Buckingham Canal - Effect of The Tsunami

Effect of The Tsunami

Dr. B. Ramalingeswara Rao first identified buffer zone action of Buckingham Canal when he visited coastal areas of 300 kilometres (186.4 mi) along the coast and also he recommended to the Government to renovate the same to mitigate the Tsunami Hazards in future. Further, Ramalingeswara Rao (2005) reported as: During the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the Buckingham Canal acted as a buffer zone and regulated the Tsunami waves on the coastal region over nearly 310 kilometres (192.6 mi) from Pedda Ganjam to Chennai. The canal all along the coast was filled with Tsunami water, which overflowed at a few places and receded back to sea within 10-15 min. This helped save the lives of several fishermen, especially in coastal Andhra Pradesh and parts of Chennai city and also helped in clearing of the aquaculture debris. The natural growth of vegetation on either side of the canal, has had an effect in Tsunami mitigation; for example in Vakadu Mandal at villages like Pudikappam, Srinivasapuram and Tudipalem, the damages were minimal.

Ramalingeswara Rao had further assessed on the extension of Buckingham Canal up to Vedaranyam in order to protect Tamil Nadu coast from the fury of Tsunamis in future. The maximum magnitude M_W 8.5 may occur in future in Sumatra because of its continuous subduction activity.