2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami - Possible Human Component in Magnitude of Damage

Possible Human Component in Magnitude of Damage

In an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal, published five days after the tsunami, a journalist, Andrew Browne, argued that the human destruction of coral reefs may have played a role in exacerbating the destruction caused by the tsunami. Many countries across Asia, including Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, have put forth efforts to destroy the coral surrounding their beaches, and instead make way for shrimp farms and other economic choices. On the Surin Island chain of Thailand's coast, Browne argued, people may have been saved as the tsunami rushed against the coral reefs, lessening its impact. However, there were many fewer people on these islands, which helps explain the lower death toll. Many reefs areas around the Indian Ocean have been destroyed using dynamite because they are considered impediments to shipping, an important part of the South Asian economy. Similarly, Browne argued that the removal of coastal mangrove trees may have intensified the effect of the tsunami in some locations. He argued that these trees, which lined the coast but were removed to make way for coastal residences, might have lessened the force of the tsunami, in certain areas. Another factor, Browne argued, is the removal of coastal sand dunes.

Read more about this topic:  2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake And Tsunami

Famous quotes containing the words human, component, magnitude and/or damage:

    I hate to be near the sea, and to hear it roaring and raging like a wild beast in its den. It puts me in mind of the everlasting efforts of the human mind, struggling to be free, and ending just where it began.
    William Hazlitt (1778–1830)

    ... no one knows anything about a strike until he has seen it break down into its component parts of human beings.
    Mary Heaton Vorse (1874–1966)

    Sometimes you’re overwhelmed when a thing comes, and you do not realize the magnitude of the affair at that moment. When you get away from it, you wonder, did it really happen to you.
    Marian Anderson (1902–1993)

    I came to explore the wreck.
    The words are purposes.
    The words are maps.
    I came to see the damage that was done
    and the treasures that prevail.
    Adrienne Rich (b. 1929)