How high was the tsunami wave in Thailand. The story of the beginning of the great catastrophe. Useful for tourists

Tsunamis in Thailand can occur due to the fact that the country is located near an area of seismic activity. Earthquakes deep in the Indian Ocean can reach the country in the form of a tsunami. After the tragic events of 2004, when a raging water disaster off the coast of Asia claimed more than three hundred thousand civilian lives, a special national seismological service closely monitors the seismic state in the ocean and keeps reports.

The approaching tsunami to Thailand in 2004

If excessive seismic activity is detected, Thai residents will be warned in advance. If a tourist is going to go on vacation to Thailand, then he needs to know what a tsunami is and what consequences they can bring.

The tsunami in Thailand in 2004 began with the fact that on December 26 at 8 a.m. local time a powerful earthquake appeared in the depths of the Indian Ocean, with a power of 9-10.5 points on the Richter scale. After the start of the first seismic activity huge waves In a couple of hours, many residential buildings were demolished. Residents of Asia, and especially Thailand, suffered huge losses.

That day, residents and visitors of Thailand, suspecting nothing, went about their business: some went to work, while others came to the beach in the morning. The tsunami began with tremors that no one felt, so panic arose only when the first waves off the coast of Phuket, reaching a height of about 40 meters, began to demolish everything in their path: houses, trees; flooding residential areas.

The first thing that residents noticed after the tremors was that animals and birds began to panic and hide wherever they could. Then, at about 9 a.m., the water off the coast strangely receded, and people began collecting shells on shallow areas of the water surface. The first shock wave, foreshadowing a tsunami, was about 15 meters high, and it was noticed too late. It lacked a white crest, and for a long time it was invisible against the background of the sea surface.

The shock wave rolled hundreds of meters, or even several kilometers forward overland, demolishing everything that could be demolished: concrete buildings, signs, shops, trees. With the same force, capturing everything carried back with it, the wave moved back towards the ocean. So the flood in Thailand took people's lives with it, killing them with shock waves.

Consequences of the tsunami in Thailand in 2004

Reminder for vacationers

Although a large-scale tsunami has not been observed in Thailand since 2004 to this day, a cautious traveler can really worry about the safety of his stay in Thailand. Therefore, you need to remember a few important points in case such a situation arises.

The Indochinese peninsula covers the territory of the Gulf of Thailand, so tourists traveling to cities such as Pattaya, Koh Samet, Koh Chang and Koh Kood need to worry less than tourists who vacation on Phi Phi or Phuket.

It was previously reported that after the tragic events when floods in Thailand claimed thousands of lives, a center was established to detect the slightest seismic activity. If the seismological service notices even minor fluctuations, then it is their responsibility to inform the authorities, and then the media will disseminate information about the approaching cataclysm on all radio and television channels.

So thrifty tourists should listen to the news of the day on the radio and read local newspapers every day in Thailand; it also wouldn’t hurt to simultaneously view Internet news online. Especially if travelers are vacationing in the southern part of the former kingdom of Siam.

The main signs of an impending flood are:

Something strange is happening to the water off the coast - a rapid ebb begins with such lightning speed that fish and other inhabitants of the seabed do not have time to swim for the water and remain on the sand.
Animals that live on land begin to panic: they run away from their houses to higher ground or hide in other secluded places.

The history of the 2004 flood in cinematography

The tsunami in Thailand left a huge mark on human history. In particular, there is a film that tells about the past events of 2004 in Thailand. The film is called "The Impossible". The story tells how the family of a certain Maria Belon survived the disaster of 2004 and remained alive. The film is based on real events. Maria Belen is a living person, she was actually present during the disaster, but while saving herself, she lost part of her leg. Now Maria works as a lawyer (she is a doctor by profession) and defends people affected by the tsunami in Thailand.

disaster film "The Impossible"

“The Impossible” is a 2012 film directed by a Spanish director. The participant in the real events herself chose the actress for the main role, who successfully played it and received an Oscar for best acting. Maria Belen Alvarez also took an active part in working on the script together with screenwriter Sergio Sanchez.

The plot of the film: a family of five (father, mother and three boys) come to relax in Thailand, and one terrible day a tsunami takes them all by surprise: a man with two children is swimming, and the mother and eldest son are sitting on the shore.

A powerful stream of water of enormous height covers the entire family, and they are forced to flee. The water sweeps away everything in its path, Maria, making titanic efforts, emerges from the water and grabs the branch of a tree. Meanwhile, she notices that her eldest son is being carried away by the stream, and the woman heroically rushes into the pool of water to try to save her child. The story ends well - the father of a family with two younger children finds a mother with her eldest son in one of the hospitals.

Still from the film “The Impossible”

The film was not created with the intention of showing a tragic story with a happy ending. The meaning of the film lies primarily in its title. First, no one expected that a catastrophe of such magnitude could happen so suddenly, nevertheless, it happened. Secondly, the film shows an unimaginable desire to live. The film encourages you not to give up and not leave your loved ones, no matter what happens. It would seem that in such a catastrophic case it is useless to resist and attempt rescue, but the main character proves the opposite.

An earthquake that occurred on December 26, 2004 off the coast of Indonesia caused a giant wave - a tsunami, recognized as the deadliest natural disaster in modern history.

The epicenter of the disaster was located at a depth of about 20 kilometers under the ocean floor, about 200 kilometers west of the northern tip of the island of Sumatra (Indonesia). The length of the earthquake source in the direction north-northwest (Andaman Sea) - south-southeast (along the coast of Sumatra island) was more than a thousand kilometers.

The energy released by an earthquake is approximately equal to the energy of the world's entire stockpile of nuclear weapons or the world's annual energy consumption.

Following this natural disaster, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO was tasked with developing and implementing a Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System in Indian Ocean. In 2005, the Intergovernmental Coordination Group was established. Following eight years of international cooperation under the auspices of the IOC, the Tsunami Warning System became operational in March 2013, with regional tsunami watch centers in Australia, India and Indonesia taking responsibility for transmitting tsunami warnings to Indian Ocean countries.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Tsunamis are long waves caused by an earthquake, explosion or other phenomenon that affects the entire water column. On the open sea, tsunamis are usually harmless and invisible to the naked eye. Small and wide waves, spreading over hundreds of kilometers and moving with very high speed, are practically invisible in the ocean until they reach shallow waters near coastline. And as the distance between the ocean floor and the water column becomes smaller, these short, wide and fast waves are compressed into extremely high and powerful ones, which hit the ground. Depending on the amount of energy released, their height can reach up to 30 meters.

2004 tsunami

The 2004 tsunami that occurred in the Indian Ocean is considered one of the worst natural disasters in human history. It was caused by an undersea earthquake whose magnitude was between 9.1 and 9.3, making it the third-largest earthquake ever recorded.

The tsunami caused by the earthquake killed more than 230,000 people. in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand, displaced hundreds of thousands of people and caused billions of dollars in damage.

Tsunami in Thailand

The tsunami hit Thailand from the southeastern part of the coast Andaman Sea, causing death and destruction from the northern border of Burma to the southern border of Malaysia. The heaviest blow, in terms of losses and destruction, fell on Phang Nga, Phuket and Krabi, not because of their location, but because this is the most developed and densely populated area on the coast.

The timing of the tsunami was also fatal, Christmas morning, which increased Thailand's death toll as... The tsunami hit the most visited tourist destinations on the Andaman coast, just at the peak of holidays, in the morning, when most people were still in their homes or hotel rooms. At least half of Thailand's 5,000 deaths were holidaymakers.

The western part of Phuket's coast was also damaged by the tsunami, and most of the houses, hotels, restaurants and other buildings in the low-lying areas required significant repairs and restoration. Some areas, including Khao Lak, a little north of Phuket in Phang Nga, were almost completely washed away by the waves.

Recovery

Although Thailand suffered the most during the tsunami, it recovered quite quickly compared to other countries. In two years, almost all the damage was eliminated and all the affected areas were restored. And now, having arrived in Phuket, Khao Lak or Phi Phi, you will not see any traces of the tsunami.

Another tsunami?

Caused by an earthquake, the 2004 tsunami is considered the most powerful in the region in the last 700 years. And while smaller earthquakes occur, causing a tsunami, we can only hope that new systems will allow it to be quickly identified and warned, which would be enough to save the majority.

Tsunami warning system

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), uses seismic data and a system of ocean buoys to monitor tsunami activity that monitor and warn of impending tsunamis in the Pacific Ocean basin.

Due to the fact that tsunamis do not reach the coastline immediately after an earthquake (usually this takes a couple of hours, depending on the earthquake, the type of tsunami and the distance from land), a system that can quickly analyze the data on site and warn people on land about the danger , will give many the opportunity to take a high position. During the 2004 tsunami, there was no rapid data analysis or ground-based warning systems, but participating countries have been working to correct this deficiency since then.

After the 2004 tsunami, Thailand set up an evacuation system with emergency towers along the coastline plus radio and television warning messages that clearly indicate evacuation plans in densely populated areas. The 2012 tsunami warning caused by the Indonesian earthquake provided an excellent test of the system. Although ultimately there was no major tsunami, potentially dangerous areas were evacuated fairly quickly.

Could a tsunami hit Pattaya?

A considerable number of tourists are concerned about the question: is it possible to become a victim of a tsunami off the coast of Thailand and specifically in their beloved Pattaya? Annual news from the Philippines and beyond paradises The destructive power of the elements upsets us and forces us to keep our ears open. The “Foreign” portal decided to play it safe: we went to a meeting with Pattaya meteorologists who monitor the state of the sea day and night

Geography lesson

First, let's remember the school geography course and take a close look at the map of Thailand. What do we see? From the west, its coast is washed by the Andaman Sea, which is part of the Indian Ocean, and from the east by the waters of the Gulf of Thailand, which belongs to the Pacific Ocean. The main source of underwater earthquakes that lead to tsunamis is located in the Indian Ocean. Thus, a destructive wave can only affect the western coast of Thailand, where the resorts of Phuket and Phi Phi are located, and will not affect east coast, on which Pattaya is located. This means that Pattaya is definitely not threatened by a tsunami: it is reliably protected from sea disasters by the Gulf of Thailand. In addition, it is not very deep, so you can forget about high waves. Their maximum height at the resort is one to two meters.

Seismic system of Pattaya. Photo: Sasha Kaverina

There is a meteorological center in Pattaya that is vigilant! Photo: Sasha Kaverina

Weather forecast

The risk of a tsunami in Pattaya is minimal, say meteorologists Pupa and Blue, who work at the local weather station. Observation of weather conditions is carried out around the clock. True, the main attention is paid to the amount of precipitation, wind direction and temperature indicators. Nobody worries about a tsunami here: according to station workers, Pattaya is located far from seismically dangerous areas.

Well, what if suddenly? For this “suddenly” the weather station has a special seismic system. Now it is closed with an impressive castle and carefully fenced. However, meteorologists themselves have never seen it in action.We won't burden you with technical details. Just know that there is some sort of transmitter located under the sturdy cover. If a tsunami occurs, it will report it to the central office in Bangkok and then transmit orders from there to local services. And they, in turn, will carry out a quick evacuation of the population and meet the elements fully armed.

To find out more, you can visit the weather station yourself and ask local weather forecasters. Who, by the way, wear skirts and run a mini-kennel for animals at work. Weather station p located on a hill Pratamnak Andopen to visitors daily from 8:00 to 16:00.

Alert system

The devastating tsunami of 2004 opened the eyes of the Thai authorities to the fact that there was no disaster warning system in the country. This gap was quickly corrected by creating a special tsunami detection system in the Indian Ocean in 2006. In the event of underwater disturbances, it will instantly transmit information to a tower located on

Natural disasters have always claimed thousands of human lives, so now the population takes them seriously. However, the tsunami in Thailand is much worse than usual disasters due to the tourism business, which attracts millions of visitors to resorts. Before you understand the danger of everything that is happening, you need to remember when there was a tsunami in Thailand.

2004 tsunami

The first tsunami in Thailand in 2004, grandiose in its scope and horror, was the 2004 tsunami. Then a catastrophe of colossal proportions occurred, but only local population. The number of visitors to the resorts turned out to be minimal, but the victims of the 2004 tsunami in Thailand were still significant. However, the infrastructure was partially destroyed, as well as numerous buildings. As a result, some small settlements have had to rebuild completely, which has proven to be a difficult task.

Today you can find a video about the 2004 tsunami in Thailand that shows the events directly from the epicenter. Because of this, the disaster is still often remembered by people, although some tourists consider it only as a separate excursion to new story states.

2013 tsunami

After the disaster, many people thought that this was an isolated phenomenon that would not happen again in the future. However, years passed and a second event occurred - the 2013 Thai tsunami. This moment remained in the memory of mankind for all time, as it destroyed vast areas, simultaneously claiming thousands of human victims. Because of this, many analysts consider it one of the most significant disasters in recent years.

A film has now been made about the 2013 Thai tsunami, which best describes all the horrors of what was happening. Of course, these are just shootings, but they completely coincide with reality, so it’s better to look at individual frames. Then both the local population and tourists died, after which some agencies chose to temporarily refuse to sell tickets to this resort.

How did the tsunami end for the country?

The tsunami in Thailand in 2004 almost completely wiped out Phuket from the face of the planet. Many experts thought that the city would recover too slowly and would gradually lose its significance. However, now the 2004 tsunami in Thailand and the number of victims are forgotten. Tourists are visiting developed again resort town, filled with various entertainment and surrounded by amazing nature.

But in 2013 the situation turned out to be completely different. The number of victims among visitors is high, so tourist trips stopped for a while. Of course, this entailed serious problems for the entire country, since the local population for the most part lives off visitors who buy souvenirs and go on excursions. The question remains: when will the popularity of beautiful landscapes and warm weather return? sea water, which for many decades remained a source of income for the state budget.

Where in Thailand the tsunami occurred is not so important. The events that took place most seriously affected the economy of the entire country, so some analysts still look at the tourism sector with doubt. They are not sure that they will find the necessary cash to quickly restore infrastructure and offer new hotels to all visitors. Yes, and resort guests are slowly calming down and preparing for upcoming holidays. Many of them, after a catastrophic event, no longer even want to get out of hometown, not to mention a trip to Asia.