Tsunami and Mental Health: What Can We Expect? Tsunami and
Mental Health: What Can We Expect? Following the tsunami in
Southern Asia, we were aware of the staggering scope of the
destruction of this disaster. The damage, confusion and chaos
caused by the tsunami were reflected in news reports that
scrambled to convey the enormity of the event. Early reports
were of a tsunami that had killed thousands of people, but
later, the toll still rising, it was confirmed that the tsunami
had killed over 200,000. Whole towns and villages have been
wiped off the coast of Indonesia, victims count in the millions,
communities have lost entire economic livelihoods and families
have been broken apart by death, many children dead and
orphaned. Dozens of countries have been affected. The tsunami
has not only killed thousands of people, destroyed buildings and
towns and damaged the physical health of survivors but has also
severely affected their psychological well-being. Faced with the
overwhelming knowledge of this vast devas