<P> Indeed, many infrastructures near the coasts and buildings were harshly damaged by the waves . </P> <P> The tsunami first arrived on the eastern coast and subsequently refracted around the southern point of Sri Lanka (Dondra Head). The refracted tsunami waves inundated the southwestern part of Sri Lanka after some of its energy had been reflected from impact with the Maldives . Sri Lanka is located 1,700 km (1056.33 miles) far from the epicenter and the tsunami source, so no one felt the ground shake and the tsunami hit the entire coastline of Sri Lanka around 2 hours after the earthquake . It seems that the tsunami flooding consisted of three main waves, with the second being the largest and most destructive . The first tsunami waves had initially caused a small flood (positive wave) as it struck the Sri Lankan coastline . Moments later, the ocean floor was exposed to as much as 1 km (0.62 miles) in places due to drawback (negative wave), which was followed by a massive second tsunami wave, which is in the form of a flood . Certain locations managed to reduce the power of the waves through construction of seawalls and breakwaters . </P> <P> The largest run - up measured was at 12.5 m (41 ft) with inundation distance of 390 m to 1.5 km (0.242 miles - 0.932 miles) in Yala . In Hambantota, tsunami run - ups are measured at 11 m (36.1 ft) with the greatest inundation distance of 2 km (1.24 miles), and tsunami run - up measurements along the Sri Lankan coasts are at 2.4--11 m (7.87 ft - 36.1 ft). Tsunami waves measured on the east coast ranged from 4.5 m - 9 m (14.8 ft - 29.5 ft) at Pottuvill to around Batticaloa, 2.6 m - 5 m (8.53 ft - 16.4 ft) in the northeast around Trincomalee and 4 m - 5 m (13.1 ft - 16.4 ft) in the west coast from Moratuwa to Ambalangoda . </P> <P> Sri Lanka tsunami height survey: </P>

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