Post-tsunami Assessment in the Coastal Region Between Kanyakumari and Ovari, Tamil Nadu—A Case Study

Coastal zones are dynamic areas that are constantly undergoing change in response to a multitude of factors including sea level rise, wave and current patterns, hurricanes and human influences. On 26th December 2004, huge waves smashed across the shore between Kanyakumari and Ovari. As they crossed the beach, the waves up to 30 feet tall. Many people are dead due to crush and pull to sea and drowned as the mighty waves withdraw. Many villages have been obliterated, the death tale could exceed 300 but the damage to the property is very high. The size of the tsunami is related to the area that moves on the ocean bottom and how far it moves. This region is manifested with marine terrace, sand dunes, beach ridges, estuaries, floodplains, beaches, mangroves, peneplains, uplands, sea cliff, etc. We have attempted the shoreline dynamics using beach profile survey, and coastal environment changes through online survey, governmental, records and coastal geomorphological studies using remote sensing technique. The major destructions are identified in this paper.