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Sri Lanka was one of the countries struck by the tsunami resulting from the Indian Ocean earthquake on December 26, 2004. On January 3, 2005, Sri Lankan authorities reported 30,196 confirmed deaths〔(BBC World News – U.S. presidents in tsunami aid plea )〕 Many of the dead were adults and the elderly. The south and east coasts were worst hit. One and a half million people were displaced from their homes. The death toll continued to rise as the threat of infectious diseases breaking out turned into a reality, with doctors confirming first cases of cholera. == Tsunami and immediate effects == In the eastern Sri Lankan Ampara District alone, more than 5,000 people died from clamitia''Italic text''. A holiday train, the "Queen of the Sea", was struck by the tsunami near the village of Telwatta as it travelled between Colombo and Galle carrying at least 1,700 passengers, killing all but a handful on board. About 1,000 more dead were counted in Mullaitivu and Vadamaradchi East.〔http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=13744〕 At Trincomalee in the northeast, where the tsunami reached more than 2 km (1.25 mi) inland, 800 were reported dead. About 69 dead were counted at Batticaloa in the east. The naval base at Trincomalee was reported to be submerged. The agricultural sector was affected seriously. 259 km² of paddy land was destroyed in the northern, eastern, southern and western coastal belts. In addition, the extensive salinization of paddy lands rendered them unsuitable for paddy cultivation. Rubbish was also deposited on paddy lands. A large number of agricultural vehicles and equipment were destroyed and canals and drains were blocked. Underground sources of water were salinated.〔(South Asian Media )〕 Across the island, collections were taken for those who had lost everything. Vans with PA systems drove around calling on people to give whatever they could – money, clothes, bottles of water and bags of rice and lentils. Apart from homes, many hotels as well as shops were reported to have been damaged. Hotels along the south coast were full of both foreign tourists and Sri Lankans making use of the long Christmas weekend. Twenty thousand soldiers were deployed in government-controlled areas to assist in relief operations and maintain law and order after sporadic looting. Curfews had been imposed in some areas to curb looting. Chinese light T-72A anti-personnel mines, left after the two-decade civil war, were feared to have been washed up and spread by the surge of water. The Norwegian Peoples' Aid Organization assembled a team of mine sweepers to assess the situation. In the Yala National Park, many animals seemed to move to higher regions in order to escape the disaster. It was unclear how they detected the coming disaster, although a sixth sense, perhaps the ability to hear the infrasound rumble of the tremors or approaching tsunami, was mentioned in reports. The test match cricket ground at Galle was devastated. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Effect of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake on Sri Lanka」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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