Introduction: when nature turns savage / Pradyumna P. Karan -- The tsunami disaster on the Andaman Sea coast of Thailand / Masatomo Umitsu -- The geoenvironment and the giant tsunami disaster in the northern part of Sumatra Island, Indonesia / Masatomo Umitsu -- Geological and geomorphological perspectives of the tsunami on the Tamil Nadu Coast, India / S. R. Singarasubramanian ... [et al.] -- Tsunami inundations and their impact in the Kaveri River delta, Tamil Nadu, India / S. Rani Senthamarai and J. Francis Lawrence -- Impact of the tsunami on the coastal ecosystems of the Andaman Islands, India / Ramesh Ramchandran ... [et al.] -- Environmental damage in the Maldives from the Indian Ocean tsunami / Koji Fujima -- Tsunami disasters in Seenigama Village, Sri Lanka, and Taro Town, Japan / Kenji Yamazaki and Tomoko Yamazaki -- Post-tsunami recovery in south Thailand, with special reference to the tourism industry / David Zurick -- The role of NGOs in tsunami relief and reconstruction in Cuddalore District, South India / Muthusami Kumaran and Tricia Torris -- Sociocultural frame, religious networks, miracles : experiences from tsunami disaster management in South India / Seiko Sugimoto, Antonysamy Sagayaraj, and Yoshio Sugimoto -- Achievements and weaknesses in post-tsunami reconstruction in Sri Lanka / Martin Mulligan and Judith Shaw -- Improving governance structures for natural disaster response : lessons from the Indian Ocean tsunami / Miranda A. Schreurs -- Transnational geopolitical competition and national disasters : lessons from the Indian Ocean tsunami / Christopher Jasparro and Jonathan Taylor.