to what extent did the lack of development contribute to the 2004 asian tsunami?

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Dexter Lim

to what extent did the lack of development contribute to the 2004 asian tsunami?

My definition of contributing means leading to. I think that the factors contributing to the tsunami are lack of development, population growth and land pressure.

Firstly, on the factor on the lack of development, developing countries do not yet have the technology to advance and prepare themselves for a tsunami. Examples are countries such as Indonesia and India, where the development of technology is very minimal, causing great destruction in both places. In Indonesia, there was a lack of development in technology, resulting in no proper warning system in place for the residents to know when a tsunami is coming. There were no tsunami warning systems in the Indian Ocean to detect tsunamis or to warn the general populace living around the ocean. Tsunami detection is not easy because while a tsunami is in deep water it has little height and a network of sensors is needed to detect it. If a country does not have the development in technology to build the suitable warning system, there will be a very low chance of survival if you are living close to the coast, where the risk and danger are the highest from the tsunami. Disseminating the information in Indonesia is a big problem too as the technology required for the dissipation of the warnings to the coastal areas were not there during the period before the tsunami in Asia struck. A country also needs to have the necessary technology to set up relief efforts just after a disaster strikes. The death toll will be higher if there is little or no relief efforts made. Setting up the communications infrastructure to issue timely warnings is an even bigger problem, particularly in a relatively poor part of the world where development in technology is poor. You will also need the development in infrastructure to maximize the safety of the people. The buildings must not be built on floodplains as the stability is very weak. Development in infrastructure also needs to have development in technology as the suitable material to be used for construction of the various housing estates and buildings need to be a specific one that can hold even when a tsunami comes. However, for developing countries such as Indonesia where technology has not been fully developed, the usage of another weak material to build buildings is highly probable as reports have shown that many of the buildings that could not withstand a tsunami off the coast. If they had the development in technology and infrastructure, protection could be induced such as levees. Japan, who had the technology, built many tsunami walls of up to 4.5 metres (15 ft) to protect populated coastal areas. Other localities have built floodgates and channels to redirect the water from incoming tsunami. This can help to slow and moderate the speed and height of the tsunami, preventing destruction. There must also be adequate development in the economic sector as the country needs to have the resources to construct all these buildings. Without the capital, you cannot construct different buildings. In a poor country such as Indonesia, where monetary issues are common, tsunami-resistant buildings are seldom seen. All these factors and examples show that development of technology, infrastructure and economy are very important to a country’s capability with a tsunami. If they had the technology, warning services and dissemination could be in place. The death toll could be smaller. If they had the infrastructural development, buildings would not have collapsed so easily and added to the debris. The death toll could be smaller. If they had the development in the economy, income could be easily produced and could contribute to the construction of tsunami-resistant structures.  If any of these factors are missing, the country is likely to be at a high risk from a tsunami.

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Secondly, on the factor on population growth, developing countries have a high population growth and then this led to many people in the countries. The population growth was especially concentrated along the coastline of the countries. Examples are in Sri Lanka and Phuket. These parts are low-lying therefore attracting many people to stay there. Rapid population growth led to more developed use of tarmac land along the coastline. With the removal of mangroves in Aceh and the building of tourist resorts in Phuket, the coastal landscape was gradually reduced to concrete resorts and tar roads that spoiled ...

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