| In nations such as India and Sri Lanka the majority of the tsunami-affected were poor fisher people. The tsunamis washed off their homes and traditional fishing gear, crippling their village economy. Traditional fishing is important for sustaining local markets and village economies on the shores of South Asia. Thousands who depend solely on fishing were rendered jobless, leaving families to live hungry and unsheltered.
The disaster also made serous impact on fish trade in India. Over the years seafood processing has been developing as a dynamic export-oriented sector, generating substantial foreign exchange earnings. The tsunamis disrupted that process. The hit on the economy was hard. Preliminary estimates indicate that at least 66 percent of the fishing fleet and industrial infrastructure were destroyed in tsunami-affected regions. The tsunamis were also hard on nations such as Thailand, where beach tourism had developed as an industry. Beach resort and other basic tourism infrastructure were damaged adversely affecting their economy. Although infrastructure may be restored soon, tourists are sure desert beaches for psychological reasons. For example, resorts on the Pacific coast of Thailand, which were completely untouched by tsunamis, were hit by cancellations for long time.
In some areas, drinking water supplies and farm fields may have been contaminated by salt water from the ocean. Scientists say both the earthquake and the tsunami may have affected shipping in some areas such as Malacca Straits by changing the depth of the seabed.
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