Across Asia today, memorials were held in remembrance of the thousands of victims. Amid the commemorations, continued warnings from earthquake experts that early-warning systems need even more development and funding in the region. Gathered here are images of the event, a series of then-and-now comparison images, and photos from today's memorials.
Seawater splashes in the air as the the first tsunami waves hit Ao Nang, Krabi Province, Thailand, on December 26, Foreign tourists far out on the sand after the water receded react as the first of six tsunami waves started to roll towards Hat Rai Lay Beach, near Krabi in southern Thailand, on December 26, People flee as a tsunami wave comes crashing ashore at Koh Raya, part of Thailand's territory in the Andaman islands, 23 kilometers from Phuket island, southern Thailand, on December 26, The photographer who took this picture escaped without injury, but retreated at the first wave and watched as a second wave tore apart the wooden buildings, with a third and largest wave coming forward and "ripping apart the cement buildings like they were made of balsa wood".
Waves wash through houses at Maddampegama, about 60 kilometers 38 miles south of Colombo, Sri Lanka, on December 26, Tsunami waves triggered by earthquakes crashed into villages along a wide stretch of Sri Lankan coast, killing more than 35, people and displacing millions. In this photo taken by a tourist Eric Skitzi from England, tourists watch as tsunami waves hit the shore from inside the Casuarina Beach Hotel resort in Penang, northwestern Malaysia around pm local time GMT on December 26, The resort hotel lifeguards noticed waves were huge and sounded warning to all tourists around the hotel beach area to run to the safety area.
Waves crash through houses at Maddampegama, Sri Lanka, on December 26, A natural color satellite image shows the coastline of the southwestern city of Kalutara, Sri Lanka on December 26, at a. An aerial view of a destroyed and flooded village after waves hit following an earthquake near the provincial capital of Banda Aceh, Aceh province, Indonesia, on December 28, A general view of the scene at Marina beach in Madras, India, on December 26, , after tsunami waves hit the region.
Waves devastated the southern Indian coastline killing an estimated 18, people. An aerial view of Marina beach after a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in the Indian Ocean hit the area in the southern Indian city of Madras on December 26, But equally, the survivors may have protective traits that are associated with better health and longevity.
We examined mortality for survivors at five years and ten years after the tsunami. We found that among adults, both these factors are in play and that they operate differently for men and women. Five years after the tsunami, there is clear evidence that for male survivors who were aged 50 and above when the disaster took place, those from heavily affected areas were more likely to still be alive than those from relatively unaffected areas.
But for women over 50, the reverse was true: we found that survivors from heavily damaged areas were at higher risk of dying over the next five years than women from unaffected areas. These basic patterns were still apparent ten years after the disaster. But by this point, the evidence shows that in particular, post-traumatic stress for older men or the loss of a spouse for older women decreased the likelihood them still being alive.
Although the two events are of course extremely different, these results should encourage us to reflect on what the long-term health effects of the COVID pandemic might be.
A large fraction of the people in our study reported high levels of post traumatic stress symptoms; for some, these resolved quickly but for others, they persisted for several years. Our evidence shows that 13 years after the tsunami, adults who directly experienced the tsunami had thicker waists, were more likely to have elevated inflammation levels indicating infection or illness , and more likely to have difficulties regulating glucose levels.
These patterns point to a long-term scarring that gets under the skin and will likely affect disease progression and mortality in the years to come. Specifically, several established biological markers indicate that some survivors who directly experienced the tsunami are at higher risk of chronic illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes.
Again, this raises questions as to how the stresses of the COVID pandemic will affect long-term health. For very young children, we found that exposure to the tsunami could leave its mark on growth. Child height is a powerful predictor of health, mortality and socio-economic status in adulthood. It is largely determined in the first few years of life.
We document that children who were in utero at the time of the tsunami were small at birth and significantly shorter at age three. For many of the children, these deficits were made up in subsequent years and they eventually attained the same height given age and gender as peers not yet conceived when the tsunami took place.
This suggests that, at least in this dimension of wellbeing, resilience is high, although we cannot rule out longer term consequences of rapid catch-up growth that may be linked to elevated risks of poor health in adulthood. We have focused here on differences in the evolution of health by level of exposure to the tsunami and the stress it caused. But efforts to help affected populations meet basic needs and recover after the disaster changed the environment, possibly in ways that positively affected people.
In addition to providing immediate help for things like water, food, clothing and shelter, over time assistance programmes provided work opportunities as well as funds and materials to rebuild houses, schools, health facilities, community centres, mosques, roads and other infrastructure.
Borrero remembers coming upon a colossal freighter loaded with bags of cement that had been flipped on its back with its propeller in the air. Titov will never forget the scene of widespread devastation he witnessed on Sumatra even months after the tsunami waters had subsided.
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