Tsunami-induced displacement in Sumatra, Indonesia

Clark L. Gray, Duke University
Elizabeth Frankenberg, Duke University
Duncan Thomas, Duke University
Cecep S. Sumantri, SurveyMETER

The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was one of the most devastating natural disasters in recent human history, but only one of several large-scale natural disasters to strike Asia in the past five years. Given the difficulties in survey data collection in this context, previous studies of the human impacts of natural disasters, including population displacement, have largely relied on small-scale and non-representative data sources. This project draws on a unique longitudinal household survey of 40,000 individuals in Sumatra, Indonesia who were interviewed prior to the tsunami and each year since. I use this dataset and a series of logistic regressions to investigate the effects of tsunami damage on the displacement of surviving adults and how these effects were mediated by individual, household and community characteristics.