IMPACT OF TSUNAMI ON ANIMALS IN INDIA:

TSUNAMI-Disaster Management
Programs for Livestock

DR. C. KATHIRVELAN And MAYANK TANDON

Animal Nutrition Division, National Dairy Research
Institute, Karnal, Haryana, INDIA.
email: c_kathir@yahoo.com,
mayanktandon1@gmail.com
 INTRODUCTION

•TSUNAMI – “Harbour wave”

• Tsunami – are large waves that are generated when the
sea floor is deformed by seismic activity
•Tsunami wave caused by
Coastal earthquakes
Under sea volcanic eruptions
Under sea landslides
•Tsunami is not a single wave, It is series of waves.
•Travel at a speed of more than 800Km/hr.
Frontline,Jan,2005
December 26 th ,2004 Tsunami

• Epicenter - 280 km from northern sumathra

• 2100 km from Indian south coast line
• Due to interface of the two tectonic plates
(The Indian plate and Burma plate)
• Magnitude 8.9
• 30 feet height

Frontline,Jan,2005
 Countries affected

Indonesia
In India
Thailand
Andaman and
Srilankha nicobar
India
TamilNadu
Myanmar
Pondicherry
Malaysia
Kerala
Bangladesh
Somalia Andhra Pradesh
World Tsunami occurrence
Nov 1,1755 - Europe
Aug 27, 1883 - Indonesian islands (Java-
Sumatra)
June 15,1896 - East coast of Japan
April 1,1946 - Hawaii
Nov 5,1952 - Russia India Today,Jan,2005
May 23,1960 - Hawaii
Aug 23, 1976 - Philippines
July 17, 1998 - Bismarck sea
In INDIA
•Dec 31, 1881 - Car Nicobar island
•June 26,1941 - Andaman and Nicobar
•From 1973-2001 7 under sea earthquakes
happened.But
No Tsunami
•Dec 26,2004- Andaman and nicobar, Indian
South coast states

India Today,Jan,2005
Number of missing or dead animals
Species Indonesia Thailand SriLanka
Cattle 28450 372 12300
Buffalo 21561 142
Sheep 46133 454 9000
Goat 52010
Poultry 449656 4163 2,30,000
Duck - 308 -
Swine - 1086 2641

Source:FAO
Impact of Tsunami as a whole- In India
Particulars TamilNadu Pondicherry Kerala Andhra
Pradesh
Length of coast affected 1000 Km 25 km 250 km 985
Incursion of water into 2 km to 3.5 300m to 3 km 1-2 km 500m to
land km 2km

Average height of waves 7 m to 10 m 10 m 3m to 5 5m

m
Population affected 6.91 lakhs 43,000 24.7 2.11lakhs
lakhs
Dwelling units affected 1,12748 10,061 11,832 1,557

Animal lost 5,477 506 520 195

Cropped area hit 2,589 ha 792 ha 810 ha 790 ha
Source: Ministry of Home Affairs
 Andaman and Nicobar

Number of missing or dead animals

Cattle -556
Sheep and goat - 4300
Dogs - 654
Poultry -1.3 lakhs
Pig -368
In TamilNadu
Number of missing or dead animals

Cattle - 1,021
Sheep and goat - 3234
Pigs - 720
Dogs - 600
Poultry -1.6lakhs
Source:TamilNadu animal Husbandry Dept.
Impact of tsunami on animal production

ANIMALS

PLANTS (Feed resources)

SOILS
 ON ANIMALS
• Destruction of animals
• Considerable destruction of animal building
• Loss of stored animal feed resources
• Disease out break;
Lack of feed
Movement of animals
Consumption of contaminated water
Stress conditions

Potenciate disease outbreak

Cont..
Especially Zoonatic diseases like;
Salmonellosis
Leptospirosis
Anthrax, rabies
Crypto sporidiosis
Giardiosis
Animal health problem & under nutrition

Stress conditions

Decreased animal production

 ON PLANTS
(FEED RESOURCES)

• Stored animal feed was soaked with sea water

• Pastures and other fibrous feed not affected
severely when the sea water passed over them and
then quickly receded.
•Long term damage : pastures and fodder crops have
been flooded for long periods with stagnant salt
water.
•Coconuts destruction in coastal areas
•Feed mill (fish meal processing unit) damage also
reported
Cont..
Especially in TamilNadu,
Crops affected are,
• Majorly paddy,
• Groundnut, Sesame, Black gram

In, Andaman and Nicobar

• Paddy and coconut plantation totally wiped out
• Areca nut, palm plantation affected.
 ON SOILS (Agricultural fields)
•Direct crop destruction by up rooting
•Soil fertility losses when upper layer is washed away
•Deposition of salt sediment
•Soil infiltration
•Soil erosion modifies the topography
Intensity of damage depends upon
• The energy of the flood
• The type of soil coverage and vegetation
• Soil drainage capacity
In Gist;
Impact of tsunami on animal production in terms
of,
 Animal destruction
 Feed resources loss
 Soil fertility loss ( soil salinity)
TSUNAMI-Disaster management /Restocking
programmes
FOR ANIMALS
•Waste management
•Animal health/Veterinary services
Vaccination
Poultry : Avian Influenza, New castle disease
Pigs : Swine fever,FMD, JE
Sheep and Goat : PPR and Pasteurolosis
Cattle : PPR,HS,FMD and Anthrax
•Supplementation of feed,water and shelter
•Veterinary public health.
For plants
•Supplementation suitable seeds,
•Evolving suitable crops
‘VTL’-salt tolerant Varity of paddy
For pastures- Chenopodiaceae family
For soils
1st priority: To ensure quick drainage of salt water
2nd priority : Restore physical integrity of the fields
•Salt deposition
Upto 30-50 mm salt deposition reported.
-Removal of salt deposit, coarser elements
- leaching:
Through regular watering by rain fall or irrigation
In gist;
 Animal health programme
 Provision of suitable seeds
to farmer
 Desalination of soil
Feeding strategies
1. Transportation of fodder
Main strategy in disaster (Tsunami)
management
Densification of fibrous feeds.

2. Complete feed block feeding

3. Exploiting new feed resources

Exploiting locally available unconventional fodder resources
Addition of molasses to improve the palatability
Mixing with routine feed
4. Urea supplementation
• Economic NPN compound
• Mode of feeding urea:
Treatment of straws with urea
Addition to concentrate feed
Urea molasses mineral block
Urea liquid supplementation

5. Conservation of fodder
Green fodder conservation
Depending on facility.
Either as silage or hay
 TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM
In 1965- International Tsunami Information
Centre (ITIC).
•Under water earth quakes are monitored
by sensors on the floor of the sea
•The sensors pass on information to
floating buoys on the surface whenever
they detect any change in sea pressure
•Information is then relayed to satellite
which pass it on to the earth stations.

•Inform well in advance 3 to 14 hours.

Impact of feeding salty feed and saline water on animal
production
•Animal salt tolerance depend on ability of kidney to increase
glomerular filtration rate and decrease salt reabsorption rate.
•Exert inhibitory effect on rumen microflora
•Decreased milk production
Increased osmotic pressure

Alter thyroid hormone function

Decrease protein synthesis.

Cont..

In poultry: Detoriation of egg shell

quality
Symptoms of salt poisoning :
Excessive thirst
Muscular weakness
Edema.
 Strategies for coastal eco security
•Environmentally sustainable management of the
coastal zone.
•Strengthening if ecological foundations
Rehabilitation of mangrove forests
Erection of bio shields

(M.S. SwamiNathan)
Bioshields consists of;
Planting appropriate mangrove species
Salt tolerant plants
Saliorine atriplex
Casuarina Sp.
Thespesia Sp.
And some species of Bamboo

(M.S. SwamiNathan)
 CONCLUSION

•Local level plans to be drawn up for

evacuating animals at short notice at the time
of Tsunami alert
•Fodder conservation
•Animal health management.