The Indian Ocean Tsunami: The Global Response to a Natural Disaster

7: Tsunami Disasters in Seenigama Village, Sri Lanka, and Taro Town, Japan

135 7 Tsunami Disasters in Seenigama Village, Sri Lanka, and Taro Town, Japan Kenji Yamazaki and Tomoko Yamazaki This chapter describes the Indian Ocean Tsunami disaster that occurred at Seenigama, Sri Lanka, in December 2004, and analyzes the damage done to the village. Then, in order to offer useful suggestions for developing measures to mitigate the damage from tsunamis, the case of Taro Town in Iwate Prefecture , Japan, which has been attacked by tsunamis many times, is introduced and compared with the case of Seenigama. The structure of vulnerability is also discussed as one of the key issues in analyzing a disaster and providing effective measures for mitigation. A research trip to Seenigama,Sri Lanka,was made in 2006.In this village on December 26, 2004, the tsunami killed residents, destroyed many houses, and overturned a train. During the field research, actual damages were observed, and survivors, villagers, and officials were interviewed. Maps of the damage of this village were made based on the field observation and interviews. Research trips to Taro Town were made between 2001 and 2007. Taro Town experienced devastating tsunamis in 1896 and 1933, and some remnants of the experiences can still be observed. There were only 36 survivors out of approximately 2,000 villagers in 1896, and just 1,828 villagers out of 5,120 survived in 1933. Since 1933, however, there has not been any loss of human life caused by tsunamis due to the effective damage mitigation measures the town adopted. Survivors from the great tsunami of 1933 and officials were interviewed. Historical documents and data from municipal government archives were also collected. 136 Yamazaki and Yamazaki The Tsunami in Sri Lanka The tsunami waves reached the coasts of Sri Lanka two hours after the earthquake in Sumatra, Indonesia. All the coastal areas of Sri Lanka were affected by the tsunami.The coasts of the southern and eastern provinces were severely damaged. Seenigama village in Galle province, located in the south, was seriously damaged. During the visit to Seenigama, the following facts were found: • A train was overturned by the tsunami waves. The train was crowded and very few people survived; • Tsunami waves attacked this area many times. The waves reached the ceiling of the first floor of the buildings. Small huts and brick houses were destroyed completely,but some two-story buildings reinforced with concrete were not; • Tsunami waves traveled up to 1.8 km inland.Many houses were flooded, and the walls were damaged by dirty water. Table 7.1. Number of casualties and damaged houses in Sri Lanka Province District Affected houses Evacuated houses Completely destroyed houses Partially destroyed houses Dead Injured Missing Northern Jaffina 14,767 6,676 6,084 1,114 2,640 1,647 540 Northern Killinochi 2,754 407 246 NA 560 670 0 Northern Mullaitivu 6,745 6,007 5,033 424 3,000 2,590 421 Eastern Trincomate 30,547 30,545 4,830 3,835 1,078 1,328 45 Eastern Batticatoa 64,151 15,113 12,232 5,376 2,975 2,375 340 Eastern Ampara 59,275 37,899 14,143 10,547 10,436 6,711 161 Southern Hambantota 14,344 2,808 2,278 1,752 4,500 434 1,334 Southern Matara 21,140 2,235 2,223 6,075 1,342 6,652 600 Southern Galle 24,583 24,165 7,032 7,660 4,330 313 564 Western Kalutara 11,497 8,134 2,683 3,835 279 401 68 Western Colombo 9,647 6,702 3,388 2,210 79 64 12 Western Gampaha 6,827 308 278 414 6 3 5 Northwestern Puttlam 222 23 23 72 4 1 3 Total 266,499 141,022 60,473 43,314 31,229 23,189 4,093 Source: Government of Sri Lanka, July 2005. Colombo Seenigama Galle 0 50 km 25 25 0 50 miles Affected Not Affected GN Divisions Sri Lanka Fig. 7.1. Location of Seenigama village, Sri Lanka. 138 Yamazaki and Yamazaki December 26, 2004, was Poya Day, a full-moon day. As Poya Day is a national holiday, all schools and some government offices are closed. Family members get together to celebrate. Therefore, on December 26, 2004, many people were on their way back to their hometowns by train. The train bound for Matara was crowded. The first tsunami that attacked this area reached the railway...