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Ronco-Trained Sri Lankan Army Demining Teams Respond To Post-Tsunami Clearance Tasks, Stacy L. Smith

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In the early morning of December 26, 2004, a powerful tsunami hit the eastern seaboard of Sri Lanka, devastating fishing communities lining the shore and impacting villages as far as 1 kilometer (0.62 mile) inland. Within days of the catastrophic event, reports reminiscent of the migrating mine situation in Central America following Hurricane Mitch surfaced. As in Honduras in 1998, the possibility of displaced mines and other hazardous ordnance posed a threat to the local population and to emergency relief workers moving into the region to bring supplies and rebuild vital infrastructure. The mine action community in Sri Lanka responded …