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

6: Environmental Damage in the Maldives from the Indian Ocean Tsunami

127 6 Environmental Damage in the Maldives from the Indian Ocean Tsunami Koji Fujima The Sumatra Earthquake occurred at 05:58 on December 26, 2004 (local time in the Maldives). The Indian Ocean Tsunami generated by the Sumatra Earthquake propagated across the entire Indian Ocean and caused serious damage across a wide area. The Maldives lies 2,000 km (1,200 miles) from the epicenter. The tide gages were present at Hanimaadhoo in the north, Hulhule in the center (Male International Airport, in the neighborhood of Male), and Gan in the south. The Sea Level Center, University of Hawaii (2004), presents the observation results on its homepage, showing that the tsunami arrived at the Maldives at 09:20, approximately three hours after the earthquake, and that several waves followed the leading crest wave. The first wave was the greatest, with a period of 30–45 minutes; the maximum water level anomalies were 1.7 m (5.61 feet) in Hanimaadhoo, 1.5 m (4.95 feet) in Hulhule, and 1 m (3.3 feet) in Gan. Thus, the tsunami amplitude was not high in comparison with that observed in Indonesia and Thailand. However, the Maldives consists of many low-lying islands, whose maximum ground elevation is approximately 2 m (6.6 feet) above sea level. Thus, the Indian Ocean Tsunami had great effect on people living in the Maldives. The death toll reached eighty-two, with twenty-six people still missing (data from April 1, 2005). Most casualties had been living on nonresort islands in Meemu Atoll, Dhaalu Atoll, Thaa Atoll, and Laamu Atoll. On December 26, 2004, 30,000 people were evacuated out of a total population of 290,000. On January 10, 2005, almost all the residents of thirteen islands had evacuated to 128 Koji Fujima other islands. There were approximately 4,000 damaged buildings, and more than 12,000 people lost their homes. The main industries of the Maldives are tourism and fishing; in 2004, tourism directly contributed 33% to the gross domestic product (GDP) and provided employment for 7,500 people; fishing contributed 9.3% to the GDP and provided 14,000 jobs. However, nineteen of the eighty-three resorts sustained damage, leading to four deaths. In addition, over 120 fishing vessels were seriously damaged. Assuming that the mean number of crew members was ten, approximately 1,200 fishermen lost their income-earning opportunity. In addition, the electricity supply failed on 26 islands, communications were temporarily disabled on 188 islands, and Male International Airport was out of operation for ten hours. The total asset loss was estimated at 62% of the Maldives’ GDP (National Disaster Management Center 2004; Ministry of Planning and National Development 2005). Our survey team visited the Maldives from January 31 to February 4, 2005, to investigate the damage and characteristics of the tsunami impact on the Maldives (Fujima et al. 2005, 2006). In this chapter, the environmental damage caused by the tsunami is introduced, and the protective nature of coral reefs is discussed. Environmental Damage in the Maldives The Maldives consists of many atolls,which consist of many coral islands gathered closely in a ring (fig. 6.1). The atolls lie in a north-south direction, with a combined length of 860 km (516 miles). The water depth is approximately 30–70 m (99–231 feet) inside the atolls and 300–1,000 m (990–3,300 feet) in the channels between atolls. However, the bottom slope is very steep outside the atolls; the water depth 10 km (6 miles) offshore is about 2,000–3,000 m (6,600–9,900 feet). The most serious environmental effect of the tsunami for inhabitants was the polluting of groundwater. The tsunami caused many islands to be covered in seawater,as the maximum ground elevation of the Maldives is approximately 2 m (6.6 feet) above sea level.Thus,groundwater became unsuitable for drinking due to its salinity. In addition, the tsunami moved waste that affected the environment,e.g.,municipal waste from dump sites,animal carcasses,human excreta,generator fuel,asbestos,batteries,and other hazardous materials.There is a possibility that this waste caused deterioration in the quality of groundwater . Moreover, tanks used for the storage of rainwater were washed away. Thus, the availability of drinking water became a serious problem on some islands (photo 6.1). 72˚E 0˚ 2˚N 4˚ 6˚ 74˚ 76˚ 0 25 50 miles 25...