Should you be afraid of a tsunami in Thailand? The history of the beginning of the great catastrophe
The earthquake that occurred on December 26, 2004 off the coast of Indonesia caused a giant wave - a tsunami, recognized as the deadliest natural disaster in modern history.
The epicenter of the disaster was located at a depth of about 20 kilometers under the ocean floor, about 200 kilometers west of the northern tip of the island of Sumatra (Indonesia). The length of the earthquake source in the direction north-northwest (Andaman Sea) - south-southeast (along the coast of the island of Sumatra) was more than a thousand kilometers.
The energy released by an earthquake is approximately equal to the energy of the world's entire stockpile of nuclear weapons or the world's annual energy consumption.
Following this natural disaster, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO was tasked with developing and implementing a Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System in Indian Ocean. In 2005, the Intergovernmental Coordination Group was established. Following eight years of international cooperation under the auspices of the IOC, the Tsunami Warning System became operational in March 2013, with regional tsunami watch centers in Australia, India and Indonesia taking responsibility for transmitting tsunami warnings to Indian Ocean countries.
The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources
Nowadays Thailand is associated all over the world not only with beautiful and popular resorts, where people from different countries, but also with terrible tragedy which occurred here at the beginning of the 21st century. heavily affected by the natural disaster. The earthquake that caused the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami took about 8.5 thousand lives in Thailand alone. In general, this natural disaster was devastating for 18 countries of the world.
Tremors
On the morning of December 26, a powerful earthquake occurred near the northwestern coast (Indonesia). Its magnitude, as scientists later estimated, was at least 9 points. It was among the most powerful earthquakes that have ever been recorded in the entire history of observations.
Proof of its strength can be seen in the fact that the Burmese and Indian tectonic plates, which connect precisely at the location of the island of Sumatra, have moved a long distance. Approximately 1200 km of rock shifted almost overnight by 15 m, and with it a number of islands located near this region. It was the plates that set in motion huge layers of water that turned into the largest tsunami in the Indian Ocean in 2004.
Element of surprise
By tragic accident, it was this popular and crowded resort island of Phuket with foreign tourists that turned out to be completely unprotected from the elements. The fact is that although the tremors occurred not far from the coast, neither the Thais nor the tourists practically felt them. And those who did feel something did not attach any importance to it.
The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which occurred almost immediately after the earthquake, was a complete surprise. Huge waves approached western shores Thailand so quickly that signals of such a serious danger had not yet been received from other countries. The authorities of this state have never before faced a tsunami of such strength. Therefore, it is not surprising that no system of protection against the elements simply existed. People absolutely did not know what to do in such a situation.
Shortly before the tragedy
No one expected that such a large-scale natural disaster as the Indian Ocean tsunami could occur. December 2004 turned out to be successful. Especially the end of the month, since foreign tourists usually flock here to meet New Year V exotic country. But the anticipation of the holiday turned into a real nightmare for many people.
The weather was beautiful that morning and everyone was minding their own business. Thais were getting ready for work, and tourists were relaxing in cozy hotel rooms or on the beach. And it seemed that nothing foreshadowed trouble. But then suddenly an extraordinary sight appeared before people’s eyes. It was truly a colossal ebb. At the same time, the water rolled away from the shore in the blink of an eye, leaving behind a trail of shells, fish and other
Local residents rejoiced at such an easy catch, and tourists tried to pick up free souvenirs. Some people decided to just look at it unusual phenomenon nature, so many of them took video cameras and cameras with them.
Heaven turned to hell
At that moment, no one could predict that the worst was approaching them. The 2004 tsunami rolled up to the shore in the form of ordinary waves, which in shallow water began to rapidly turn into huge shafts reaching 20 m in height. It happened so quickly that there was no time for rescue. People tried to escape from the elements, but, overtaken by a wall of water, they simply disappeared into it.
Most of the fatalities from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in Thailand were those close to shore. Of the 8.5 thousand people, 5.4 thousand are tourists who came here from more than 40 countries. The force of the tsunami was so enormous that the waves went several hundred meters inland, and in some places even up to 2 km.
Light houses were swept away like cards. The buildings of the capital hotels survived, but the windows in them instantly flew out, and the people who were on lower floors, there was practically no chance of survival. When the wave receded, the ground was exposed, everywhere covered with bodies of people, uprooted trees and flattened iron structures.
Needless to say, those few who were lucky enough to survive the first strike of the elements were in a state of shock, which did not allow them to fully comprehend everything that was happening and leave dangerous place. But it didn't end there. The wave returned 2 more times.
Safety
After the earthquake in the Indian Ocean in 2004 caused an unprecedented tsunami and claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, many still do not think about vacationing in Thailand. But in vain! Advertising brochures that offer tourists holidays on beautiful beaches The Thai coast, among other things, promises peace and security. And I must say that they are very close to the truth. The fact is that the tourist season here takes place only in the dry season, when there is practically no rain. Therefore, the risk of flooding is reduced to almost zero.
As for volcanoes, there are only two of them, and even those are considered dormant. This means that not a single fact has been documented in history indicating their eruptions. Earthquakes in these places are also unlikely because Thailand is located in a seismically quiet region of our planet.
Tsunami
As is known, underwater earthquakes occur from time to time at the bottom of the oceans. One of them triggered the huge Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, which hit the west coast of Thailand. But this in no way means that this will happen too often.
The likelihood of a tsunami occurring off the Thai coast is negligible. Judge for yourself: the northern part of the country is protected by the Eurasian continent, from the south it borders on Malaysia, and the eastern part is covered by the western coast. Only from this direction can the danger of a tsunami come. It is almost impossible to determine when the next earthquake will occur, but we can say with confidence that it will not happen very soon.
Alert
After the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake caused a powerful tsunami, Thailand joined the International Deep Sea System. It was created for the purpose of early detection and warning in cases of approaching disasters. The system's sensors are now installed along the west coast of Thailand. Thanks to them, local residents and tourists will be warned about the approaching tsunami and will be able to leave dangerous areas in time.
The system provides for several languages, this is due to the fact that foreigners began to return to Thailand. As is known, travel business in this country it is almost the most important source of infusion of foreign currency into the national economy. That is why all reserves were used to quickly overcome the devastating consequences of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
10 years later
But this tragedy affected not only Thailand. A huge wave covered the coasts of Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia and 14 other countries that are part of the Indian Ocean Rim. Scientists have calculated that the total power of the elements exceeded the energy of all military shells that exploded during the entire Second World War, plus two atomic bombs dropped on japanese islands- this is the power of the tsunami in the Indian Ocean. Ten years later, the exact number of victims has not been established. Too many bodies were carried away by giant waves. The UN published a figure of 230 thousand people, but we will never know the truth. The scale of destruction is simply colossal: 1.6 million people lost their homes, and losses exceeded $15 billion.
The New Year's bustle of 2004 was overshadowed by a terrible disaster - the tsunami in Thailand, which claimed the lives of thousands of people and became the deadliest and most destructive in modern history. The cause of this tragedy was a powerful underwater earthquake that occurred on December 26 at the deep bottom of the Indian Ocean.
According to experts, the magnitude of the tremors ranged from 9.0 to 9.3 on the local Richter scale, which led to the formation of huge waves that brought enormous and irreparable damage, troubles and suffering, deprivation and the bitterness of loss in a short time.
2004 Thailand Tsunami
Day on West coast and the nearby islands began as usual, many people were rushing to work, vacationers were basking on the beaches in the morning rays of the sun, and no one could even think about the impending mortal threat. Before the terrible tsunami in Thailand in 2004, this phenomenon was extremely rare in these parts, which is probably why extreme carelessness and ignorance played a fatal role in this tragedy.
The epicenter of the earthquake was located near the island of Sumatra; at 7:58 a.m. local time, two tectonic plates – Indian and Burmese – collided, resulting in a displacement of one of them by 18 meters.
A sharp change in the position of the 1200-kilometer platform caused a huge drop in the huge volume of water masses. In just a few minutes, there was a critical rise in the water level to the western part of the plate fault, which led to tragic consequences and caused the 2004 tsunami in Thailand.
Catastrophe
Despite the powerful underwater tremors, the earthquake was practically not felt on land. Only an hour later the first signs of trouble began to appear: birds flew away screaming, animals hid and also strove away from the shore, the sound of the surf began to subside, and the water began to quickly recede from the beaches, revealing the seabed.
Instead of being wary, many vacationers rushed to the vacated areas to replenish their collections of shells and collect fish. Even appearing on the horizon high wave no one noticed, since, without a white cap, it was practically invisible against the background of the sea surface.
A tsunami generated by vertical shocks of the ocean floor has one peculiarity. Passing through deep-sea areas, this wave looks like harmless small tubercles, which at the same time rush with very high speed. Approaching the shore, it begins to slow down sharply, forming a huge wall of water with powerful energy potential.
1100 km continental plate has moved forward by as much as 18 meters
A similar tsunami occurred in Phuket in 2004 and on the coast of Thailand. With a wild howl and growl of a wounded predator, thousands of tons of water suddenly fell on the coastal land and rushed with crazy speed to destroy and break everything in their path.
The energy of the water was so great that in some places the ocean deepened into the land up to several kilometers. In Patong, at the moment of impact of a relatively “small” wave of 3-5 meters, a speed of about 500 km per hour was recorded.
When the forces of the elements were exhausted, the water stopped, but after a short period of time, with no less swiftness, it rushed back. And now, for those who escaped, except the mad ones water flows, the danger was everything that the wave carried back to the sea. Trees, pieces of metal structures, concrete, vehicles, furniture - all of these presented deadly traps for the few survivors.
Today on the Internet you can find eyewitness videos about the 2004 tsunami in Thailand, the footage of which shows all the horror and hopelessness of the rampant natural disaster.
Consequences
After the deadly wave subsided, a sad and depressing picture appeared before the eyes of the survivors. It seemed that nuclear military tests had taken place on the site of the recently prosperous resort, which wiped out almost all buildings near the shore from the face of the earth. Large coastal hotels were dilapidated skeletons of iron structures, furniture and interior items turned into heaps of small splinters. The streets were filled with piles of rubbish made from broken wood and concrete, broken glass, mutilated vehicles, poles with broken wires and, worst of all, human bodies and animal corpses.
Shock and horror did not allow the survivors to come to their senses, comprehend the disaster that had happened, and leave after the first water left. scary place. Perhaps then there would have been fewer victims, since the rogue wave returned two more times. As a result of this triple blow, the death toll from the tsunami in Thailand alone numbered in the tens of thousands, and in all of Indonesia in the hundreds.
Mitigation measures
When the water finally receded, local authorities quickly joined the fight to eliminate the destructive effects of the tsunami. Special camps were quickly organized for victims of the disaster, where psychological and material assistance, drinking water and food were provided. Hundreds of mobilized military personnel, volunteers and local police kept order, helped search for survivors and clear away the rubble.
The hot climate and destroyed sewage system could provoke outbreaks of various infections, so the first priority was to locate the dead, possible identification and burial. Many countries contributed to solving this problem by sending everything necessary to eliminate the consequences: people, equipment, materials and humanitarian aid.
Thailand recovered relatively quickly and recovered from the devastating disaster. It has now joined an international system designed to detect deadly waves early and mitigate their effects in the Indian Ocean. It was successfully tested during a tsunami threat in 2012, then all warning systems were activated and a complete evacuation of tourists and the population was carried out.
Now tourism in Thailand is thriving, tourists from all over the world, forgetting about fears of the tsunami, go on vacation to this amazing country, only posters with rules of behavior in case of natural disasters remind us of the 2004 tragedy.
December 26, 2004 looked like an ordinary Sunday. At the beginning of this day, everyone was doing their usual things, including fishermen, Buddhist monks and doctors. Western tourists continued to celebrate an important holiday - Christmas, enjoying the warm tropical sun and blue ocean waters.
At 7:58 a.m. local time, a sudden seafloor rupture occurred 250 kilometers southeast of Banda Aceh, on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia.
An underwater earthquake with a magnitude of 9.1 provoked a rock shift of 1,200 kilometers, as a result of which parts of the bottom were displaced 20 meters upward and a new fault 10 meters deep opened.
This sudden movement released an incredible amount of energy, equivalent to approximately 550 million atomic bombs. When the seabed rose up, it caused a series of huge pulsations in the Indian Ocean and, as a result, a tsunami.
The people closest to the epicenter had some idea of the unfolding disaster - after all, they felt the powerful earthquake and were forced to respond immediately. However, there were no official tsunami warnings.
Around 8:08 a.m., the sea suddenly retreated from the earthquake-ravaged shores of northern Sumatra. Then a series of four huge waves, the highest of which reached 24 meters, burst onto the shore.
As soon as the waves hit the shallow water, in some places they began to turn into even more large monsters, up to 30 meters high.
Sea water rushed inland, cleansing large areas coast of Indonesia from structures and claimed an estimated 168,000 lives.
An hour later the waves reached Thailand; Still unaware of the danger, about 8,200 people were swept under the tsunami waters, including 2,500 foreign tourists.
The waves have overcome the low Maldives, killing 108 people there, and then sped off to India and Sri Lanka, where another 53,000 died in the hours after the quake. The height of the waves was about 12 m.
Seven hours later, a tsunami hit the coast East Africa. However, local authorities were unable to warn residents of the impending danger. Energy from the earthquake killed between 300 and 400 people along Africa's Indian Ocean coast, with most deaths concentrated in the Puntland region of Somalia.
In total, as a result of these tragic events 2004, from 230 to 260 thousand people died. This earthquake was the third largest since 1900, after the Great Chile Earthquake in 1960 (magnitude 9.5) and the Great Alaska Earthquake in 1964 (magnitude 9.2); both of these earthquakes also produced killer tsunamis in the Pacific basin.
The Indian Ocean tsunami is considered the deadliest in recorded history.
Why did so many people die on December 26, 2004?
Densely populated coastal areas and the lack of information about the approaching disaster led to such horrific consequences. Since tsunamis are much more common in Pacific Ocean, he is surrounded by devices warning of danger. Although the Indian Ocean is seismically active, it lacked a warning system despite its densely populated and low-lying coastal areas.
It is possible that the vast majority of victims of the 2004 tsunami could not be saved. Ultimately, the greatest death toll was in Indonesia, where people were hit by a massive earthquake and had only minutes to find elevated shelter to protect them from the threatening giant wave.
However, more than 60,000 people in other countries could have been saved; they had at least an hour to leave coastline. In subsequent years, starting in 2004, authorities in various countries worked hard to improve the Indian Ocean tsunami warning system. It is hoped that timely notification will save many lives in the future.
An earthquake that occurred on December 26, 2004 off the coast of Indonesia caused a giant wave - a tsunami, recognized as the deadliest natural disaster in modern history.
The epicenter of the disaster was located at a depth of about 20 kilometers under the ocean floor, about 200 kilometers west of the northern tip of the island of Sumatra (Indonesia). The length of the earthquake source in the direction north-northwest (Andaman Sea) - south-southeast (along the coast of the island of Sumatra) was more than a thousand kilometers.
The energy released by an earthquake is approximately equal to the energy of the world's entire stockpile of nuclear weapons or the world's annual energy consumption.
Following this natural disaster, UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) was tasked with developing and implementing an Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System. In 2005, the Intergovernmental Coordination Group was established. Following eight years of international cooperation under the auspices of the IOC, the Tsunami Warning System became operational in March 2013, with regional tsunami watch centers in Australia, India and Indonesia taking responsibility for transmitting tsunami warnings to Indian Ocean countries.
The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources