On December 26, 2004, an earthquake with a magnitude of 9.1 originated in the Indian Ocean and caused a tsunami with waves reaching speeds of 500 mph, impacting 14 countries surrounding the Indian Ocean. The epicenter of the earthquake was recorded in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, resulting in the greatest death tolls at 108,100 with 127,700 people missing or presumed dead, and 426,800 displaced. It was one of the deadliest disasters in modern-day history. The destruction of the tsunami spanned multiple countries with recorded casualties occurring several hours later in southern Thailand, Sri Lanka, Chennai (India), and the east coast of Africa.
In the case study, Sandhya Shankar reported the epidemiological details of the disaster found in the literature, it was found that sex, age, and socioeconomic status were significant confounding variables in terms of mortality rates according to a study by Frankenberg et al. The study noted that men and prime-age fishermen had lower mortality rates compared to their counterparts.
In terms of short-term management, Shankar points out that humanitarian donors were effective in raising a total of $13.6 billion dollars to fund the largest coordinated relief operation. However, negotiations determining recovery plans were unsuccessful and reconstruction of the infrastructure and health systems was not achieved, further impacting vulnerable communities with high levels of poverty.
Overall, Shankar summarized that this event will become a valuable reference event for many organizations responding to a large-scale disaster in the future.
Read Sandhya Shankar’s case study here