TSUNAMI PHUKET, THAILAND 2004

I have conducted the following report to identify the risks and implications to the people living in Phuket, Thailand “Hazard Zone” the aim is to complete a management of proposal to minimize future risk.

I will look at the facts relating to a geological process being a tsunami which is caused by sudden movement of the seafloor and the most common cause is from an earthquake, however the following scenarios can also create a tsunami seafloor landslide, large volcanic eruptions where lava enters the sea, meteorite impact or a seamount collapse. In 1994 and 1995 Thailand experienced the worst floods recorded to date which resulted in 11 million people being affected then we look at 2008 where the population suffered from severe drought. In 2020 Thailand was hit with tropical Noul which caused flash floods, strong winds and waves between 2-4 metres high

Phuket is Thailand’s largest island and is well known with tourist as a relaxing beachside holiday spot measuring 48km long and 21km at its widest, it is positioned in southern Thailand and is West facing towards the Andaman Sea coastline in the Indian ocean.

Thailand sits on the Eurasian tectonic plate therefore is fairly safe from earthquake’s, being positioned approx. 500km East of the earthquake epicentre, which means it takes 2 hours to reach the Western coastline once an Earthquake has occurred. The first and only tsunami reported in Phuket was in 2004 when they had no warning systems in place only risk management therefore had no defence in place to minimise damage and deaths against this natural disaster.

The government reported the 2004 tsunami affected more than 18 countries, there were more than 250,000 deaths, 1,700,000 people were left homeless and 5,000,000-6,000,000 needed emergency aid. The next problem these countries faced was high risk of disease caused from the mixture of freshwater, sewerage and saltwater, overload of patients requiring medical attention, burials of the people who lost their lives and rebuilding the affected areas. Not to mention the economic impacts which include loss of tourism, loss of earnings, the huge cost involved to rebuild infrastructure, crops, livestock and physical and mental health. The environmental impacts include destroyed trees, mangroves, damage to coral reef and coastal wetlands, crops destroyed, and farmland ruined. This then results in destroyed animal habitats by animals drowning and if any chemicals are washed into the sea, then can poison the marine life. Phuket has since improved their risk management and included community awareness into their existing plan along with the installation of two sea level gauge stations on the west coastline of Thailand, these monitor sea-level activity, storm surges and climate change data, these two stations are also connected via satellite to a wider regional network of another 18 gouges across the Indian ocean

 In 2004 Phuket’s population was 159,555 and as of 2021 the population has grown to a staggering 437,963. During the devastating 2004 tsunami 279 people were killed including tourists in Phuket alone whilst the Thai government reported 5,400 confirmed deaths and as stated above more than 250,000 people were killed worldwide. Thailand is a third world country there is still a large part of Thailand where its civilisation is poor and a lot of rural areas, it is dependent on its tourist and agriculture industries.  

 this map reflects the green surface shows the area which is at risk of flooding and the orange surface shows higher ground.

https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.researchgate.net%2Ffigure%2FThe-Tsunami-risk-areas-in-Phuket-Island_tbl3_266354304&psig=AOvVaw1Q4orT8UaAitTTcH6enbOZ&ust=1630298267109000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAkQjhxqFwoTCMDspLq01fICFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

https://reliefweb.int/map/thailand/elevation-map-phuket-island-thailand-29-december-2004

 the lines on this map indicate the coastal areas under 20m in elevation which gives a good indication of the town’s most at risk of a tsunami.

 this map shows the weather radar, the red and black reflect heavy rain/ hail, the green light rain and yellow is moderate rain.

 https://www.bangkokcheaphotels.com/thailand-weather/?doing_wp_cron=1630211789.6464350223541259765625

On the ArcGIS map I have chosen to pinpoint the following risk areas which are important to this hazard zone. Tsunami energy markings, tectonic plate boundaries, reaction earthquake shake intensity, recent earthquake events by magnitude, as these markings are relevant to the hazard zone. I have chosen to also include the tropical storms and flooding areas, as you will see the flooding map is quite interesting as it reflects the areas which are under 20 metres in evaluation, this reflects a lot of the outskirts of the island and shows the risk involved with increasing sea levels in the future.

Map one shows Phuket has more lower surfaces throughout the island therefore is at more risk of flooding, the red markings on the map give an indication of the higher surfaces resulting in less chance of flooding.