Abstract
The purpose of this study is to confirm the relationship between the coastal topography and the distribution of the extensive damage on the affected area caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in the case of Tangalla DS Division, Southern Sri Lanka. By creating maps to depict the distribution of the degree of tsunami damage in Tangalla DS Division in a small area unit (GN Division unit), it is observed that the coasts that were severely damaged are located at the northern side of the cape and that they face the East. By conducting a field survey in the extensively damaged region of Medaketiya, which is one of the GN Divisions located at the northern side of the cape, it is discovered that the tsunami current approached from two different directions. One current that approached from the South might be the current that was reflected at the cape in the South, while the other one approached from the East directly from the ocean. The survey of the ground level and of the trace of the tsunami current in Medaketiya GN Division indicates that the flow of the current toward the northwest direction was blocked by a dune located in its path, and hence, the houses in that area were not severely damaged. Further, the current approaching from the southwest direction flowed toward a lagoon and caused extensive damage to the houses situated there.
https://ror.org/03jzxkg37 
