period on the order of one hour.

As the rate at which a wave loses its energy is inversely

related to its wave length, tsunamis not only propagate at high speeds, they can also travel great, transoceanic distances with limited energy losses.

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Detecting a Tsunami
Seismic gauges can detect the earthquakes or volcanic

eruptions which may cause a tsunami.

But as only a small proportion of strong earthquakes produce

a tsunami, a warning system based solely on seismic data is prone to producing false alarms.
Other sea-based instruments are needed to help scientists

decide if a tsunami has been triggered.

These fall into two main types: pressure recorders in the

deep ocean and tide gauges monitoring sea-level at the coast.

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International Tsunami Warning System (TWS)

Comprised of 28 participating International Member States Functions

Monitor Seismological data Monitor Tidal data Evaluate Tsunamigenic Earthquake Dissemination of Warning Information

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Tsunami Warning Centre

NOAAs NWS operates two Tsunami Warning Centres. Alaska Tsunami Warning Centre (ATWC) in Palmer,

Alaska provides Tsunami Warning to Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and California.
Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre. (PTWC), Ewa Beach,

Hawaii for all other PTWC Member States of Pacific Region.

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Getting the Message Out

Perhaps the most important part of the tsunami early warning

system is how to get the information to people who are in immediate danger.

Primary responsibility for this rests with governments and

most of the 27 nations bordering the Indian Ocean have been setting up individual programmes for issuing tsunami alerts to their own people.

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Case Study

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Region & Country

Off the coast of Northern Sumatra, Indonesia

Moment Magnitude Date Epicenter

Affected Countries

Casualties

9.3 December 26, 2004 3.267N, 95.821E, near coast of Sumatra Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Somalia, Maldives, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Kenya, Myanmar, Singapore and Seychelles Over 2,80,000

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Epicenter Sumatra Andaman Islands Thailand Sri Lanka Indian East & South Coast Maldives Somalia

0058 hrs (GMT) + 15 minutes + 30 minutes + 90 minutes + 120 minutes + 120 to 150 minutes + 210 minutes + 420 minutes

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2004 Tsunami
800 NM 400 NM

1200 NM

EPICENTRE 0629 HRS

1 nautical mile= 1.85 km 1200 NM=2220 Km- the distance between the epicenter and the Indian coastline- more than the distance between Delhi and Chennai (which is 2095 km)
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Magnitude of the 26 December 2004 South Asia Tsunami

227,754 dead or missing

More than 1.7 million displaced 507,496 left without homes

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Magnitude of Disaster
Tsunami Disaster December 26, 2004 the tsunami caused extensive damage in 897 villages in five States/UTs in India - Andaman & Nicobar (A&N) Islands - Pondicherry - Andhra Pradesh (AP) - Tamil Nadu (TN) - Kerala

Loss

Injured, Missing and Dead 4,259 people injured 5,555 people missing 10,749 people dead Major Sectors Affected in each State: - Fisheries & Boats - Housing - Ports & Jetties - Agriculture/ Forest / Livelihood - Roads & Bridges - Water Supply & Sewerage - Power & ICT - Social Infrastructure

Impacted Sectors

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Tsunami Affected States (No. of Districts)

Andaman & Nicobar (2)

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Impacted Districts

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Immediate Response from Central Government A high level team led by Dr. S.P. Agarwal DGHS at Campbell Bay, Car Nicobar on 3rd January 2005

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NDMA video

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Rescue and Relief Response

Rescue and Relief

Rescue and relief operations were adjudged to be speedy, efficient and timely by the external agencies
National Crisis Management Group
Head Cabinet Secretary

Govt. of India Response Mechanism

Warning

Secretaries of all relevant departments OPS Room (24x7)

Ministry of Home Affairs

National Disaster Management Division

MHA Control Room (24x7) State Control Room

(S-EOC) Department of Relief & Disaster Mgt

Directors-Response, Logistics & Coordination State Crisis Management Group

Chairman: Chief Secretary

District Control Room

(D-EOC)

Affected Site Relief &Rescue Estb. Comm. network Drinking Water Restoration of power Prevention of Epidemic
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Impact

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Tsunami Wave-Kanyakumari

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Impact

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Impact

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Impact

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Impact
Massive destruction in very large areas affected- large number

of survivors who had lost everything!

Multiple cultures affected, religious values vary
Breakdown in means of communication

Responders and care givers were stretched to capacity

Information sharing mechanisms ad-hoc

Decision making becomes slow as organizations get bogged

down with centralized systems

Concept of operation never agreed and not disseminated
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Needs

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Physical and Psychosocial Needs

Health Strengthen health systems including improved infrastructure, equipment and medicines Improve skills of health workers Nutrition Prevent and reduce malnutrition by enhancing quality of ICDS promoting behavior change of care-givers including breast-feeding and infant feeding practices Education Improve skills of teachers by the provision of quality teaching learning materials Improve the quality of classroom infrastructure, teaching aids and tools including replacement of lost textbooks Reduce school drop out rates
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Needs- Livelihood
Food & sustenance through wage employment/ food for work program to fishermen, farmers, landless labourers

Mending fishing nets, cleaning irrigation channels, de-silting ponds, filling up eroded roads
Income generation Special assistance to widows, orphans, disabled and infirm (money in fixed deposit), free education and technical training for self employment Supplementary income generation training and financial assistance for fisherwomen and youth for small trades Assistance to shopkeepers (stock replacement) , artisans (equipment and raw material)
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Recovery and Reconstruction

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Highlights of Tsunami Medical Relief Activities

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Medical Relief- Issues on immediate concern

Lack of power/electricity Communications Roads Emergency Medical Care

Removal of dead bodies

Prevention of outbreaks Water Supply

Housing and other public infrastructure

Media Management

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Manpower Deployment

Political commitments at the highest levels.

Political leaders and Senior Officers were in the field supervising the activities. Huge manpower deployment

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Management of Supply Logistics

Large pharma sector. Adequate quantities of bleaching power, Halzone tablets and ORS

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Psychosocial Support
Availability of NIMHANS, AIIMS, and PGI. Teams from these institutions trained community leaders and self help groups about psychosocial care of disaster survivors.

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Epidemiological Surveillance
Surveillance units were set up in the southern coastal belt and Andaman and Nicobar. Guidelines on prevention and control of epidemic prone diseases, disposal of dead bodies in emergency situations, vector control were circulated to all affected States.

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Vector Control
Falciparum Malaria kept under check in spite of prevailing malariogenic conditions. 5000 insecticide treated bed nets were also supplied.

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Summary of Medical Relief

More than 350 doctors and 100 paramedics were deployed. About 50,000 patients were attended by the Central team. All children between 6 months and 5 years of each in relief camps received measles vaccine and vitamin A supplement. Disease surveillance in Andaman and Nicobar proved helpful in preventing major outbreaks. NIMHANS provided help in psychosocial relief and rehabilitation work. Nutrition surveillance was conducted in relief camps in Andaman and Nicobar.
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 In the aftermath of the tsunami, no external assistance was required by the GoI for immediate response.

Long

term recovery and rehabilitation supported with assistance from bi-lateral and multi-lateral agencies. contributions were estimated 8 million USD in India (Source: Tsunami One year after, A joint UN Report-India)

Corporate

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Tsunami Response of Indian Red Cross Society

Distribution of cargo Auto to Self Help Groups

Construction of Ice plant

Construction of a fish drying platform Net mending shed Fish auction hall Distribution of motorized boats and fishing nets

Distribution of Ice boxes

Distribution of life vests
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Indian Red Cross Society

The long process of rebuilding lives and economies has begun 51/72

Photo: Yoshi Shimizu/International Federation

Livelihoods assistance

Psychosocial support
Community based psychosocial support still being provided to tens of thousands of people.

Indian Red Cross Society

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Recovery and Reconstruction

Planned repair & reconstruction of:

Houses Health facilities
Photo: Virgil Grandfield/International Federation

Schools and orphanages Water supply systems Red Cross and Red Crescent branches
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Getting affected communities to decide what they want their new houses to look like is a vital part of the healing process

Over several months a comprehensive reconstruction plan has taken shape

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which will see schools, health and community centres, and up to 52,000 new houses constructed in the coming years

Photo: Virgil Grandfield/International Federation

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Photo: Virgil Grandfield/International Federation

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Photo: International Federation

The process of constructing permanent houses is underway

and will accelerate in coming months as land issues are resolved

Indian Red Cross Society

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Photo: International Federation

The first of many steps have been taken on the long road to rebuild the lives, livelihoods and economies of tsunami-affected communities

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Photo: Olav A. Saltbones/International Federation

Indian Red Cross Society Staff hold focus groups with fishermen and students in Kanyakumari

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VIDEO

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Theoretical Background

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Definition of Disasters
A disaster is a situation or event which overwhelms local capacity, necessitating a request to a national or international level for external assistance. (Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters) A serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society causing widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses which exceed the ability of the affected community or society to cope with, using its own resources. A disaster is the function of the risk process. It results from a combination of hazards, conditions of vulnerability and insufficient capacity or measures to reduce the potential negative consequences of risk.
Source: Emergency Health Preparedness Report and Documentation of the Technical Discussions, page 41, WHO, Regional office for South-East Asia, New Delhi 62/72

What is a risk?
The probability for an event to exceed a specific value of social, environmental and economical harms in a given place and during a determined exposure of time. The probability of harmful consequences, or expected losses (deaths, injuries, property, livelihood) resulting from interaction between threat and vulnerable condition.

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What is vulnerability?

The internal perception of risk of a person exposed to a threat that corresponds to the potential of being harmed. A condition determined by physical, social, economic and environmental factors, which increase the susceptibility of a community to the impact of, and their ability to cope with the risk.

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Formula for Risk

f (t + v)

R = Risk ; f = frequency; t = threat; v = vulnerability

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Preparation

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Phases of Disaster Management

Activating public warning Notifying public authorities Mobilizing emergency personnel Emergency medical assistance Manning emergency operations center

ER ST A D IS

RESPON SE

RE COV RY E

Preparedness plans Emergency communication systems Training of emergency personnel Public information and education

Returning vital life supports systems to minimum operating standards Temporary housing Medical care

PREPA
E N RD
S
S
MITIGATION
GIS based risk assessment Preventive health care Structural reinforcement

Livelihood PSP

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 Plan to a scenario
Agree on Concept of Operation Have a response plan Have Standard operating procedures Understand and follow clearly

understood protocols
Keep it all jargon free and relevant

(what is understood will be used)

Disseminate widely
Rehearse at all levels
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At community level

Acknowledge peoples right to know about approaching hazard Ensure backward and forward systemic linkages Ensure capacity to reach to the target population Listen to what people want

Get the medium and the message right!

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Make tsunami a non disaster

Be prepared to make changes to plans Use simple technologies. Demystify technology (both software and hardware) and contextualize what people find useful, they will make use and seek ways to preserve

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Prepare yourself
In case of tsunami warning, move away from the sea shore to

safer land, higher ground (more than 100 ft)

If there is no higher ground, go atleast 2 kilometer inland Family emergency drills -plans to reunite your family Anchor heavy objects to walls Never place heavy objects over beds Keep heavy objects lower than head height of shortest member

of the family
Store emergency drinking water @ 5-6 lit / person Make sure exit routes are obstruction free Make sure kids know duck-cover-hold Think of secure storage options for important documents
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Mitigation

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Tsunami mitigation measures

Avoid tsunami runup areas in the new development except marine installations and others requiring proximity to water. Prohibit setting of high-occupancy and critical structures. Areas of potential inundation under floodplain zoning, prohibiting all new construction and designating existing occupancies as non-conforming. Where economically feasible, establish constraints to minimize potential inundation or to reduce the force of the waves. These measures include: Construction sea wall along low-lying stretches of coast and break-waters at the entrances of bays and harbours. Planting, belts of trees between the shoreline and the areas requiring protection.
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Contd
Where development exists, establish adequate warning and evacuation systems. Set standard of construction for structures with harbours and known run-up areas. (An analytical model proposed by the investigator based on tsunami-related data from Tamil Nadu suggests that the presence of 30 trees per 100 sq. meters may reduce the may reduce the maximum flow pressure of the waves by better than 90 percent.)

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Questions ???

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