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PMEL Publications Abstract

FY 2007

Inundation during the 26 December 2004 tsunami

Synolakis, C.E., J.C. Borrero, H. Fritz, V.V. Titov, and E. Okal

In Coastal Engineering 2006—Proceedings of the 30th International Conference, San Diego, CA, 3–8 December 2006, 1625–1637 (2007)

We summarize findings and observations from the field surveys conducted in the aftermath of the 26 December 2004 tsunami. This was the first tsunami with transoceanic impact, since comprehensive post-event hydrodynamic surveys began to be conducted in the early 1990s, with modern measurement tools. Eighteen nations were directly affected: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, India, Sri Lanka, Oman, Yemen, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Madagascar, the Maldives, the Comoros, Rodrigues, Mauritius, Reunion, Seychelles. The death toll included citizens from many other countries in Asia, Europe, the South Pacific, and the Americas, giving this tsunami the grim distinction of being the first universal natural disaster of modern times.

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