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Science 10 June 2005:
Vol. 308. no. 5728, p. 1595
DOI: 10.1126/science.1110730
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Observations by the International Tsunami Survey Team in Sri Lanka

Philip L.-F. Liu,1 Patrick Lynett,2* Harindra Fernando,3 Bruce E. Jaffe,4 Hermann Fritz,5 Bretwood Higman,6 Robert Morton,4 James Goff,7 Costas Synolakis8

In response to the 26 December 2004 tsunami, a survey team of scientists was dispatched to Sri Lanka. Measurements made by the team show that the tsunami elevation and runup ranged from 5 to 12 meters. Eyewitnesses report that up to three separate waves attacked the coast, with the second or third generally the largest. Our conclusion stresses the importance of education: Residents with a basic knowledge of tsunamis, as well as an understanding of how environmental modifications will affect overland flow, are paramount to saving lives and minimizing tsunami destruction.

1 School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
2 Department of Civil Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77845, USA.
3 Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA.
4 Pacific Science Center, United States Geological Survey, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA.
5 School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Savannah, GA 31407, USA.
6 Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
7 National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Ltd., Lyttelton, New Zealand.
8 Department of Civil Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: plynett{at}tamu.edu

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