Abstract:
The December 26, 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake that registered a moment
magnitude (Mw) of 9.1 was one of the largest earthquakes in the world since 1900. The devastating
tsunami that resulted from this earthquake caused more casualties than any previously reported tsunami.
The number of fatalities and missing persons in the most seriously affected countries were Indonesia -
167,736, Sri Lanka - 35,322, India - 18,045 and Thailand - 8,212. This paper describes two field visits to
assess tsunami effects in Sri Lanka by a combined team of Japanese and Sri Lankan researchers. The first
field visit from December 30, 2004 – January 04, 2005 covered the western and southern coasts of Sri
Lanka including the cities of Moratuwa, Beruwala, Bentota, Pereliya, Hikkaduwa, Galle, Talpe, Matara,
Tangalla and Hambantota. The objectives of the first field visit were to investigate the damage caused by
the tsunami and to obtain eyewitness information about wave arrival times. The second field visit from
March 10–18, 2005 covered the eastern and southern coasts of Sri Lanka and included Trincomalee,
Batticaloa, Arugam Bay, Yala National Park and Kirinda. The objectives of the second visit were mainly
to obtain eyewitness information about wave arrival times and inundation data, and to take relevant
measurements using GPS instruments.
