Detecting tsunami damage from satellite data in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Satellite technology again proved its strength through the extensive use of tsunami images of damage regions of December 2004 Sumatra earthquake and tsunami disaster. Mainly due to continue earth surface monitoring capability, satellites are collecting a valuable set of data (images), which is increasingly developing together with the developments of the computer. From the beginning of the disastrous earthquake and the killer tsunami that killed about 0.25 million people, quake and tsunami warning platforms of remote sensing observations were in action by continually monitoring seismic activities. Satellites exchanged and recorded those seismic data though warning systems, unfortunately not implemented in Indian Ocean to inform about the tsunami. As the result, the killer tsunami traveled thousands of kilometers, and reached African coast taking 8-10 hours, without any warning. The result was the largest natural disaster in Sri Lankan history by the terms of deaths and economic damage. But, some other satellites also monitored the disaster and left valuable data to study the damage. In this study, we used freely available those satellite images that shows the before and after tsunami disaster of Sri Lanka and compare with some images of Sumatra. See figure 01 for general area affected by the Sumatra earthquake and tsunami, and the death toll of each country by after one month of the hit