Abstract
The nearly unprecedented loss of life resulting from the earthquake and tsunami of December 26, 2004, was greatest in the province of Aceh, Sumatra (Indonesia). We evaluated tsunami damage and built empirical vulnerability models of damage/no damage based on elevation, distance from shore, vegetation, and exposure. We found that highly predictive models are possible and that developed areas were far more likely to be damaged than forested zones. Modeling exercises such as this one, conducted in other vulnerable zones across the planet, would enable managers to create better warning and protection defenses, e.g., tree belts, against these destructive forces.
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Acknowledgments
This work was initiated while the senior author was on detail with the U.S. Agency for International Development in the aftermath of the tsunami. We are grateful to the many workers in USAID, the International Programs Office of the Forest Service, and other U.S., foreign, and United Nations agencies, universities, and corporations for their diligent and sincere efforts to save human lives and alleviate suffering. The impassioned sharing of data and expertise was remarkable. Special thanks to Rhonda D. Stewart and Dong Chaing for their great tutoring on data and procedures while at USAID. Thanks also to Mark Schwartz, John Peyrebrune, John Stanovich, and the reviewers/editors of this journal for improvements to the manuscript.
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Iverson, L.R., Prasad, A.M. Using landscape analysis to assess and model tsunami damage in Aceh province, Sumatra. Landscape Ecol 22, 323–331 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-006-9062-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-006-9062-6