At The Epicenter

Script by Mark Hertsgaard
LinkTV, Sep 1, 2006

INTRO:

Welcome to Spotlight, Link TV's weekly series of investigative reports from around the world. I'm Mark Hertsgaard in San Francisco, and this episode the spotlight is on the tsunami of 2004.

On December 26 of that year, the planet's most powerful earthquake in four decades erupted beneath the Indian Ocean. The epicenter was off the coast of Indonesia. But the gigantic wave the quake unleashed traveled thousands of miles, spreading death and destruction as far away as Sri Lanka, India, even Africa.

Total deaths of the 2004 tsunami were estimated at 220,000. Another 1.5 million people were left homeless. By far the greatest devastation was in Indonesia — specifically, Aceh province, which accounted for approximately two thirds of the global death toll.

A horrified world responded quickly, pledging more than $5 billion in relief aid. But as the documentary you're about to see makes clear, many victims found it very difficult to benefit from that generosity.

We'll be back afterwards with an update. For now, from the BBC in Great Britain, here is, At The Epicenter, on Link TV, your connection to the world.

OUTRO:

You're watching Spotlight on Link TV. I'm Mark Hertsgaard.

Earthquakes and tsunamis are natural disasters. Humans cannot prevent them, but we can prepare for them and thereby reduce their impact. For example, in May 2006 30 Pacific nations tested a tsunami early warning system and concluded that it had worked fairly well or did it? Two months later, another tsunami struck Indonesia and left over 500 people dead and 45,000 homeless. The government admitted its warning system was not yet operational but pledged it would be by mid-2008.

Nature provides its own tsunami defenses, if it's allowed to. Mangrove trees, which dot many tropical coastlines, absorb 70 to 90 percent of a wave's force. A study by the World Conservation Union indicated that mangroves saved thousands of lives in Sri Lanka during the 2004 tsunami. But, the study said, mangroves are under severe threat, thanks to deforestation and unrestrained development.

If you want to find out more about these issues, check out the resources listed at the end of this program. You can also find those resources at our website, www.linktv.org. Following those listings you'll see a clip from next week's program. Until then, this is Mark Hertsgaard in San Francisco for Spotlight. Thanks for joining us.