Tsunami disaster of Sri Lanka, its uniqueness, affect, and some damage mitigation possibilities

Abstract

Sri Lanka was the first country that was contacted by the US tsunami-warning center, Hawaii, when the tsunami was devastating the coastal areas of Indian Ocean (WEB ref. 01). But, due to lack of well-coordinated communication among countries, Sri Lanka, India, or even Sudan (Northeast Africa) did not receive tsunami warning with enough time to take necessary action (WEB ref. 02.) On the other hand, there was no well-established natural disaster warning system in these countries. Also these countries have had no disastrous tsunami in living memories December 26th, 2005 tsunami caused a massive damage and killed tens of thousands of people and opened new research fields to conduct studies in tsunami risk mitigation. This article describes some early observations of tsunami damage using field photographs, satellite images, and digital maps of the affected area, focusing on the conditions of Sri Lanka