JOCET 2013 Vol. 1(3): 246-250 ISSN: 1793-821X
DOI: 10.7763/JOCET.2013.V1.56
Abstract—The tsunami of 26 December 2004 was one of the
most devastating tragedy ever occurred to men in the history of
human civilization. Approximately 250,000 lives perished,
millions injured and suffered, while the destruction of property
loss of opportunities cannot be accurately estimated. The
impact of the tsunami on environmental destruction shows that
damage was inflicted on natural resources such as coral reefs,
mangroves, sand dunes and other coastal ecosystem that acted
as wave defense barriers. Moreover, inlands, wetlands and
agricultural land were salinated and natural resources for
livelihood and for source of income were badly affected,
especially for coastal communities who were involve in fisheries.
The situation worsened as basic facilities were also destroyed.
As such, this research focuses on assessing and identifying on
how the impacts of the tsunami on the infrastructure and
environmental resources affected the community well-being
inKuala Muda, Kedah, Malaysia. This study focuses on the
impacts of tsunami on the affected community well-being in the
coastal zone on the basis of available primary and secondary
sources. Primary sources included questionnaires, interviews
and observations while the secondary resources included books,
government and international reports, scientific journals, maps
and articles that highlighted tsunami related issues. The study
tries to seek for both qualitative and quantitative impacts and
also tries to find out some solutions that would help to minimize
the impact of the tsunami on the community well-being. The
information gained from this study can be used to help the
community as well as the agencies involve in order to minimize
the impacts of the tsunami on the community and develop a
more effective mitigation measures for other environmental
disasters such as tsunami. Besides, the research may help to
create awareness on the community to be prepared in facing
disastrous situation such as the tsunami. Through community
preparedness, the impact can be minimized and reduced. As for
the authority, this research may be of great assistance by
allowing them to make better decision.
Index Terms—Tsunami, well-being, affected community,
Malaysia.
Aisyah Nadhrah Ibrahim is with International Islamic University
Malaysia, Malaysia (e-mail: aisyah_ainaa@yahoo.com).
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Cite:M. Zainora Asmawi and Aisyah Nadhrah Ibrahim, "The Impacts of Tsunami on the Well-Being of the Affected
Community in Kuala Muda, Kedah, Malaysia," Journal of Clean Energy Technologies vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 246-250, 2013.
