Tsunami-related injury in Aceh Province, Indonesia

The Asian tsunami, of December 2004, caused widespread loss of life. A series of surveys were conducted to assess tsunami-related mortality and injury, risk factors, care seeking and injury outcomes. Three surveys of tsunami-affected populations, in seven districts of Aceh province, were conducted between March and August 2005. Surveys employed a two-stage cluster design and probability proportional to size sampling methods. Overall, 17.7% (95% confidence interval (CI) = 16.8-18.6) of the population was reported as dead/missing¹ and 8.5% (95% CI = 7.9-9.2) had been injured. Odds of mortality were 1.41% (95% CI = 1.27-1.58) times greater in females than in males; risk of injury was opposite, with an odds of injury of 0.81 (95% CI = 0.61-0.96) for females in comparison to males. Mortality was greatest among the oldest and young population sub-groups, and injuries were most prevalent among middle-aged populations (20-49). An estimated 25,572 people were injured and 3682 (1.2%) suffered lasting disabilities. While mortality was particularly elevated among females and among the youngest and oldest age groups, injury rates were the greatest among males and the working-age population, suggesting that those are more likely to survive the tsunami were also more likely to be injured.