Around 300 000 people were killed by the tsunami that followed the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake on Boxing Day 2004, making it one of the worst disasters in modern history. Up to 40 000 died in Sri Lanka alone, where around 80 000 houses were also destroyed when waves up to 15 m high swept ashore. This paper reports on how coastal buildings and infrastructure in Sri Lanka behaved under various tsunami wave heights and the many lessons learned for reducing vulnerability to future events. In particular, newly published national guidelines for reconstruction emphasise the importance of tying down structures against upward and lateral loads as well as the need to anticipate and reduce soil scour around foundations, especially of backfilled earth

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The 26 December 2004 tsunami displaced more than 500,000 people and killed an estimated 31,000 in Sri Lanka. Damage was not uniform, often reflecting distinct patterns of social, infrastructural, and ecological vulnerability. Severely affected populations tended to be poorer, to live in fragile structures, and to be more exposed to the tsunami as a result of prior environmental degradation in the coastal zone. The massive reconstruction effort may further decrease the resilience of rural communities by degrading the natural environment that sustains their livelihoods. A sustainable reconstruction approach must therefore consider long-term solutions that increase community resilience by fostering socioeconomic, infrastructural, and environmental progress. A reconnaissance team monitored the initial recovery stages and identified mechanisms in supporting research on reducing the long-term vulnerability of human settlements and ecosystems to future environmental hazards. DOI: 10.1193/1.220492

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