Sumartran Tsunami

On December 26, 2004 a wave of destruction hit the coasts along the Indian Ocean, affecting lives all over the world. Not only did this disaster bring about a world wide relief effort, but caused a reevaluation of the lack of warning systems in place for many regions threatened by seismic activity and potential devastating coastal impact of seafloor earthquakes. Six months later, information abounds in text, television, and periodicals for any lay person to research. The diversity of perspective is another matter.

Depending on the source, subjects will range from brief plate tectonic education to in depth geophysical analysis, from calls for aid involvement to calls for answers revolving around predictability and warning.

If a curious student takes a sampling of just a few periodicals, two tuned to a general audience, and one designed to address information in a scholarly manner, that person can easily identify the characteristics and perspective of each. It is important to note, sources focused on human geography and public relations appear to have responded quicker with information and relayed simple geographical concepts, whereas scholarly journals and scientific periodicals are continuing the process of analyzing data and research-oriented information gathering, therefore these magazines are, even after six months, persevering in their quest to present articles, and will more than likely be publishing relevant articles in the future.

The National Geographic Society is good source of information, and no person can argue the artistry of its presentation, however, the magazine, and its television and internet productions are directed toward a curious, but mostly naive audience. If searching for an overview, a middle man one may say, National Geographic does provide a history and account of the event in “The Deadliest Tsunami in History” (National Geographic News, Jan 7, 2005). Organized and succinct, the article begins with a few simple facts about the wave making process and tsunami characteristics, even dispelling myths that a tsunami is a single destructive tidal wave, but actually a series of wave building processes resulting from the shifting of the earth undersea due to seismic activity. The article goes on to include human interest stories, not overlooking an account where an Indian man after remembering a National Geographic program, saves the li8ves of more than 1,500 of his fellow villagers. Lastly, the article discusses potential residual hazards of the event, presenting issues such as famine and disease epidemics due to the lack of clean water and food supplies diminished from the disaster.