CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
This chapter introduces the coastal hazard that affected the Andaman coast of Thailand and caused the highest death tolls and displacement of people of any
natural disaster in recent history. In its wake, the Indian Ocean Tsunami left millions in South East Asia without any source of livelihood with which to rebuild
their lives. In response to this tragedy, the Post-Tsunami Sustainable Coastal Livelihoods Program was conceived in order to assist five villages in Thailand to
regain their ability to practice occupations. In addition, the program strives to institute livelihood practices that use natural resources more sustainably than prior
to the tsunami. A brief overview of disaster research provides the framework for this investigation of the impacts of post-tsunami perceptions and livelihood and
household damage on willingness to participate in rehabilitation livelihood
projects. Next, the research objectives are presented and terms and operational definitions are described for the purposes of this investigation. The final section of
this chapter describes the organization of this thesis.
1.2 Indian Ocean Tsunami and Its Effects
On December 26, 2004 an earthquake of magnitude 9.2 occurred in the Indian Ocean 155 miles 250 km off the west coast of the island of Sumatra,
Indonesia Briggs et al. 2006, USGS 2006. The earthquake triggered a series of waves, called tsunamis, of up to 30 meters 98 feet that affected twelve countries
2 bordering the Indian Ocean causing fatalities and damage to infrastructure as far as
2,800 miles 4500 kilometers from the point of origin, on the east coat of Somalia United Kingdom Department for International Development 2006, Hossain and
Karklis 2005. These tsunamis inundated coastal areas of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu in India, the Maldives, Malaysia, Burma and the Andaman coast of
Thailand Figure 1.
3
Figure 1. Map of Affected Area and Reported Deaths
Statistics on the damage from these tsunamis range from 210,000-300,000 reported
deaths and 1.6 million-2.5 million people displaced Table 1. In India, the tsunami caused flooding up to three kilometers two miles inland, inundating agricultural
fields with saline water and killing crops Tighe 2006. In addition to injury and loss of life, millions that were affected also lost their means of livelihood.
Source: Hossain and Karklis. 2005
4
Table 1. Estimates of Number of People Affected by Tsunami
SourceDate Number of
Deaths Number
Missing Number
Displaced Livelihoods
Affected
Science. Miller 12 Aug 2005.
176,260 49,682 1,729,155 -
1
United Kingdom Department for International Development.
DFID 1 Mar 2006. 300,000 - 1,600,000 -
Caritas Internationalis. McNally 28 Feb 2006.
230,000 - 1,800,000-
2,500,000 -
Bloomberg News Service. 27 Feb 2006
220,000 - -
Over 2,000,000
Washington Post. 22 Dec 2005
216,858 - -
- UN office of the Special Envoy
for Tsunami Recovery. 26 Dec 2005
230,000 - 2,089,000 1,500,000
Oxfam International. 14 Dec 2005.
181,516 49,936 1,800,000 1,400,000
In Thailand as a result of the tsunami, there were 5,395 reported deaths and the livelihoods of 100,000-120,000 people were affected Miller 2005:1032, UNDP
et al. 2005:5. Along the Andaman coast, about 490 fishing villages were impacted by the tsunami and the total estimated damage to the fishing industry is
approximately 500 million baht US12.7 million
2
UNDP et al. 2005:5. This figure includes an estimated 3,402 small fishing boasts and 1,127 large trawlers
that were either seriously damaged or destroyed by the series of waves. In addition, about 450 rais 177.75 acres of aquaculture farms and over 7,000 aquaculture
ponds were damaged or destroyed UNDP et al. 2005:5. In response to the extent
1
Note: An empty cell indicates that no statistic was published by this organization for this purpose.
2
At the time of this estimate 10 January 2005, 39.230 baht was equal to 1 US Bank of Thailand - Foreign Exchange Rates.
http:www.bot.or.thbothomepagedatabankFinMarketsExchangeRateexchange_e.asp . Accessed:
15 March 2006.
5 of the damage from this event, the U.S. government has provided 5.3 million for
relief and reconstruction efforts to Thailand Kujawa 2006.
1.3 The Post-Tsunami Sustainable Coastal Livelihoods Program USAID project and goals
