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The 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami: Resettlement and Demographic Challenges

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Part of the book series: Disaster Risk Reduction ((DRR))

Abstract

The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami has set a number of changes in affected communities and in the world of disaster management policy. In modern history, this disaster is acknowledged as one of the deadliest, taking around 230,000 lives from 21 nations around the Indian Ocean region. For tsunami survivors, the 13-year recovery period is a very long process for them to accept the dramatic changes brought about by these disasters. One of them is a place to live. Resettlement programs in tsunami-affected regions are mostly completed. However, this relocation task has not been easy. In Aceh, Indonesia and in Sri Lanka, the relocation program gave rise to another type of risk. Although the relocation is deemed complete, an increasing coastal population in tsunami-affected zones has been observed. This chapter aims to elaborate on the return of the tsunami risk from the aspects of resettlement and increasing coastal population. The return migration also puts disaster managers and authorities to task: protection of lives becomes part of the human security development agenda. Besides the focus on demographic challenges, this chapter also reviews the best practices instituted to increase the community’s preparedness toward handling similar disasters in the future. It offers a multi-aspect review of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and its 13-year recovery process.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Partnership Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER) for financial support (USAID Grant No. 5-395) of the project titled “Incorporating Climate Change Induced Sea Level Rise Information into Coastal Cities’ Preparedness towards Coastal Hazards” under Federal Award Identification Number (FAIN): AID-OAA-A- 11-00012 (subaward no. 2000007546).

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Syamsidik, Nugroho, A., Fahmi, M. (2021). The 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami: Resettlement and Demographic Challenges. In: Pulhin, J.M., Inoue, M., Shaw, R. (eds) Climate Change, Disaster Risks, and Human Security. Disaster Risk Reduction. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-8852-5_15

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