Impact of Tsunami Impact of Tsunami on on Sri LankaSri Lanka

By By Dr. R. RameezdeenDr. R. Rameezdeen

Sri LankaSri LankaA tropical island situated in the Indian Ocean between the northern latitudes of 50 51’ & 90

51 and eastern longitudes of 790 40’ & 810 55’,

at the base of the Indian Sub-Continent, approximately 24 km to the southeast of India,

880 km north of the equator.

Land Area = 65610 km2

Length (from North to South)= 435 kmWidth (from West to East) = 224 km

Sri Lanka

Geology of Sri LankaGeology of Sri Lanka– The island of Sri Lanka is made of some of the

oldest (Pre-Cambrian) and the most rugged landmasses in the world.

– It is a small fragment of the ancient continent, Pangaea, which broke up about 200 million years ago and underwent the process of continental drift.

– 80% of the island area is composed of metamorphosed sediments intruded into by granites and pegmatite of a later age.

– The Jaffna Peninsular area the northwestern and extreme northeastern coastal belts are underlain by sedimentary deposits of fossiliferouslimestone.

Climate of Sri LankaClimate of Sri Lanka

– The topography in combination with rainfall and Temperature allows a range of climatic variations across the island.

– The annual average rainfall has a considerable spatial variation. The rainfall distribution is influenced by wind regimes connected with two monsoon periods (Northeast and Southwest) and inter monsoon periods determined by equatorial troughs of low pressure in the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone, convection, topography easterly waves and monsoon wind circulation.

– There is a drop in temperature with elevation.– Average annual temperature of Low lands- 270 c– Average annual temperature of Central Highlands- 150 c

DemographyDemography• Total Population

– 19 million• Population Density

– 289/km2

• Average annual growth rate - 1.37%

• Average life expectancy - 67.5 years (males 66 yrs, females 69 years)

(Source: Census of Population and Housing Department of Census &

Statistics, Sri Lanka)

Sinhalese Sri Lanka TamilIndian Tamil Sri Lanka Moor BurgherMalay Other

Ethnic Composition of Sri LankaEthnic Composition of Sri Lanka

Population Distribution by Ethnicity

Indian Tamil 5%

Sri Lanka Moor 8%

Sri Lanka Tamil 4%

Other 1%

Sinhalese 82%

Population Distribution by Ethnicity

(Census of Population and Housing 2001-Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka)

Religious Composition of Sri LankaReligious Composition of Sri Lanka

(Census of Population and Housing 2001-Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka)

Hindu 8%

Islam 8%Roman Catholic 6%

Other Christian 1%

Other 0%

Buddhist 77%

Buddhists HinduIslam Roman CatholicsOther Christian

(Census of Population and Housing 2001-Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka)

Natural Disasters Natural Disasters in Sri Lankain Sri Lanka

Before year 2004, Major Natural Disasters in Sri Lanka were,

•• FloodsFloods•• LandslidesLandslides•• Sea ErosionsSea Erosions•• Cyclones Cyclones •• Droughts Droughts

Floods in Sri Lanka are largely due to excessive rainfall during monsoons.

Landslides and other mass movements in Sri Lanka are associated with the monsoon seasons, unsuitable land management, etc.

Surface winds can increase and become destructive Cyclones when tropical depressions form in the vicinity of the island (mainly in the bay of Bengal).

Droughts occur in the northwestern and southeastern parts of Sri Lanka due to low rainfall.

The Southwestern coastal belt is exposed to frequent Sea erosions.

Number of Deaths Due to Natural Disasters

No. of DeathsYear

30,0002004862003082002062001152000091999051998191997131996011995181994361993

Statistics of the History of Natural

Disasters in Sri Lanka

TsunamiTsunami

The world's fifth-largest quake in a century, erupted deep under the Indian Ocean off thewest coast of Sumatrawest coast of Sumatra ,hit Southern Asiaon 26th December 200426th December 2004,unleashing a tsunami that crashed into Sri Lanka.

TsunamiTsunami• The first tsunami wave began to impact the eastern

coast of Sri Lanka about 100 minutes after the earthquake, at approximately 8:40 a.m.

• The wave surge was recorded at between 5 and 6.5 metres in most of the eastern and northeastern coast, and parts of the southern coast, doing most damage up to 3 metres above mean sea level.

• A secondary wave struck approximately 20 minutes later.

ImpactsImpacts•• 30,000 confirmed deaths30,000 confirmed deaths. Many of the dead were

children and the elderly.

• 1,500,000 people were displaced from their homes.

• The death toll moved up with the threat of infectious diseases started to break out.

• The loss of assets was estimated at US$ 1,000 million or 5% of GDP.

– Nearly 100,000 houses were destroyed along with tens of thousands of vehicles and much infrastructure.

Tsunami overwhelmed a passenger train in southern Sri Lanka, killing some 1,500 passengers.

Recovery and ReconstructionRecovery and Reconstruction

• Rebuilding the communities affected by the Tsunami Disaster, was proposed to carry out under six main considerations.

1.1. ReintegrationReintegration2.2. RehabilitationRehabilitation3.3. New HousingNew Housing4.4. LivelihoodsLivelihoods5.5. Health and EducationHealth and Education6.6. Community CohesionCommunity Cohesion

Recovery and ReconstructionRecovery and Reconstruction

Short Term Measures– Relocation– Relief– Clearing the affected areas– Immediate restoration– Short-term improvements

Road ClearingRoad Clearing

Immediate restorationImmediate restoration

Immediate restorationImmediate restoration

Short term improvementsShort term improvements

Recovery and ReconstructionRecovery and Reconstruction

Medium Term Measures– Relocation of Displaced

People and Counseling– Drawing up plans for long

term resettlement– Drawing up of a master plan

for infrastructure development

– Conduct training Programs– Mitigatory Measures for

public awareness and early Warning

Long Term Measures- Planned Infrastructure

Development

1. Transport

2. Airports and Harbours

3. Towns

4. Housing

5. Schools and Hospitals

- Ocean front and Beach Development

Scale of the Scale of the Recovery and Reconstruction ProcessRecovery and Reconstruction Process

• Estimated total need for long-term recovery: US$ 2.2 billionPledges: 2.8 billionCommitments: 2.1 billionDisbursements: 0.6 billion

• As of December, 2005 54,102 transitional shelters completed and 1,948 transitional shelters in progress .

(Source: TAFREN [Task Force for Rebuilding the Nation])

Percentage Estimated Reconstruction Need

East45%

North19%

West10%

South26%

Galle City• Situated along the South Western coast

of Sri Lanka

• 125 km away from Colombo

• Commercial hub and the port city of the country during pre-British era

Galle Municipality• Covers an area of 16 Sq.Km

• Population is 125,000

• 15 Wards

• 19 members elected by the people

Vision of the Galle MC

To make the city of Galle a clean and healthy place for its residents, tourists, visitors and passers by

Impact of Tsunami on the City of Galle

Galle, Sri Lanka (14 January 2005). Debris was seen everywhere,where small shops werreduced to rubble by tsunami.

Impacts on Impacts on GalleGalle MCMC• 1275 deaths.

• 76,540 people were displaced.

• Galle hospital was washed away.

• Fisherman lost their boats.

• 256 small and medium size businesses got destroyed.

• One major bridge and some roads got damaged.

• Some of the equipment in the Galle MC itself got destroyed.

Recovery and ReconstructionRecovery and Reconstruction

• Relief efforts were carried out immediately after the disaster with the help of people living in other areas of the country and foreign assistance.

• Temporary shelters were provided immediately after the disaster for the displaced.

• Vital infrastructure were repaired immediately with state funding.

Recovery and Reconstruction Recovery and Reconstruction (Cont.)(Cont.)

• People were moved from temporary shelters to transitional ones made out of semi-permanent material (mainly wood).

• Permanent housing programs are underway with the help of foreign governments and NGO/IGO’s .

• Some housing schemes are completed and handed over to the people. Some are still in progress.

Thank youThank you