Impact of the 26-12-04 tsunami

The overview by country presented here is based on information from local sources and from Internet:

Click to open a map which shows the coastal areas with damage by the Tsunami.

The tsunami disaster in the coastal areas of the Indian Ocean in South-Asia and Africa has serious consequences for the domestic water supply.

The water supply infrastructure has been wiped out in many places. Fortunately emergency measures are being taken to organize the supply of clean drinking water to the population. Also plans are already in preparation to reconstruct the water supply systems. In many parts of the affected areas groundwater is a major source of water. The flooding of the coastal areas by seawater and the spreading of pollutants from waste, chemicals, corpses, etc. during and after the tsunami, may have deteriorated the quality of the groundwater. This could have large consequences for the reconstruction of the water supply facilities. An overview of the groundwater conditions may provide valuable information for these reconstruction activities. IGRAC has taken the initiative to prepare an overview of the effects of the tsunami on the groundwater.

This overview will describe:

Which groundwater areas are affected most?
In which areas are the groundwater conditions seriously deteriorated?
Which actions are already undertaken by the responsible local authorities?
Which other organisations are assisting (or are planning to assist) and what are their plans?
Which additional external support is needed and appreciated?

IGRAC will compose the overview from the knowledge already available at IGRAC and other cooperating agencies and from the information obtained from the local organizations and aid agencies. The overview will be updated continuously. In this respect, information is foremost needed on the sources of the destroyed water supply systems and the groundwater conditions after the disaster.