Somewhere from 228,000 to 310,000 people are thought to have died as a result of the tsunami, and the count is not yet complete. The true final toll may never be known due to bodies having been swept out to sea. Relief agencies warn of the possibility of more deaths to come as a result of epidemics caused by disease, but the threat of seems now to have been largely averted.
The economic impact on , some of the poorest people in the region, has been devastating with high losses of fishermen as well as boats and fishing gear. In Sri Lanka's coastal areas, for example, fishery is an important source of fish for local markets and industrial fishery is the major economic activity, providing employment to about 250 000 people. In recent years the fishing industry has become a dynamic trade sector, generating substantial foreign exchange earnings.
But some economists believe that damage to the affected countries' economies will be minor because losses in the tourism and fishing industries are a relatively small percentage of the .In some areas, drinking water supplies and farm fields may have been contaminated for years by salt water from the ocean. Both the earthquake and the tsunami may have affected shipping in the by changing the depth of the seabed and by disturbing navigational buoys and old shipwrecks. Making new navigational charts may take months or years
Beyond the heavy toll on human lives, the Indian Ocean earthquake has caused an enormous environmental impact which will affect the region for many years to come. It has been reported that severe damage has been inflicted on , , , coastal , , sand and formations. In addition, the spread of solid and liquid waste and industrial chemicals, and the destruction of collectors and treatment plants threaten the environment even further. The environmental impact will take a long time and significant resources to repair.
Being in the Maldives myself at the time, I was very lucky to have no deaths or major damage to my island and will be an experience I will never forget. Here are some of the pictures I captured during the tsunami.
