Post-December 2004 Tsunami Reconstruction in Sri Lanka and Its Potential Impacts on Future Vulnerability

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.