Tsunami.

What is tsunami.
• A tsunami is in English pronunciation: , also known as a
seismic sea wave, is a series of waves in a water body
caused by the displacement of a large volume of water,
generally in an ocean or a large lake . Earthquakes
volcanic eruptions and other underwater explosions
(including detonations of underwater nuclear devices),
landslides, glacier calving, meteorite impacts and other
disturbances above or below water all have the
potential to generate a tsunami. Unlike normal ocean
waves which are generated by wind or tides which are
generated by the gravitational pull of the Moon and
Sun, a tsunami is generated by the displacement of
water
The term tsunami, meaning "harbor wave" in literal translation,
comes from the Japanese

• Tsunami waves do not resemble normal undersea currents or sea

waves, because their wavelength is far longer. Rather than
appearing as a breaking wave, a tsunami may instead initially
resemble a rapidly rising tide, and for this reason they are often
referred to as tidal waves, although this usage is not favored by the
scientific community because tsunamis are not tidal in nature.
Tsunamis generally consist of a series of waves with periods ranging
from minutes to hours, arriving in a so-called "internal wave
train". Wave heights of tens of meters can be generated by large
events. Although the impact of tsunamis is limited to coastal areas,
their destructive power can be enormous and they can affect entire
ocean basins; the2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was among the
deadliest natural disasters in human history with at least 230,000
people killed or missing in 14 countries bordering the Indian Ocean
 effects of tsunami.
• The effects of a tsunami are devastating. They are one of the
world's worst natural disasters that can hit a country.
• Tsunami damage is first caused by the immense force of the tidal
wave hitting the shoreline. Tsunami flooding then continues to
cause damage for several more weeks.
• The effects of the tsunami on the country during this period range
from destruction and damage, death, injury, millions of dollars in
financial loss, and long lasting psychological problems for the
inhabitants of the region.
• The initial impact of the tsunami is often publicized across the
world through the news media. However, the actual effects
continue for many years after the natural disaster strikes.
Pictures of effects of tsunami.
 Affected areas of tsunami.
• In total14 countries were affected by the disaster.
These were India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Maldives,
Myanmar, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bangladesh,
South Africa, Madagascar, Kenya, Tanzania and the
Seychelles. Up to five million people
were affected by the tsunami.
Pictures of affected areas of tsunami.
 Impact of Tsunami Relief and Rehabilitation Work in
India
• One of the greatest natural calamities of modern times, the Tsunami that struck
the Indian Ocean shores on the 26th December 2004, left over 300,000 people
dead, thousands injured and millions of survivors left homeless, impoverished and
psychologically scarred for ever. Tamil Nadu was the worst affected state in India
with reconstruction needs estimated at $868 million.

The first ten days were devoted entirely to crisis-management measures like saving
human lives, providing food and medicine and arranging temporary shelter with
necessary provisions, clothes and utensils. The inflow of sufficient relief materials
from governmental and non-governmental sources helped the affected people
tide over their initial sufferings.

After the initial relief work, plans for rehabilitation of the 150,000 Tsunami
affected fisherman families in the costal districts of Tamil Nadu were taken up.
Though a repetition of the disaster cannot be prevented, the degree of destruction
can be lessened through proper precautionary measures and educative
campaigns. The rehabilitation plans were to include these aspects to create a
disaster-resilient habitation that would prepare and protect the people as far as
possible.
The children, as usual in such exigencies, were the most affected
and least cared for. Chances of cruel abuse of affected children
including migratory trends, forced labour, etc., were plenty. In the
Nagapattinam district alone, there were 198 orphans and 978 semi-
orphans, besides hundreds of poverty-stricken and psychologically
affected children. They needed support for economic security,
educational continuity and other rehabilitation assistance. The
community did not have adequate capacity to look after these
needs and NGOs had to step in with necessary assistance.
Pictures of rehabilitation work of
tsunami.