Phuket, Thailand & the Indonesia Tsunami of 2004 Natural Disaster Case Study ENVI 485 Justin Gamble

Introduction - Phuket Island off west coast of Thailand Major tourist attraction – beaches/resorts 870 km from Bangkok 6th most populated province in Thailand

Introduction – Phuket cont. Geography: 30% land area low-lying coastal plains Economy: tourism, agriculture, aquaculture Population: 1.6m prior to tsunami

Phuket – Geologic Setting Located 500km NE of tsunami source – Sunda Trench subduction zone Surrounded by shallow waters of Malacca Straits – southeast Andaman Sea Most tourist beaches face southwest = direct path of tsunami propagation

The Sumatran Earthquake Subducting Indian Plate under Burma Microplate Sunday, Dec 26th 2004 Megathrust earthquake occurs @ 0:58 UTC: 9.3 magnitude 1600km of faultline ruptures northward from Aceh, thrusts about 15m upward

The Sumatran Earthquake 2 rupture phases over several minutes First rupture caused largest waves, fault movement at 6300mph Initial fracture occurred 30km deep @ subduction zone, 50km off Sumatra coast

Incident Timeline 1:07 UTC- NOAA detects earthquake, issues bulletin: no tsunami threat First notification of tsunami: 41 min after 9m wave hits Banda Aceh 2:33 UTC- first wave hits Phuket, 3-5m wave height in most areas

Disaster Impacts Crowded beaches @ time of first wave + high tide = greater flooding 250+ dead or missing, exact # unknown Hundreds of homes & beach resorts destroyed Beachgoers: visual confirmation & escape Townspeople: less chance of survival

Preparedness No local warning system in place for Phuket Limited local knowledge – tourists NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center: ineffective? No advanced earthquake prediction – not all underwater quakes cause tsunamis

Disaster Response Initial response: rapid mobilization of Thai Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) Deployed personnel for casualty assessment, ID dead, local health-care Thai-U.S. collaboration – dispensed relief workers to Phuket & other provinces WHO – rapid assessment tool for data on infrastructure damage

Effectiveness of Response Dec 26th-Jan 11th: efficient efforts by MOPH in establishing functioning medical system Weeks after initial response: monitoring for infectious disease, concern for outbreaks Long term (post Feb 2005): ID of missing persons, reconstruction phases

Reconstruction Various foreign aid & NGO interaction Habitat for Humanity – local housing projects over past 2 years Many private investors – restoring beach hotels & resorts USAID projects – humanitarian relief & education

Lessons Learned Need for effective communication system across Thailand coast -new methods of severity prediction Many locals & tourists unaware of signs of incoming tsunami Dense tourist-based coastal infrastructure = catastrophic damages/casualties

Recommendations Continuing public education programs Design quick evacuation routes Placement of more coastal lookouts International cooperation in warning systems