1. Total Area: : 65,610 sq km Coastline: 1,340 km Population : 19,238,575 Sri Lanka KDW Nandalal Dept. of Civil Engineering, University of Peradenitya, Sri Lanka

2. Sri Lanka is very popular for it’s beautiful beaches

4. It was a normal sunny day in December 26 th of December 2004 a Sunday as as well as a Full moon day (Called as Poya-day and every Poya day is a Special holiday in Sri Lanka) No one was busy It was school vacation Some of them were enjoying on the golden beaches Some were resting at their homes Everyone near coast noted some changes in the sea

5. Those who knew the behavior of the sea wanted to move away from it Curious lot wanted to witness the changes First waves rose more than usual

6. Then beaches were dried out and coastline extended 100s of meters. Some of them started to mark the boundaries on the newly found land Some of them were fishing on the naked beach happily

7. Waves started their journey back

8. Suddenly beautiful waves turned into a hungry dragon and started raging towards the land swallowing every thing on its way

9. Gushing the things in the Hotels

10. Swimming pools filled with sea water

11. It swirled, gushed, uprooted, destroyed and turned upside down of the lives of thousands of Sri Lankans within minutes

13. Where the Yala Safari Beach hotel had been

20. Like to study about a cross section of a road?

21. Roads washed off

22. Check weather the foundation was laid well

23. Who pushed the train out of it rails?

24. How many lives gone with the train?

25. Where had the cars gone?

26. Houses broken into two

27. Uprooted houses and trees

28. What can I do now? Where are my children? My Husband?

29. Burrying the dead bodies

30. Burning some of them

31. Every thing is impermanent! Is that what Statue of Lord Buddha is trying to say?

32. Every one rushed to help Collecting food cloths what ever that can be useful for the victims of the deadly tsunami

33. Foreign aids also starts to flow in

34. Removing whatever that can be used to rebuilt

39. My dear friends, you all have lost your fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, and friends but do not worry We have experienced these kind of things all along the Samsara That is what Lord Buddha taught me