CD on Tsunami Atlas from the Census Department

by Dr. Amara Satharasinghe, Deputy Director, Department of Census and Statistics

The most destructive disaster that Sri Lanka ever experienced is the tsunami - 2004, which occurred one year ago. Tsunami - 2004 caused extensive damages to several countries. Sri Lanka is one of the badly affected countries. All districts other than Mannar, along the coastal belt of Sri Lanka were affected by this disaster resulting in huge damages to lives and properties.

The Department of Census and Statistics conducted a census to assess the impact of the tsunami disaster on buildings and people within a very short period after the disaster and the information immediately required for planning relief operations were provided to the decision-makers.

For the purpose of this study, buildings were categorized into two groups: housing units and buildings other than housing units. Types of damages for buildings were categorized into three groups namely - completely damaged, partially damaged and cannot be used, and partially damaged and can be used.

The tsunami - 2004 caused damages to 100,134 buildings of which 89,133 (89 per cent) were housing units. Out of the 89,133 housing units damaged, 39,905 (45 per cent) have been completely damaged. Housing units partially damaged and cannot be used was 10,654 (12 per cent). Number of housing units damaged but usable was 38,574.

Total number of housing units completely damaged or damaged to an unusable extent was 50,559 and the corresponding number for buildings other than housing units was 5,877.

The Department released an Atlas on the buildings affected by the tsunami - 2004, presenting information on the damaged buildings by type of building and the extent of the damage down to the Grama Niladhari Division level. This Atlas is available in compact disks as well as in hardcopies.

The Atlas presents the information on the impact of the Tsunami disaster on the buildings, by texts, tables, charts and maps. The compact disk contains an easy retrieval system to browse the Atlas. The Atlas is available in the disk in HTML format as well as Acrobat Reader (PDF) format. The Atlas has been organized in both A4 and A3 sizes.

Also included in the disk is a copy of the electronic version of the Statistical Abstract - 2004. The Statistical Abstract is an annual publication of the Department and it contains a summary of the data published by the Department during the previous five years.

Number of several other indicators on affected buildings and people is being compiled by using the data collected by the Tsunami Census, conducted by the Department of Census and Statistics.

Some of the indicators being compiled on the characteristics of the buildings including present condition, distance from the beach, height at which building was submerged, number of rooms, total floor area, availability of sanitary facilities, drinking water, size of land in which building was located, ownership of the land and value of damaged properties.

Indicators being compiled on the people got affected include age, sex, educational qualifications, type of damage, whether the parents of the children are living, occupation or economic activity. Indicators being compiled are released district by district.

The final printed reports for Hambantota and Kalutara districts have already been released. The complete list of indicators available in the final reports is given in the Department's website: www.statistics.gov.lk.