4X: Women died disproportionately in tsunami - Khaleej Times: "'The impact on the gender balance within the community seems to be so severe that the consequences are going to ripple right through the whole society for many years to come.' The report suggests the imbalance was because many men were working inland or fishing offshore when the waves hit, while the women were at home. It also said men were more likely than women to learn to swim and that men were more adept at climbing trees. The report was based on research carried out by Oxfam in local communities devastated by the tsunami in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India. In Lam Isek village, west of Banda Aceh, the capital of Indonesia’s Aceh province, 182 of 964 residents survived, of whom 47 were female and 132 male. In another Acehnese village, Asonangro, only 30 of the 190 survivors were female. In Cuddalore, a town on India’s southeast coast, 391 women died compared with 146 men. And in Sri Lanka, camp surveys suggested a ”serious imbalance” in the number of men and women that survived, the Oxfam report said. It said aid agencies must be aware of the gender imbalance when planning disaster relief operations." (Emphasis added.)