Tropical storm off Myanmar coast sweeps reefs in Ritchie's Archipelago, Andaman

The reefs in some islands of Andaman and Nicobar suffered severe damage following a tropical storm in the Bay of Bengal off Myanmar coast during 13-17 March 2011. Surveys were conducted at eight sites in Andaman, of which five were located in the Ritchie's Archipelago where maximum wind speeds of 11 m s(-1) was observed; and three around Port Blair which lay on the leeward side of the storm and had not experienced wind speeds of more than 9 m s(-1). Corals in the shallow inshore reefs were broken and dislodged by the thrust of the waves. Significant damage in the deeper regions and offshore reefs were caused by the settlement of debris and sand brought down from the shallower regions. The fragile branching corals (Acropora sp.) were reduced to rubbles and the larger boulder corals (Porites sp.) were toppled over or scarred by falling debris. The reefs on the windward side and directly in the path of the storm winds were the worst affected. The investigation exposes the vulnerability of the reefs in Andaman to the oceanographic features which generally remain unnoticed unless the damage is caused to the coastal habitats.