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Indian Ocean Earthquake & Tsunami Emergency Update

 

July 28, 2005

 

Note: New content has been inserted in red, italicized, bold font.

 

 

Table of Contents:

 

Overview......................................page 2-3

Indonesia.....................................page 4-8

Sri Lanka.....................................page 9-12

Thailand.......................................page 13-16

Overview

 

·      The overall focus of attention is on long-term recovery and rehabilitation for the December 26, 2004 earthquake and tsunami disaster. The dead and missing toll from tsunamis triggered by the undersea earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale off the west coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra Island was 232,010 (Jun-22, Reuters) people along the coastal areas of 11 countries in the Indian Ocean. Over 1.7 million are reported to be homeless.

 

·      Tsunami-related deaths were recorded in Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar, Maldives, Bangladesh, Somalia, Tanzania and Kenya. The loss of life was particularly severe in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. Nearly 166,000 dead and missing are from Indonesia. The dead and missing toll in Sri Lanka climbed to nearly 39,000. In India, at least 10,672 died in Tamil Nadu State and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The death toll in Thailand is around 5,400, including about 1,953 foreigners from at least 36 countries. More than 400 combined deaths have been reported in the other countries.

 

·      Coordination:

 

·    Indian Ocean Earthquake-Tsunami Flash Appeal Expenditure Tracking: http://ocha.unog.ch/ets/Default.aspx

 

·      International Assistance:

 

·    The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Tuesday (July 26) approved a pact to create “mechanisms to mitigate the impacts of natural and human-induced disaster and serve as a joint response to disaster emergencies,” according to a statement released by the group at the 38^th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting. (Jul-28, ASEAN) The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) hailed the agreement, saying: “ASEAN’s agreement is an historic step toward ensuring that some of these issues are addressed systematically and in advance of the next massive emergency to strike this disaster-prone region.” The agreement calls for the establishment of an ASEAN disaster management and emergency relief fund, and for regular joint exercises to test emergency responses. (July-28, AFP)

 

·    The UN says that oceanographic experts will report next week on the progress of preparations for an Indian Ocean warning system that was put in place following the disaster. Representatives will gather in the west Australian city of Perth from August 3-5 to discuss technical and scientific requirements needed after the deployment of various high-tech sensors. UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), the group coordinating the warning system, will hear reports from more than 20 nations on the progress of emergency and evacuation plans. The warning system will consist of a network of national systems, each owned and operated by the individual country, and linked to each other through a regional base. (July-25, Reuters)

 

·    Jan Egeland, the UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said on April 6 that the UN was raising its initial appeal of US$977 million to US$1.086 billion. (Apr-6, Reuters) Egeland says that in an unprecedented response, about US$11 billion in total had been pledged by some 90 donor nations. (Jun-24, Reuters) At a recent review of the situation at UN headquarters in New York, the UN said that some US$333 million of pledges received has been spent. (July-15, DPA) Reuters reports that government and multilateral agencies have pledged more than US$9 billion in aid for nations affected by the disaster, while global private donations amounted to almost US$5 billion. (July 27, Reuters)

 

·      Food: WFP expects to feed about 800,000 people in Indonesia for at least another year; in Sri Lanka, about 915,000 people are being fed—distributions will discontinue in August and will give way to targeted and recovery-oriented approaches; in Thailand, WFP providing food assistance to some 26,000 people.

 

·      Health/Medical: WHO estimates 500,000 people were injured. There were scattered reports of diarrhea, malaria, dengue, measles, pneumonia, tetanus and skin infections, but no outbreaks.

 

·      Security: Sporadic violence continues in Sri Lanka’s east; Some violence reported earlier this week in Aceh, despite a draft peace agreement.

Indonesia

 

Organization

 

Overview …………………………………………………………page 5

 

Sectors……………………………………………………………page 6

Overview: The European Union (EU) is expected to lead the peace monitoring mission in Aceh, Indonesia, following the formal signing of a peace deal between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and Indonesian government, planned for August 15, which is hoped to end decades of conflict in the restive province. The monitoring mission will be the first for the EU in Asia, which will likely be providing a majority of the peace monitors from the EU’s European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP). The ESDP could start moving into Aceh as early as August 16, a day after the peace deal is due to be signed.  “We have experience of this type of operation and normally we do it well,” said EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, referring to previous EU missions in Bosnia and Africa.  In addition to EU members, countries from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Brunei, will send observers.  Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Marty Natalegawa said that monitors will oversee the destruction and decommissioning of weapons that could be surrendered by the GAM, in conjunction with the withdrawal of Indonesian forces from the area. While Solana emphasized that the details of the mission have yet to be finalized, all sides appear confident that the August 15 agreement would “permanently” end almost three decades of conflict in Aceh.  Indonesian Communications Minister Sofyan Jalil reported today (July 28) that up to 300 peace monitors would be deployed to Aceh province for up to a year to monitor the peace deal.   On July 17, a draft peace agreement between the Indonesian government and the GAM was agreed upon at the end of a fifth round of peace talks in Helsinki, Finland, mediated by the Helsinki-based Crisis Management Initiative (CMI), and headed by former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari. 

 

A Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebel was shot dead by Indonesian military (TNI) soldiers on Monday, July 25, despite orders from the Indonesian president to halt offensives against the rebels, the GAM reported.  However, North Aceh military spokesperson Eri Sutiko said that he could not immediately confirm the incident.  Sutiko said that troops could still arrest GAM rebels if they were operating in the province, but that troops were staying at their posts since last week.  The violence occurred despite President Susilo Bamabang Yudhoyono last week ordering the TNI to halt its offensive in the restive province in order to further the peace process, following news of several recent clashes in the province that resulted in the deaths of at least 10 people over the past two weeks.  Military chief General Endriartono Sutarto had also earlier said that he had ordered troops to “restrain themselves and not launch offensive activities.”  After the incident, Dawood said the rebels “still have no faith” in the military’s promises.

 

Sri Lanka

 

 

Overview…………………………………………………..page 10

 

Sectors…………………………………………………….page 11

 

Overview: The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) today (July 28) rejected President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s proposal to renegotiate the Norwegian-brokered Ceasefire Agreement (CFA), signed in February 2002 between the LTTE and government forces.  Kumaratunga’s proposal, which she said rectified certain flaws that had come to light in the last three and a half years, was rejected by Anton Balasingham, LTTE’s London-based chief negotiator.  Balasingham said that the LTTE would continue to support the existing CFA and there was no point in renegotiating an agreement that was thoroughly discussed before it was signed in 2002.  Balasingham continued to charge Colombo with not implementing four key clauses of the CFA: 1) removing armed forces from populated Tamil areas; 2) disarming Tamil paramilitaries working in collaboration with the Sri Lankan army; 3) ensuring the security of the LTTE’s unarmed political cadres working in government-controlled areas of the northeast; and 4) providing adequate military security for LTTE cadres moving between LTTE-controlled and government-controlled areas.  “If these four clauses are implemented, the CFA will hold.  Therefore, the entire responsibility for holding the CFA and preventing war lies with the government,” Balasingham said.  Balasingham also charged the government with using renegade LTTE leader, Karuna, and his associates to camouflage violence against unarmed LTTE cadres in eastern districts. However, the government has denied having a part in the clashes and blamed the violence on fighting between the two rival groups. Since February of this year, there has been a steady escalation of violence in the east, threatening the ceasefire.  Scandinavian-led ceasefire monitors have warned that the 2002 truce, the fourth peace pact between the two sides and the one that has led to the longest period of peace in the country since the LTTE began fighting in 1983, is in danger of collapsing. 

 

Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga earlier this week met with key foreign donors, which included the European Union, Japan, Norway and the US. The countries are the co-chairs of the 2003 Tokyo Donors conference, at which international donors pledged some US$4.5 billion in aid to Sri Lanka to help rebuild the war-torn country.  The group has pledged the bulk of the aid to rebuild war-ravaged areas at an international donors’ conference in 2003.  The aid is separate from US$3 billion recently pledged by foreign donors to help rebuild areas affected by December’s tsunami disaster.  Last week, the foreign donors warned both the LTTE and government to halt all killings in the east as they were worried that the ceasefire would break down.  The group did not say whether amount pledged for the tsunami disaster was in danger.  Kumaratunga also reportedly asked the foreign donors to put pressure on the LTTE, blaming the recent violence on the rebels. 

 

Meanwhile, the situation in the east has reportedly calmed down this week over a recent spike in violence, as government and LTTE representatives have reportedly been negotiating over ways to end a dispute over the issue of security for LTTE cadres traveling in government-controlled areas.  The LTTE on June 30th had said that if the government failed to provide security for its cadres within 14 days, it would be compelled to make its own security arrangements.  After the deadline, the LTTE threatened to use its own armed escorts to protect against attack, a move that would violate the ceasefire. The government has reportedly proposed new measures to ensure the safety of cadres, while the rebels have yet to follow through on their threat to use armed escorts.

 

 

 

 

Sector Status
Affected Population	Sri Lanka has combined the figures for its dead and missing into one figure for dead and presumed dead and missing. The combined total stands at 38,940. (Jun-22, Reuters) Of the total, approximately 5,000 have been declared missing. (May-3, DPA) The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says that some 518,698 people remain displaced with most living with relatives and friends, some in “collective accommodation centers” or in camps. UNICEF says that according to the GoSL, 800,000 people were initially displaced.
Coordination	The Task Force for Rebuilding the Nation (TAFREN) has established a Helpline to provide information and provide queries of tsunami-affected in the country. (July-7, UNOCHA)   Joint mechanism deal, officially known as the Post-Tsunami Operations Management Structure (P-TOMS) to allow committees from the LTTE, the government and Muslims to discuss and monitor tsunami aid projects.   The Task Force for Relief (TAFOR) will collate and analyze data, coordinate and facilitate relief measures connected to healthcare, education, foreign donor assistance and food relief. TAFOR will be based and managed from the Ministry of Defense. Another task force, Task Force for the Reconstruction of the Nation (TAFREN), has been given responsibility of spearheading reconstruction, assessing the damages, and coming up with a master plan to rebuild infrastructure. Food relief will be channeled through the Ministry for Relief, Rehabilitation, and Reconciliation (RRR) together with Commissioner General of Essential Services (CGES). Responsibilities connected to IDPs, Transit Camps, and liaison with the District Secretaries will be the task of the CGES. (Feb-9, UNJLC)   For further information, check the TAFREN website at http://www.tafren.gov.lk/ or the CNO website at http://www.cnosrilanka.org/ The Ministry of Relief, Rehabilitation, and Reconciliation’s website, www.mrrr.lk contains additional information.   Information on many NGO activities can be obtained from the following link: http://www.humanitarian-srilanka.org/ (under Tsunami 2004 Information Center)   An American Red Cross team is currently evaluating the impact of the emergency phase of the relief emergency response unit (ERU) operation and working with the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society. (July-28, IFRC)
Logistics	For logistical information see: http://www.unjlc.org.
Food	WFP says it is feeding some 915,000 people. Food distributions will discontinue in August and will give way to targeted and recovery-oriented approaches. (Jun-27, WFP) WFP says targeted feeding currently reaches 260,000 mothers and children through Maternal Child Health projects and 144,000 children through school feeding programs. (Jun-27, WFP)
Water and Sanitation	IFRC reports over 3 million liters of water being produced and distributed each week in Batticaloa and Ampara districts in Sri Lanka for some 50,000 people. (July-28, IFRC)
Public Health and Medical
Shelter	IOM has built more than 2,100 transitional homes and expects to build 3,000 before the onset of the eastern monsoon. (July-22, IOM)   World Bank in Sri Lanka found about 90,000 homes fully or partially destroyed. The Bank has allocated initial US$40 million for permanent housing cash grants. (June-2, World Bank)   TAFREN chair Mano Tittawela said that 7,000 permanent houses have been completed and said that 80 percent of the required permanent housing for the displaced will be completed before the end of this year. (July-7, GoSL)   IOM says it has finished about 2,000 transitional homes as of this week. IOM reports that the GoSL has said more than 40,000 transitional houses island-wide have been completed, but 20 percent do not meet minimum standards. (Jul-12, IOM)
Infrastructure	SP Thamilselvan, chief of the political wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), said that more than US$1 billion was needed to rebuild Tamil areas   A total of 77,561 houses have been damaged or destroyed by the tsunami, including 41,393 houses that were completely washed away, according to the Census and Statistics Department. (Apr-29, Daily News)   The Minister of Agriculture says that direct damage to the farmers of the tsunami was some US$3.5 million.
Security	On Friday (July 22), alleged Tamil Tiger rebels shot and killed two people, Sri Lankan police said.  Last week Thursday, July 21, two men threw a grenade at a tsunami aid center and wounded five people. The attack, also alleged to have been launched by the LTTE, took place close to a police station in the coastal town of Akkaraipattu, about 192 miles (310 kilometers) east of the capital Colombo.  It was the second attack in a span of a week against a tsunami relief center along the troubled east coast.  Agence France-Presse reports that the military has said that they believe the attackers are targeting security forces guarding the relief centers rather than the centers themselves.  Additionally, on Wednesday (July 20) a village counselor was killed by two men in Kalmunai district.
International Financial Assistance	Officials say that international donations and debt relief have reached some US$3 billion over a period of three to five years, nearly twice as much as what the government has estimated it will cost to rebuild.  (May-20, Reuters)   The government has estimated that it will cost up to US$1.6 billion to rebuild infrastructure destroyed or damaged.  The so-called Paris Club of rich creditor nations in March offered to freeze Sri Lanka’s $300 million in debt payments until the end of 2005.  The government has said it wishes to see that extended for three years.  (May-11, AFP) The Paris Club has agreed to allow the deferred payments to be repaid over five years, with a one-year grace period.  Sri Lanka owes the Paris Club some US$4.6 billion.

Thailand

 

 

 

Overview. ………………………………………………. page 14

 

Sectors……………………………………………………page 14

 

Overview: The Thailand News Agency (TNA) reports that Plodprasop Suraswadi, Director of the Nonthaburi province-based National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC), said that Thailand’s tsunami early warning system and evacuation plan was 80 percent successful. “Thailand needs to speed up its installation of tsunami-detection buoys in the Andaman Sea in order to increase the efficiency of the warning system,” TNA quoted Plodprasop as saying. (July-28, TNA) The alert came after an earthquake measuring 7.3 on the richter scale struck India’s Nicobar Islands, located some 664 kilometers (412 miles) from Phuket. Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) governor Juthamas Siriwan said that Thailand’s new disaster early warning system was successfully tested Sunday (July 24). No reports of injuries or damages were received. “Beach resorts and hotels on the Andaman coast were effectively alerted within minutes of the Nicobar Islands earthquake Sunday night,” Juthamas said. Plodprasop urged residents in the six at-risk provinces not to ignore the NDWC warnings. (July-26, The Nation)

 

According to the Phuket Gazette, Phuket’s tsunami warning system will be linked in August via satellite to the NDWC. The NDWC system will reportedly make Thailand one of the first countries hit by the tsunami to devise a national warning system. (July-28, Phuket Gazette)