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Myth: Scientists Can Predict Earthquakes

In the wake of the two large earthquakes in Haiti and now in Chile I wanted to share some common hazards between earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, as well as how a devastating tsunami can effect tourism.

It was December 26,2004 a beautiful sunny day. There were vacationers all over the gorgeous Asian beaches not a worry in the world. Certainly no one was expecting the devastation that was about to unfold. A tsunami struck out of nowhere going down in history as the most devastating earthquake killing over two hundred thousand people.  In fact, if you take ALL tsunami deaths ever recorded this one day alone in 2004 equaled over 90% of all fatalities EVER…

The coasts of South East Asia had been building popularity with Europeans when this occurred, understandably so tourism dwindled down after this, but not for long.  Some of the more popular vacation spots that were affected the most were Sri Lanka, South India, Thailand, and Indonesia. After the tsunami struck most locations started planning ideas or events to bring tourism back. They knew the travel industry would be affected and wanted to make sure it did not last long.

Below is a short video clip of the SECOND WAVE to hit Patong Beach in December 2004 about 45 minutes after the first set of tsunami waves came ashore. Notice how the Tsunami is not one huge wave, but the aftermath of what you see below is only a small taste as to the destruction a set of tsunami waves brings with them.

Sri Lanka one of the hardest hit places came up with an idea they called Io Vado A Sri Lanka. What they did was get a group together of more than two hundred and seventy people consisting of the Italian media, tour operators and retailers and they toured the island. They visited all their interesting sites on the island.

The idea was that the Italian media would share their experience on the island and would be encouraging people to come visit at the same time. When the tsunami struck South East Asia the tourism industry lost billions of dollars. Immediately after the tsunami the government was encouraging vacationers to stay away from the areas affected. Fortunately the travel industry was not going to stand for this. They have been working hard since the Tsunami to regain their visitors. Shortly after the Tsunami the Association of Southeast Asian Nations intensified their marketing to gain tourists again. They began to encourage the government to help them assure travelers that this tsunami was an isolated event, something that just does not happen.

There was one good thing that came out of this tragedy. With all the media coverage on the tsunami more people became aware of these ideal vacation destinations. One other thing the travel industry has been doing and will continue doing is giving advisory updates. They are informing the necessary sources of the conditions and improvements of these destinations and encouraging people to visit. By giving updates this will help get tourism back to 100% on the beautiful coasts of South East Asia. Fortunately for everyone tourists have begun to realize that a tsunami of this magnitude is rare, something that happens once maybe every hundred years and they are not letting it scare them away from enjoying a piece of paradise.

The purpose of this post is not to scare you, but instead, bring some more awareness to the power and importance of having a plan in place for where you live.

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Zack G. Covell

503-298-5233

Zack@ZackCovell.com

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