Mangroves can check the wrath of tsunami

摘要

The tsunami of 26 December 2004 has no parallel in the history for its magnitude and devastation. It struck Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka (all in Asia) and Somalia and Tanzania (in Africa) causing colossal loss of human lives, coastal erosions and other destructions. Since tsunami is generated by the collision, subduction, induction and accretion of the continental plates, man remains a mute spectator, as he cannot control the process. The easiest way to avoid the awesome speed of a tsunami is to flee from the coastal areas by means of prior information. But the gap between the generation of a tsunami and the actual strike on the coast may be too short for effective evacuation. It is by no means a permanent solution as the immovable properties and coastal erosions even then would be at the mercy of the killer waves. In this scenario, the plantation, propagation and protection of the mangroves may help to minimize the effect of a tsunami.