The Risk of Tsunamis in Southeast Asia

As a consequence of the earthquake and tsunami disaster in the Indian Ocean in Southeast Asia on the 26th of December 2004, NGI initiated and implemented a study of tsunami risks for the government of Thailand in 2005.

More than 250 000 people were killed when a very strong earthquake triggered a tsunami in the Indian Ocean in Southeast Asia on the 26th of December 2004. The tsunami also caused immense material destruction along the coasts of Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Maldives, Sri Lanka and India, as well as several countries in East Africa.

The project was carried out in cooperation with DMR (Department of Mineral Resources) and CCOP (Coordinating Committee for Geoscience Programs in East and Southeast Asia), and was financed by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Among the most important conclusions of the project was that tsunamis above three meters in height are not expected in the course of the next 50 - 100 years, and therefore that the risk associated with tsunamis for now is acceptable. This project was finished in 2007 and a similar study regarding potential tsunamis in the Southeast Asia region, with special attention to Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam, is now being carried out.

Links to:
Summary report, Comprehensive report