The Maldives

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 389.

Sri Lanka

The first wave hit Sri Lanka with no recede and no warning, The waves, up to six of them, weighing over 100 billion tons, rushed inland like a giant tide. As they hit Sri Lanka's southern tip, they began to change direction, an effect called refraction.

The part of a wave closest to the shore slowed down in the shallow water, leaving the outer part, travelling at faster speeds, to bend around the island. The southwest coast of Sri Lanka, the side that should have been safe, was suddenly in the waves' direct line. Cities such as Galle were destroyed; over 4,000 people died in this region alone. The waves carried on further north to India, where they killed 10,000 people.

Next in the waves' line, was one of the lowest lying countries on Earth - the Maldives. Miraculously, although 80 people died here, this country relatively unscathed.

It seems that due to their unique geography, being the tips of underwater volcanoes and without a continental shelf to push the wave height up, the tsunami just washed through. Coral reefs are also thought to have protected the country, acting like a giant underwater colander, stripping the waves of energy.

As the waves left the Maldives, they passed through a narrow gap between the island chains, focusing their energy directly at Somalia, where 300 people lost their lives.

In Kenya, the waves, when they hit were small; their energy further removed by the landmasses of the Seychelles and Diego Garcia.

They had also seen the news reports and evacuated the beaches; only one person died.

The last victim of a natural disaster that had claimed 300,000 with hundreds still unaccounted for.

Answer the following questions:

1. What is the difference between strike-slip and subduction zone quakes?

2. What were the sequences of the subduction zone quake in the island of Simueleu?

3. What triggered tsunami?

4. What was tsunami in Sumatra like?

5. What are the usual omens of tsunami? How do animals predict the disaster?

6. How big was tsunami devastation in Thailand? Could there have been fewer casualties?

7. What were the aftermaths of tsunami in Sri Lanka? Were they predictable?

8. Were the Maldives luckier than other regions? Why?

5 (a). Read about the aftermaths of the disaster. Pay attention to the highlighted words.