Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Hagan, AB
• Foster, R
• Perera, N
• Gunawan, CA
• Silaban, I
• Yaha, Y
• Manuputty, Y
• Hazam, I
• Hodgson, G

Titel

Tsunami Impacts in Aceh Province and North Sumatra, Indonesia

Ist Teil von

• Atoll research bulletin, 2007-07, Vol.544, p.37-54

Erscheinungsjahr

2007

Quelle

EZB Electronic Journals Library

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• The huge earthquake and resulting tsunami which occurred on December 26, 2004 off the west coast of Sumatra resulted in regionally variable patterns of impact in and around the Indian Ocean basin. The coast of Sumatra was close to the earthquake epicenter and was the first to be struck, within one hour of the event. A collaborative expedition between the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation, Reef Check International and IUCN (World Conservation Union) to the northwest coast of Sumatra and Aceh Province, Indonesia, was conducted in October 2005. Reef surveys were conducted using two methods: Manta Tow and the Reef Check Plus protocol. A total of 9 sites (8 offshore island sites and 1 mainland Aceh site) were surveyed over a distance of 650 km. Typically tsunami damage was observed as overturned coral colonies and tree debris on the reef. Over half of the reefs surveyed indicated that there had been no tsunami damage and only 15% of the sites surveyed indicated a high level of damage. However, even in areas where severe tsunami damage was recorded and corals were killed as a result of the event, there were still large areas of intact reef present, which will be able to repopulate the damaged reef in the future. Similar post-tsunami surveys in Thailand suggest that full recovery of these reefs should occur within the next 5-10 years. There was evidence that the earthquake caused both uplift and subsidence of some islands. These processes have resulted in three impacts on reefs: 1) extensive mortality of uplifted reef-flat corals, 2) the bringing of reef-front corals into the reef-flat zone and 3) the relocation of reef-flat communities to the reef-front. Both uplift and subsidence therefore have implications for near-future reef ecosystem dynamics in the region.