What you need to know about tsunamis in Thailand

What is a tsunami?

Tsunamis are large waves caused by water usually caused by an earthquake, explosion or other event to move too much water. In the open ocean tsunamis are usually harmless and imperceptible to the human eye. At the start of the tsunami waves are small and big - wave height can be as small as a foot and hundreds of miles long and moving very fast, so they practically unnoticed until the can go reach shallow water near land.

But as the distance between the bottom of the seabed and the water is small, short, fast, big waves in very high waves, powerful washing compressed ashore. Is according to the amount involved in energy, they can reach more than 100 meters high. More information about tsunamis.

The 2004 tsunami

The 2004 tsunami, called the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, Indonesia in 2004 Boxing Day tsunami and 2004 was one of the worst natural disasters in history. It was triggered by an undersea earthquake with an estimated magnitude of between 9.1 to 9.3, making it the third most powerful earthquake ever recorded.

The great earthquake tsunami generated more than 230,000 people in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand, killed the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people and caused billions of dollars in property damage.

The impact of the tsunami in Thailand

The tsunami hit the south-west coast of Thailand in the Andaman Sea, causing death and destruction in the northern border with Burma on the southern border with Malaysia.

The most affected areas in terms of loss of life and destruction of property were not only for its location but because it developed in Phang Nga, Phuket and Krabi, the most densely populated areas of the coast and more.

The time of the tsunami, the morning after Christmas, intensifying the loss of human lives in Thailand, to the popular tourist areas hit in the Andaman coast during the holiday season, in the morning when many people still in their homes or hotel rooms. Nearly half abroad were killed at least 5,000 people in Thailand on holiday.

Much of the west coast of Phuket was severely damaged by the tsunami, and most of the houses, hotels, restaurants and other structures with little mass needs major repair or reconstruction. Some areas, including Khao Lak, north of Phuket, Phang Nga, were almost completely destroyed by the waves.

Reconstitution

Although Thailand has suffered great damage during the tsunami, it was compared to most other countries to quickly rebuild. Within two years, almost all the damage had been removed and reconstructed the affected areas. Phuket, Khao Lak and Phi Phi travel these days, and you probably will not see a trace of evidence of the tsunami.

Another tsunami is likely?

The 2004 tsunami was an exceptionally rare event was an earthquake probably the biggest in the region triggered seen in 700 years. Although small earthquake could also trigger tsunamis, if one should occur, you would have to wait for the new systems to detect and warn about tsunamis people enough to be to save the most amount of people.

Tsunami Warning System

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with seismic and ocean buoy system to monitor the activity of the tsunami and issue bulletins, watches and warnings of impending tsunamis in the Pacific Basin.

Since no tsunami on the ground immediately after generation (the so long it can take as many hours, depending on the earthquake, the tsunami and the nature of the distance from the earth), if there is a system to quickly analyze data and communicate risk from people on the ground, most will have time to get to a higher level. When analyzing the 2004 tsunami or high-speed data or on the ground warning systems were in place, but since then countries have been working to close this gap.

After the tsunami in 2004 Thailand has created a clearly marked tsunami evacuation system with bell towers along the coast, as well as radio, television and SMS alarm and escape routes in densely populated areas. The warning in April 2012 tsunami was caused by an earthquake in Indonesia an excellent test of the system. Although no massive tsunami ultimately at least in Thailand all areas potentially affected were evacuated quickly. For more information about the production of a tsunami, but be aware that tsunamis are rare events and it is very unlikely that you will experience a journey through time in Thailand.