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Medieval forewarning of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in Thailand

Author

Listed:
  • Kruawun Jankaew

    (Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Phayathai Road, Phatumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand)

  • Brian F. Atwater

    (University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-1310, USA)

  • Yuki Sawai

    (Geological Survey of Japan, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Site C7 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba 305-8567, Japan)

  • Montri Choowong

    (Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Phayathai Road, Phatumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand)

  • Thasinee Charoentitirat

    (Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Phayathai Road, Phatumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand)

  • Maria E. Martin

    (University of Washington, Box 351310, Seattle, Washington 98195-1310, USA)

  • Amy Prendergast

    (Geoscience Australia, GPO Box 378, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia)

Abstract

Sands of time: Traces of recurring tsunamis on Indian Ocean shores Nothing known from written history gave reason to expect the Indian Ocean tsunami that took nearly a quarter million lives on 26 December 2004. That tsunami entered geological history by laying down centimetres of sand on the coastal plains that it overran. Jankaew et al. have now found such sedimentary records of earlier tsunamis preserved in the dark soils of marshy swales at Phra Thong, a barrier island in western Thailand. The cover shows an example from a pit dug there in 2007: the topmost light-coloured layer represents the 2004 tsunami, while a similar layer below records a tsunami in the fourteenth or fifteenth century AD. The ruler divisions are 10 cm long. In a separate study in Aceh, Indonesia, Monecke et al. found the 2004 sand sheet preceded by the deposits of three tsunamis from the past 1,200 years. One of these earlier deposits may match the medieval one found in Thailand. The combined findings suggest that the 2004 tsunami is neither the first nor the last of its kind.

Suggested Citation

  • Kruawun Jankaew & Brian F. Atwater & Yuki Sawai & Montri Choowong & Thasinee Charoentitirat & Maria E. Martin & Amy Prendergast, 2008. "Medieval forewarning of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in Thailand," Nature, Nature, vol. 455(7217), pages 1228-1231, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:455:y:2008:i:7217:d:10.1038_nature07373
    DOI: 10.1038/nature07373
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. M. Jonathan & S. Srinivasalu & N. Thangadurai & N. Rajeshwara-Rao & V. Ram-Mohan & T. Narmatha, 2012. "Offshore depositional sequence of 2004 tsunami from Chennai, SE coast of India," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 62(3), pages 1155-1168, July.
    2. Nikita Jain & Deepali Virmani & Ajith Abraham, 2021. "Tsunami in the last 15 years: a bibliometric analysis with a detailed overview and future directions," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 106(1), pages 139-172, March.
    3. Joaquin Rodriguez-Vidal & Jose Rodriguez-Llanes & Debarati Guha-Sapir, 2012. "Civil nuclear power at risk of tsunamis," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 63(2), pages 1273-1278, September.
    4. Supawit Yawsangratt & Witold Szczuciński & Niran Chaimanee & Sirapapa Chatprasert & Wojciech Majewski & Stanisław Lorenc, 2012. "Evidence of probable paleotsunami deposits on Kho Khao Island, Phang Nga Province, Thailand," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 63(1), pages 151-163, August.
    5. Edris Alam & Dale Dominey-Howes, 2016. "A catalogue of earthquakes between 810BC and 2012 for the Bay of Bengal," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 81(3), pages 2031-2102, April.
    6. Sumet Phantuwongraj & Montri Choowong, 2012. "Tsunamis versus storm deposits from Thailand," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 63(1), pages 31-50, August.
    7. Kapila Dahanayake & Nayomi Kulasena & G. Ravi Prasad & Koushik Dutta & D. Ray, 2012. "Sedimentological and 14 C dating studies of past tsunami events in Southern Sri Lanka," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 63(1), pages 197-209, August.
    8. Tetsuya Shinozaki & Yuki Sawai & Kazumi Ito & Junko Hara & Dan Matsumoto & Koichiro Tanigawa & Jessica E. Pilarczyk, 2020. "Recent and historical tsunami deposits from Lake Tokotan, eastern Hokkaido, Japan, inferred from nondestructive, grain size, and radioactive cesium analyses," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 103(1), pages 713-730, August.
    9. Witold Szczuciński, 2012. "The post-depositional changes of the onshore 2004 tsunami deposits on the Andaman Sea coast of Thailand," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 60(1), pages 115-133, January.
    10. G. Hoffmann & K. Reicherter & T. Wiatr & C. Grützner & T. Rausch, 2013. "Block and boulder accumulations along the coastline between Fins and Sur (Sultanate of Oman): tsunamigenic remains?," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 65(1), pages 851-873, January.

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