Tsunami in Thailand in 2004 - should we be afraid now

The tsunami in Thailand was one of the largest natural disasters in modern history, which killed more than 200,000 people. In Thailand, 5,395 people died, most of them foreign tourists.

On December 26, 2004 at 00:58 UTC an earthquake with magnitude from 9.1 to 9.3 occurred in the depths of Indian Ocean near the island of Simolue in Indonesia.

This earthquake caused the vertical displacement of astronomically large volumes of water on the bottom line, hundreds and thousands of kilometers long. It produced a series of waves that within hours brought monstrous devastation to the shores of Asia, the worst natural disaster in the resort country of Thailand, resulting in severe damage to property, the environment and the economy.

How often do tsunamis occur in Thailand

In Thailand, not often. The fact is that a number of conditions need to coincide in order for the resulting waves to acquire threatening proportions:

• an earthquake of more than 7 points;
• The epicenter of the earthquake is close to the bottom surface;
• significant vertical displacement of the bottom parts relative to each other;
• the shock caused by an earthquake must resonate with the vibration of the water.

Often traces of a tsunami are recorded only with special technology: the waves generated by an earthquake are a few centimeters high and unnoticeable to humans.

For example, this was the case in 2012, when an earthquake was detected near the west coast of Thailand, namely near Sumatra, the Indian Ocean. An alarm was issued and the evacuation of Phuket island was carried out.

The reached wave was only 10 cm in height: the disaster, fortunately, did not happen.

But the force of nature played its part at the height of the 2004 tourist season, causing the so-called Great Indian Ocean Tsunami. The first wave reached the west coast two hours after the tremor. Unlike Sumatra, Thailand was lucky because the shallowness of the Andaman Sea slowed down the movement of the wave. If the system for responding to such situations had been fine-tuned, the impending danger could have been warned in advance and, if not evacuated, at least people could have been moved to higher ground instead of wandering ashore. The video shows in detail what kind of devastation this led to.

Thailand in its new history has not known such large-scale natural disasters. The previous one, which was recorded in the sources, occurred more than 700 years ago.

Does the tsunami rescue system work in Thailand

The rescue system in Thailand began to be built after the events of 2004:

• warning of an impending wave;
• evacuation of the population and tourists.

In 2012, we had the opportunity to test the rescue system. According to tourists in Phuket at the time, not everyone was evacuated in time. But the warning system worked: Tourists and hotel employees climbed to the roofs of buildings, and those who had time, went to higher ground. The careless and curious wandering on the shore, which was observed in 2004 (see video), was not.

What to do if there is a tsunami

1. stay calm. Even if there was an official warning of a tsunami in Thailand, no one knows how big a wave will reach the shore. The likelihood of a repeat of the 2004 scenario is low. In addition, as of today, Thailand has one of the most powerful tsunami early warning systems in the world.

2. If there was no warning and the sea suddenly "receded," it means that the rescue system in Thailand is not working again - unlikely. Drop everything and run away, following the signs.

3. Get further away from the shore and climb as high as possible. Theoretically, the wave height can reach 30 m (ten-story building), but it is unlikely.

4. There are always several waves. There may be a break of more than an hour between them.

5. It is dangerous to go down to the shore, even if everything seems to have calmed down.