Tsunami Effects

According to a United Nations interim report, which is to be made public on February 22nd, the tsunami that killed approximately 170,000 people in 11 countries in Asia and Africa is said to have effected previously damaged coastlines more than those with healthier land. U.N. environment agency Executive Director Klaus Toepfer said, "Those coastlines with intact coral reefs, mangroves, vegetated dunes and robust coastal forests came off better than those degraded by pollution and insensitive land use." Therefore, coral reefs and mangroves are essential in protecting people living in those areas. Also, the fishing industries of the seven countries hit the hardest suffered losses of $520 million (398.3 million euro). Furthermore, 111,073 fishing vessels were destroyed or damaged, 36,235 engines were lost or damaged, and 1.7 million units of fishing gear (nets and tackle) were destroyed. These seven countries are India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Somalia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/science/02/21/un.tsunami.impact.ap/index.html