Restless Earth Case Study - Boxing Day Tsunami

Question 1

Where was the tsunami?

Answer 1

Indian Ocean, west of Indonesia

Question 2

What type of plate boundary did it occur on?

Answer 2

Destructive plate margin

Question 3

Why did it happen?

Answer 3

Caused by an earthquake measuring a 9.1 on the Richter scale, caused by the movement of the indo-australian plate subducting below the Eurasian plate. It caused the sea floor to uplift, displacing the sea water above

Question 4

Facts about the tsunami itself

Answer 4

In open ocean it measured less than 1m high, but when it reached shores it increased up to 15m in some areas. It travelled at speeds up to 800km per hour

Question 5

What were the short term responses?

Answer 5

Hundreds of millions of pounds pledged by foreign governments charities and individuals for water, food and medical attention.
Foreign countries sent ships, planes, soldiers and specialist to help rescue, distribute supplies and clear up

Question 6

What were the long term responses?

Answer 6

Billions pledged to rebuild infrastructure
Early warning system between countries surrounding Indian Ocean was set up
Disaster management plans put into place in some countries, with volunteers being trained.

Question 7

What were the short term effects of the tsunami?

Answer 7

230,000 deaths
Over 1.7 million lost homes
Infrastructure of many countries severely damaged
5-6 million people needed emergency food, water and medical supplies

Question 8

What were the long term effects of the tsunami?

Answer 8

International countries provided short term aid - water purification tablets, medical supplies and housing
Massive economic damage, so islands reliant on tourism (eg Maldives) or fishing had to rebuild their industries
Environmental damage - salt from seawater stopped plant growth

Question 9

When was the Boxing Day tsunami?

Answer 9

26th December 2004