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

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

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

4. 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

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

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

9. 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

11. Disaster Impacts
Crowded 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

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