Multiple choice

The 2004 Tsunami made people realize that mangroves can serve as a reliable safety hedge against coastal calamities. How do mangroves function as a safety hedge?

  1. The mangrove swamps separate the human settlements from the sea by a wide zone in which people neither live nor venture out.

  2. The mangroves provide both food and medicines which people are in need of after any natural disaster.

  3. The mangrove trees are tall with dense canopies and serve as an excellent shelter during a cyclone or tsunami.

  4. The magrove trees do not get uprooted by storms and tides because of their extensive roots.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Many of the previous tsunamis were tamed by the coral reefs before hitting the coast, where they were absorbed by a dense layer of red mangrove trees. These flexible trees, with long branches growing right down into the sand below the surface of the sea, absorb the shock of tsunamis. Behind the red mangrove trees, there is a second layer of black mangrove trees, which are taller and slow down the waves.

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