Sri Lanka-Tsunami Disaster

Dr. Ramin Ahmadi traveled with six physicians and public health professionals to Sri Lanka directly after the devastating Tsunami hit and killed more than 40,000 people.

A catastrophic earthquake shook the northern coast of the island of Sumatra, Indonesia on December 26, 2004, unleashing a giant tsunami that crashed into neighboring countries along the coastline of South and Southeast Asia, killing more than 225,000 people. The quake measured 9.0 on the Richter Scale, the world's most severe in 40 years.

Sri Lanka was one of the hardest hit in the area. Over 31,000 people were reported dead, 4,115 missing and over 540,000 people displaced. The latest figures published by the Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka, states 41,393, housing units were fully damaged and 36,168 were partially damaged.

Within days after the Tsunami ripped apart Sri Lanka’s coastline with 50 foot high waves traveling at hundreds of miles per hour, Dr. Ahmadi assembled a six member physician (surgery, infectious disease, pediatrics, general medicine) and public health professional team to travel to Sri Lanka and treat survivors. The team worked with the Sri Lankan Ministry of Health, which directed them to the district of Batticaloa, the area on the East coast that maintained the heaviest amount of damage. Once they reached Batticaloa they worked with the Batticaloa Health Disaster Response Team.

The team treated over 1200 survivors mostly who suffered from respiratory tract infections, as a result of exposure and living in close quarters. Other infections included malaria, dysentery, diarrhea, wound infections, insect bites, parasites and mumps. There were also potential dangers of shigella and cholera epidemics. One of the team’s main concerns while treating survivors was lack of access to clean drinking water and possible contaminated water supplies.

During his experience in Sri Lanka in 2005, Dr. Ahmadi said:

“It was typical of a war zone but it was far worse than anything I’d seen in my life…[The destruction caused in Sri Lanka by the tsunami] humbles you. What you see in reality is a lot more graphic than the pictures.”