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Indian Ocean Earthquake & Tsunami Emergency Update

 

December 29, 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 9-14

Thailand.......................................page 15-18

Overview

 

·      The overall focus of attention is on rebuilding and 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 estimated to be some 232,000 people along the coastal areas of 12 countries in the Indian Ocean, although a true toll will likely never be known. At least 1.7 million are reported to be homeless with estimates over 2 million. Tsunami-related deaths were recorded in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar, Maldives, Bangladesh, Somalia, Tanzania, Kenya and the Seychelles. The loss of life was particularly severe in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. Nearly 166,000 dead and missing are from worst-hit Aceh province in Indonesia. The dead and missing toll in Sri Lanka is 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.

 

·       Countries across the Indian Ocean region have been holding ceremonies to mark the first anniversary of the devastating tsunami.  In worst-hit Aceh, Indonesia, a minute’s silence was reportedly held in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh to mark the moment when waves first came ashore and a siren was then sounded, part of Indonesia’s new tsunami warning system.  In the Sumatran town of Padang, the system was tested for the first time, with some 2,000 residents evacuated as part of a drill.  Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono paid tribute to the survivors of the disaster, which killed or left missing nearly 166,000 people.  “You have reminded us that life is worth struggling for,” Yudhoyono said to survivors.  In Sri Lanka, the next worst affected by the disaster, the country has paid tribute in an official ceremony and private ceremonies across the country, to the some 39,000 who were killed on the island.  The government held the official ceremony at southern Peraliya, where more than 1,000 perished when a train they were riding on was hit by the waves.  The ceremony was attended by President Mahinda Rajapakse while Muslim and Buddhist priests chanted blessings at the site.  In Thailand, the country held ceremonies to remember the some 5,400 people who died, many of whom were foreign tourists.  Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra attended his country's official ceremony along the coastline at Khao Lak in southern Thailand, the worst-hit area in the country.  Shinawatra reportedly laid a foundation stone for a memorial, while Thais and foreign survivors and relatives of those killed invited by the government to attend the ceremonies, laid flowers for the deceased.  In India, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, a memorial column was unveiled in the worst-hit district, Nagapattinam, where more than 6,000 people died.  About 12,405 people died and some 5,640 people are missing from the disaster in southeastern India, including the Andaman and Nicobar islands.  About 1.7 million people, with estimates as high as over 2 million, were left homeless from the disaster around the region.  Although people around the world pledged some US$13.6 billion, in what is being described as the most generously funded humanitarian effort in history, thousands of people still live in temporary shelters and reconstruction has been criticized as being too slow.

 

·       Over US$13 billion has been raised to rebuild countries affected by the tsunami disaster, which according to Reuters, is more than enough to meet estimated needs. Total damage is some US$10.73 billion, with rebuilding costs approximately US$10.375 billion. At least 1.7 million people remain displaced. The number of houses needed is at some 308,000 while the number built or under construction is at around 46,000, according to Reuters. The UN’s humanitarian chief, Jan Egelan says that a record 90 countries contributed to the relief effort, while some militaries from 36 nations and 500 NGOs from around the world also assisted. “The world’s response to the tsunami was the best ever. Governments, the private sector, and individuals around the world opened their hearts and their wallets. Private donations for the tsunami eclipsed anything seen before,” Egeland said. Dozens of governments, the World Bank and Asian Development Bank have pledged more than US$7 billion. So far, over US$6 billion has been allocated, according to Reuters. The public donated over US$5 billion. Egeland has praised the relief effort but says that reconstruction is taking more time than the UN expected. (Dec-19, AP, Reuters)

 

·    The World Food Program (WFP) says it has helped feed more than 2 million people in 6 countries. The WFP has distributed 210,000 metric tons of food to 2.24 million people in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Somalia, Myanmar, Maldives and Thailand over the past year. WFP says it has spent some US$215 million, or some 80 percent, of the US$273 million in donations it received for the disaster. (Dec-21, AP) WFP says it will extend its operations in Indonesia and Sri Lanka through 2007 for 1.5 million people affected by the disaster, but will phase out Somalia and the Maldives by the end of this year. Aid will be provided to some 1.2 million people affected by the tsunami in Indonesia and another 347,000 in Sri Lanka. Relief operations in Thailand and Myanmar were wrapped up in mid-2005. The food agency says it will concentrate on the most vulnerable: Children, new mothers, displaced people and the elderly. At the peak of the operation in May, WFP had provided food to some 2.24 million people in 6 countries. (Nov 29, WFP)

 

·       In a report, the British-based aid group Oxfam International said that only one-fifth of the some 1.7 million people made homeless by the tsunami disaster will be in permanent homes by the end of this year. The report is entitled: “A Place to Stay, A Place to Live.” In the three worst-affected countries—Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Indonesia, the total need was for 308,000 homes. Oxfam also said that progress has been hindered because the government has been slow to allocate lands for rebuilding and have issued unclear guidelines for exclusion zones where no rebuilding is to take place. (Dec-14, Reuters)

 

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

 

·    Violence continues in Sri Lanka’s north and east, threatening 2002 ceasefire; Insurgency violence continues in southern Thailand;


Indonesia

 

Organization

 

Overview …………………………………………………………page 5

 

Sectors……………………………………………………………page 5

Overview:

 

The Indonesian military (TNI) has pulled out the last of its some 24,000 troop reinforcements from Aceh today (Thursday, December 29), fulfilling one of the key points of a historic peace agreement with former separatist rebels.  Following the earthquake and tsunami disaster, the Indonesian government and Free Aceh Movement (GAM) signed a peace deal on August 15th meant to end decades of fighting in the province.  Both sides had said they did not want to see the people of Aceh suffer any more.  The rebels had agreed to give up their demands for independence and to disarm, while the government offered the GAM amnesty, the right to political representation, and a partial withdrawal of security troops from the province. At least some 3,353 soldiers left via the port of Lhokseumawe today, and Aceh military commander Supiadin A.S. said in a small ceremony marking the withdrawal of the troops that the military had pulled out 24,125 soldiers under the peace agreement.  A final withdrawal of security forces, comprised of a contingent of police reinforcements, will occur on Saturday (December 31) according to Reuters.  Some 14,700 local soldiers and 9,100 police officers are to remain in the province.  The government had more than 30,000 soldiers and 15,000 police officers in the province before the truce was signed.  The final withdrawal of military reinforcements comes after the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) formally disbanded its military wing earlier this week.  The disbandment paves the way for the former rebels to transform themselves into a political party and run for provincial elections slated for April.  Last week, the former rebels officially finished the handover of all of their 840 declared weapons, fulfilling one of the most important points of the peace pact.  GAM representative Irwandi Yusuf and Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM) chief Pieter Feith were among those who attended the withdrawal ceremony today.  According to the Associated Press, Yusuf said that he hoped the troop withdrawal signaled the permanent end to fighting in the province and said that his former fighters were looking forward to taking part in local elections next year.  “I hope this really means that peace is at hand,” Yusuf said.  The disarmament and withdrawal stage of the peace pact has gone smoothly without any major setbacks, surprising even most optimistic observers.  Analysts say that one of the next challenges towards lasting peace in the province is finding jobs for former GAM fighters as they reintegrate into Acehnese society.  Some 15,000 people were killed in the nearly 30 years since the GAM began fighting for independence in Aceh.

 

Sector Status

Affected Population

The death toll stands at 131,029, with some 37,000 others reported to be missing.

 

According to latest figures by the BRR, around 192,000 people remain displaced by the disaster. Around 15 percent will have permanent homes by the end of the year. (Dec-16, Reuters) According to AFP, more than 60,000 are living in tents and 100,000 in temporary shelters, while others are staying with relatives. (Dec-24, AFP)

 

Male survivors reportedly outnumber women by a ratio of 3:1 in some villages. (Dec-14, Reuters) More than 2,150 children lost both parents. (Dec-24, AFP)

Coordination

Indonesia tested its tsunami warning system for the first time Monday (December 26) in Padang, Western Sumatra. The chief of the meteorological agency, Sri Woro Budi Harijono, sent a warning to the Padang mayor after receiving dummy data from a sensor on the ocean floor. Some 2,000 residents were evacuated in the drill. Harijono said that for a real tsunami, his agency would have also sent out mobile phone text messages to residents and to officials in 8 Asian nations. Science and Technology Ministry official Edi Prihantoro says that 15 sets of buoys and more than 100 seismographs should be set up by 2009. He says that he hopes the system could warn endangered areas no more than 5 minutes after an earthquake takes place. (Dec-27, AP)

 

The BRR - Badan Rehabilitasi dan Rekonstruksi oversees reconstruction.  The agency is headed by former mines and energy minister Kuntoro Mangkusubroto  (May-9, Reuters, BBC)

 

BRR set up a special trust fund to speed up rebuilding, the Rehabilitation Aceh and Nias (RAN) Trust Fund.  The BRR says that the plan will cut red tape in disbursing money for projects.  

 

Unitary Website for Aceh, Nias Island, & North Sumatra Reconstruction Information Sharing : http://www.e-aceh-nias.org/

Logistics

The United Nations Joint Logistics Centre (UNJLC) exited its tsunami mission on September 30, 2005. (Sep-28, UNJLC) At the request of the GoI and the UN Country Team, a UN logistics coordination service, called the UN Logistics Coordination Support (LCS) will be established to provide integrated, multi-modal logistics coordination support to aid groups during reconstruction. (Sept-8, UNJLC)

 

For more logistical information see: http://www.unjlc.org.

Food

The World Food Program (WFP) says it will extend its operations in Indonesia through 2007 for 1.2 million people affected by the tsunami in Indonesia. The food agency says it will concentrate on the most vulnerable: children, new mothers, displaced people and the elderly. At the peak of the operation in May, WFP had provided food to some 2.24 million people in 6 countries. (Nov 29, WFP)

Water and Sanitation

 

Public Health/Medical

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) says that it is finding that health indicators have returned to pre-tsunami levels. However, an MSF survey showed that in some locations up to 83.6 percent of those surveyed showed signs of severe emotional distress. (Dec-16, Reuters)

 

UNICEF says that the majority of children in nations hit by the disaster are hopeful about the future, however, Indonesian children appear to be recovering the slowest. More than 1,600 children were surveyed by UNICEF from Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and India, all of whom had lost a relative or home. One third of children surveyed in Indonesia said that their lives would not improve, versus some 80 percent of children in the other three countries who believed their lives would improve. (Dec-22, AFP). According to AFP, at least 20,000 children are believed to have suffered psychological trauma. (Dec-24, AFP)

Shelter

BRR head Kuntoro says that the agency was sticking to a target to have some 30,000 houses built by a variety of partners by the end of the year, with 80,000 to be built next year, which is more than the national capacity. Some 16,500 houses have already been built. NGOs were expected to build some 38,000 houses out of the total. He says the BRR plans to have all those living in temporary barracks and tents moved to permanent houses by 2007. Some 67,000 remain in tents and 30,000 live in barracks. 15,000 houses are currently under construction. (Dec-15, Reuters)

 

IFRC will erect some 20,000 transitional shelters for survivors in Aceh to replace inadequate tents. (Dec-14, IRC)

 

Salvation Army handed over 500 houses in Meulaboh on December 26 during a commemoration ceremony. (Dec-28, SA)

Infrastructure

UNDP says that Aceh will soon experience a construction boom that will require another 200,000 workers in mid-2006, while construction in Aceh and Nias could soon reach US$2 billion a year. (Dec-22, Reuters) Nearly 1,000 reconstruction projects are underway in Aceh. (Dec-22, Reuters)

 

UNICEF says it is starting the construction of some 300 primary schools and the rehabilitation of some 200 others, which will serve some 120,000 children. (Nov-30, UNICEF) More than 2,000 schools were damaged or destroyed. (Dec-16, Reuters)

 

The Jakarta Post reports that a study by the Aceh Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Appraisal (ARRA) project found that poor coordination has been blamed for the slow reconstruction progress, particularly in housing and economic recovery.  Some of the findings included the housing and clean water sector, where the ARRA found that there was too wide a variety of styles and types of housing, such that people did not know minimum standards set by the BRR.  In the economic recovery sector, the ARRA found that many of the economic recovery programs being offered comprised only partial assistance and was not accompanied by appropriate guidance.  

 

Oxfam reports crops being sown on reclaimed land. It may take 2-5 years before moderately affected land was back to normal. (Dec-22, Reuters) GoI says that of an estimated 57,758 hectares (142,700 acres) of devastated land, 20,000 hectares (17,300 acres) has been targeted for rehabilitation for 2005. BRR will rehabilitate 7000 hectares (49,420 acres), while the other 13,000 hectares (142,700 acres) will be rehabilitated by groups such as the ADB, USAID and FAO. (GoI, Sep-26)

 

Disaster destroyed or damaged some 948 miles (1526 kilometers) of roads. (Oct-25, CSM) 116,880 houses were destroyed or damaged in 2,496 villages throughout 17 affected regencies (kabupaten) from a total of 21 in Aceh. Of these, 57% were destroyed and 12% sustained major damage. The total amount of settlement areas affected by the tsunami amounted to 173,673 hectares (429,200 acres), of which 35% of the villages were completely destroyed. (Jun-19, GoI, IOM)

Security

Last reinforcement Indonesian military (TNI) troops withdrawn from Aceh on Thursday (December 29) following the formal disbandment of the GAM military wing on Tuesday (December 27). GAM had finished its official handover of weapons on December 21 as part of the peace deal.

International Financial Assistance

Total funds pledged is: US$6.5 billion. Around US$4.5 billion has been secured, which includes some US$2.5 billion from NGOs. (Dec-14, Reuters) Reuters says that Indonesia will need to spend some US$5-5.5 billion for the long-term recovery of Aceh. (Dec-16, Reuters) Critics say the unprecedented amount of money pledged to Indonesia has helped to slow down the pace of reconstruction. Many critics also say that the money is too much for Indonesia’s needs. (Dec-7, DPA)

 

World Bank says that reconstruction in Aceh has taken too long, with 180,000 people still in temporary homes. WB data shows the unemployment rate at 27 percent and economic stagnation could push 600,000 below the poverty line, and earning less than a dollar a day within the next 6 to 18 months. (Dec-14, Reuters) Nearly 600,000 people lost their livelihoods. (Dec-22, Reuters)  

 

GOI earlier this year put the December tsunami/earthquake losses at US$4.5 billion, about 97% of Aceh’s GDP. The Consultative Group on Indonesia, made up of 30 international lenders, pledged US$1.7 billion in tsunami aid for 2005, consisting of US$1.2 billion in grants and US$500 million in soft loans. GoI will accept the offer of a debt moratorium from the Paris Club. The total debt on which repayment will be delayed is US$2.6 billion. (Mar-14, Tempo Interactive) Indonesia had some US$48 billion in foreign debt to donor countries under the Paris Club. (Mar-14, Xinhua)

 

Government of Indonesia requested the World Bank, to set up a Multi-Donor Trust Fund for Aceh and Nias, which to date represents over US$520 million and to date has 15 donors with more expected to join.(World Bank) Website: http://www.mdtfans.org/ The Steering Committee of the Multi-Donor Trust Fund for Aceh and North Sumatra will manage the funds. (Jun-26, AFP)


Sri Lanka

 

 

Overview…………………………………………………..page 10

 

Sectors…………………………………………………….page 10

 

Overview:

 

In tsunami commemoration ceremonies, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse admitted that reconstruction had been slow and that the country had failed to make sure that relief reached all survivors. “Have we been able to do maximum justice to those who sacrificed their lives as victims of this tragedy? Have we been able to carry forward the great strength our people demonstrated just after the tragedy? It is my belief that we are unable to answer both these questions to our satisfaction,” Rajapakse said. According to Agence France-Presse, Rajapakse said that he was launching a new initiative to speed up slow reconstruction and said that there would be “new dynamism” in his administration. The project aims to gather all relief organizations under one umbrella to improve coordination. (Dec-26, AFP)

 

Scandinavian truce monitors in Sri Lanka warned today (Thursday, December 29) that the country is on the brink of war and urged the government and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels to put an immediate end to the latest wave of hostilities.  The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), comprised of ceasefire monitors from five Nordic nations namely, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, said the mission's own security was threatened by the recent cycle of violence, adding that it could not operate in an insecure environment.  Hagrup Haukland, SLMM chief, said in a statement that the present spiral of violence was not conducive to a badly needed high-level meeting between the two parties, adding, “If the trend of violence is allowed to continue, war may not be far away.”  The remarks come a day after Norway, the principal peace broker, and the United States urged the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government to immediately resume talks to save the faltering ceasefire agreement.  The warnings all come amid mounting violence in the country and after 11 soldiers were killed in a mine attack in Jaffna in the north earlier this week and the assassination of a Tamil Minister of Parliament (MP) on Sunday (December 25) during a Christmas Mass. The latest attacks bring the number of Sri Lankan military personnel killed to over forty in December, thus far making this month the bloodiest since a Norwegian-brokered truce came into effect in February 2002.  Donor countries, which include major aid donors Norway, Japan, the European Union and the US, have also expressed concern over the mounting violence and have urged both sides to immediately put a stop to the violence. 

 

Citing anonymous Sri Lankan sources, the Hindustan Times reported that talks between the government and the LTTE are likely to be held in early January.  Meanwhile, Norway has said that it has no insistence on the choice of the venue of proposed talks between the two sides.  However, the Sri Lankan government wants the talks to be held in an Asian country, while the LTTE has insisted it should be held in the Norwegian capital of Oslo.  The Sri Lankan government, which is not too happy with Erik Solheim as the chief mediator, has also said it would like the peace process to be directly handled by the Norwegian Foreign Ministry and not by a single person.  Solheim, who has been the Special Envoy since the beginning of the peace process in December 2001, has become controversial because of an alleged tilt towards the LTTE. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse held talks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Delhi earlier this week on his first visit abroad.  Rajapakse has asked for greater Indian involvement with Sri Lanka’s peace process. However,it is unclear at this moment what, if any, involvement the Indian government will have in the peace process.

 

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)

 

GoSL and other estimates put the number displaced as high as 1 million. (Dec-26, 27, GoSL, AFP) TAFREN says that some 275,000 are living in transitional shelters. (Dec-22, Reuters)

 

As of August, 2005, some 800,000 people remain displaced in Sri Lanka by both the island’s long-running civil war and the tsunami disaster, the Global IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) Project of the Norwegian Refugee Council reports.  Around 457,500 people displaced by the tsunami are still living in temporary shelters or with friends and family. Another 347,500 people remain displaced by the conflict.  The tsunami disaster of December 26, 2004, had initially added one million displaced to the country, the IDP Project said. 

 

 

Coordination

IOM, along with the GoSL National Data Center in Colombo, are carrying out the creation of a centralized database of people affected by the tsunami. The project is expected to cover some 1 million people affected. (Dec-13, IOM)

 

Officials say they hope to use text messages and the mobile phone system as a mobile phone warning system. A pilot project will be launched in the island’s southern coast, and will use text messages to alert police, village chiefs and other officials. Dialog Telekom, a mobile phone operator, says the system could be up and running by mid-2006. About 3.5 million Sri Lankans have mobile phones. The system will also use alarms linked to the network which will trigger sirens in temples, churches and police stations. Officials will control the system from the capital, Colombo. (Nov-14, Reuters)

 

The UN Development Program (UNDP) announced the launching of the web portal, known as the Development Assistance Database (DAD), which will help to better coordinate and monitor post tsunami recovery aid. TAFREN is spearheading the database with support from UNDP. The website can be found at: http://dad.tafren.gov.lk. (Sept-2, UNDP)

 

Sri Lankan Supreme Court temporarily blocked the Joint mechanism deal, officially known as the Post-Tsunami Operations Management Structure (P-TOMS).

 

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.

Logistics

For additional logistical information see: http://www.unjlc.org.

 

Food

Oxfam says the August catch for the fishing industry reached nearly 70 percent of the previous year’s. Reuters reports that aid groups have estimated that as little as 10 to 20 percent of fishermen have returned to work along the north coast. Reuters reports that 16,919 boats were damaged or destroyed, or some 74 percent of the fishing fleet. (Dec-22, Reuters)

 

The World Food Program (WFP) says it will extend its operations in Sri Lanka through 2007 for some 347,000 people affected by the disaster. WFP says the assistance to tsunami-hit communities will be joined with a larger, ongoing program for people in conflict-affected areas. Assistance will focus on long-term recovery rather than free food distributions. Some 100,000 children under age five, as well as pregnant and new mothers will be provided with supplementary food through mother and child nutrition programs. (Nov-29, WFP)

Water and

Sanitation

IFRC says an estimated 45,000 latrines and 76,000 wells were destroyed or damaged by the tsunami. (Oct-10, IFRC)

 

Public Health

and Medical

 

 

Shelter

The GoSL says that that only one-fifth of homes that were damaged or destroyed, some 20,000 of 98,525, have been rebuilt. “There have been several constraints. The local capacity constraint. The construction industry capacity…and the lack of labor and materials,” Finance Secretary P.B. Jayasundra said. (Dec-26, AFP) GoSL says a large number of shelters and houses have been built by religious organizations, individuals, businesses and other organizations, but have not been reported to the government, so exact numbers are not known. (Dec-27, GoSL)

 

IFRC says that the GoSl, NGOs, and UN think that it will take a year-and-a-half to three years to construct or repair all housing. The major challenge thus far has been to identify and secure adequate land. About 15,000 permanent houses will be built by IFRC donors, while another 25,000 will be supported by other agencies. As of November 1, IFRC says it has been allocated 43 sites in 10 districts for the construction of 5,517 houses and the construction of over 2,200 homes is underway. (Nov-9, IFRC)

 

UNHCR has supported the GoSL’s Transitional Accommodation Project (TAP) with the provision of over 55,000 shelters at 500 sites nationwide. Another 2,000 shelters are near completion. Some 60,000 transitional shelters are targeted in total. (Dec-27, GoSL) More than 200,000 people in all should benefit from the program. The UNHCR Shelter Coordinator says that with some 95 percent of transitional shelter needs met, focus is beginning to shift to “care and maintenance” of shelters. UNHCR says it will complete its transitional shelter work by the end of the year. (Oct-25, 26, UNHCR, UNNS) The project was funded by UNDP, UNHCR, IOM and local and international NGOs.

Infrastructure

According to Reuters, damages have been estimated at US$2.2 billion. Estimated needs for long-term recovery is at US$2.5 billion. GoSL has estimated cost at US$2.2 billion; AFP says loss of infrastructure estimated at US$900 million, and reconstruction and rehabilitation needs fall in line with GoSL estimate at US$2.2 billion. (Dec-27, AFP) The government had earlier estimated that it will cost up to US$1.6 billion to rebuild destroyed or damaged infrastructure. (Dec-22, Reuters) GoSL estimates it will take 3-5 years to complete the rehabilitation and reconstruction task and fully restore livelihoods and services. (Dec-27, GoSL)

 

The Daily News reported that the GoSL has decided to revise its 100/200 meter buffer zone for reconstruction along the island’s coastal areas. The GoSL Information Department said that under the new set of rules, the buffer will be reduced to a range between 25-55 meters in the south and 50-100 meters in the northeast. Following the disaster, the government declared a 100/200 meters strip of land as a “no build zone,” however, many residents had complained that this would push back those whose livelihoods depended upon being closer to the ocean. (Oct-15, Xinhua)

 

Sri Lanka’s Cabinet has approved US$310 million in donor funding to reconstruct 1,137 kilometers (706 miles) of road and 25 bridges. The Cabinet has also approved the purchase of 100 new passenger train carriages for the Sri Lanka Railway Department. Sri Lanka’s Road Development Authority estimates that some 2,425 kilometers (1,507 miles) of coastline out of a total of 2,825 kilometers (1,755 mile) was directly affected by the disaster. (Sept-22, UNOCHA)

 

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) Reuters reports that 65,275 houses were destroyed. (Dec-22, Reuters)

Security

Violence continues in north and east. December has been reported to be the deadliest month for Sri Lankan military troops since the February 2002 ceasefire went into effect. Scandinavian-led peace monitors have warned of a return to civil war. Chief mediator Norway and key international donors have also urged both sides to return to talks to salvage the shaky Norwegian-brokered ceasefire agreement.

International Financial Assistance

According to Reuters, funds pledged for long-term recovery is at some US$3.3 billion, of which some US$2.2 billion has been secured. (Dec-22, Reuters) GoSL says US$600 million has already been disbursed. (Dec-27, GoSL) AFP reports a state audit report noted only some 13 percent of international help had actually been used in the country thus far. (Dec-27, AFP)

 

The independent think-tank, the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), says that international and local NGOs have wasted aid money and slowed reconstruction efforts in Sri Lanka. The IPS recommended the government rein in the number of NGOs which it says is in competition with one another and primarily concerned with grabbing media attention. Almost 300 NGOs collected millions of dollars for Sri Lanka following the disaster, according to Agence France-Presse. (Dec-1, AFP)

 

Aid groups say 90 percent of working people in affected areas lost their livelihoods. (Dec-22, Reuters) ADB estimates more than a third of the 500,000 people affected by the tsunami lost their incomes. (Oct-11, ADB)

 

Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court on September 12 delayed a hearing on a controversial government deal to share about US$3.2 billion in tsunami aid with the LTTE rebels.  The aid-sharing deal is formally known as the Post-Tsunami Operations Management Structure (P-TOMS). 

 

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 16

 

Sectors……………………………………………………page 16

 

Overview

 

The Bangkok Post reports that according to a UN report and a survey by Assumption University in Bangkok, financial aid and relief efforts by organizations have not fully addressed the plight of survivors. Many survivors are still in need of money, jobs, equipment for jobs, and several tourist spots need to be rebuilt, the newspaper says in an editorial. Many survivors also need treatment to overcome trauma, rehabilitation of marine resources needs to be fully implemented and land ownership conflicts need to be resolved, the Bangkok Post says. (Dec-28, Bangkok Post)

 

Smith Thammasaroj, the deputy director of the National Disaster Warning Center said Tuesday (December 26) that coastal hotels are still unprepared for another tsunami. He said that tourist facilities had still not yet hooked into the center, which could give them quick notice of a tsunami or other disaster. Some hotels have said that they have made preparations. Smith was former head of the country’s meteorological department. In 1998, he was accused of scaring people and causing a panic after he warned that the southwest coast could be hit by a deadly tsunami. However, he was returned to government service after his prediction proved accurate. (Dec-27, AP)

 


Sector Status

Affected Population

The death toll issued by the Thai Ministry of Interior Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) is at 5,395. The number of Thai deceased is at 1,972 and foreign nationals at 2,436, with another 1,175 of unknown nationality. Number of missing is at 2,817. Of those, 1,924 are Thais. (May 13, UN, Dec-16, Reuters)

 

Number of people affected is at 54,672 people or some 12,068 families in six southern provinces.

 

The Tsunami Action Group (TAG), a migrant advocate group, and the Law Society of Thailand have estimated that between 700 and 2,500 Myanmar migrant workers went missing. Many of them were not officially registered, and do not appear to be included in the official list of the killed. (June-8, Amnesty International) Other estimates have the number at 1,000 to 7,000. (Jun-27, Irrawaddy) Thousands of illegal workers from Myanmar are reportedly still afraid to search for missing relatives because they fear expulsion. NGOs like Grassroots HRE and Development Committee have been able to help identify only 103 so far through DNA matches. All the identified were legal migrants. Kyaw Lin Oo of the Grassroots HRE says that up to 36,000 people from Myanmar were living in coastal areas before the tsunami hit. Some 24,000 were in Thailand illegally. (Dec-28, Reuters)

 

The Thailand Tsunami Victims Identification Centre (TTVIC) in Phuket will be moved to the Royal Thai Police headquarters in Bangkok, TTVIC chief Police General Noppadol Somboonsab said. Some 805 bodies remain unclaimed, including some 548 Thais. The bodies will be transferred from Mai Khao morgue in Phuket to Bang Maruan morgue in Phang Nga. According to The Nation, most bodies have been processed by disaster victim identification (DVI) officials and the information will be available for later identification so relatives can claim the bodies. Most of the international teams are due to leave Thailand after helping to identify some 2,945 bodies since the disaster. Nearly 2,000 experts from 31 nations have been involved with the TTVIC. (Dec-13, 14, The Nation, Reuters)

 

An estimated 1,200 children were orphaned. (Dec-24, AFP)

Coordination

Thailand’s Foreign Ministry and the UNDP on October 28 launched a website, “Thailand’s Development Assistance Database” (DAD) that tracks international assistance to Thailand. Donors will be able to update their projects online. The website can be found at: http://dadthailand.mfa.go.th. The head of the Thailand International Development Cooperation Agency’s (TICA) humanitarian relief and assistance coordination task force, Manoth Suksabjarern, says that the system will serve as a prototype for other tsunami-affected countries including Sri Lanka, Indonesia and the Maldives. (Oct-31, The Nation)

 

Thai Ministers Jarusombat and Liptapanplop are responsible for victim assistance in Krabi, Phang Nga and Phuket, and Minister Krea-ngam will oversee disbursement of compensation funds. Minister Vejjajiva, from the Prime Minister’s Office, has been assigned overall responsibility for the country’s disaster alert system. (Sept-9, UNNCTT)

 

Thailand’s National Disaster Warning Center, the first among tsunami-affected countries, formally opened on May 30. (May-31, Bangkok Post)

 

The Thai government says it has a working tsunami early warning system in cooperation with the US and other neighboring countries. Thai Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon says the GOT has been working closely with neighboring countries and the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. (Nov-7, AFP)

Logistics

For logistical information see: http://www.unjlc.org.

Food

The number of fishermen given aid to replace or repair boats is around 24,486. (Dec-16, Reuters)

Water/Sanitation

UNICEF supporting some 800 schools in all 6 tsunami-affected provinces for water supply improvements. (Dec-1, UNICEF)

Public Health/Medical

Mental Health Department says there are some 18,509 people who need mental health rehabilitation. (Dec-16, Reuters) Mental Health Recovery Center in Phangnga says that it has provided counseling to 18,356 villagers in 6 coastal provinces. The counseling service would be provided until 2008. (Nov-7, Bangkok Post)

Shelter

The National Human Rights Commission said that residents of three villages in Phang Nga hold legitimate rights to the land that was claimed by businesses after the tsunami and urged the government to take steps to ensure the safety of the villagers as many had been threatened by violence if they tried to return to rebuild their homes. A report was released after an almost year-long investigation by the NHRC’s subcommittee on natural resources. (Dec-29, The Nation)

 

Some 2,685 homes were completed by November out of a government target of some 3,349 houses. (Dec-22, Reuters)

According to Reuters, only some 2,900 people are in temporary shelters, down from 7,000 in June. About 6,799 homes and properties were destroyed. Number of new homes completed is at 1,907. (Dec-16, Reuters)

Infrastructure

AFP says UN put damages at US$1.6 billion plus an additional repair bill of some US$500 million. (Dec-24, AFP)

 

According to a study by the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, damage and losses caused by the tsunami in Thailand are at some US$2.05 billion (84 billion baht). Losses to the tourism industry amount to around US$971 million. Of the 70 billion baht (US$1.7 billion) spent so far on humanitarian aid and reconstruction, 59 billion baht was in soft loans to large and small businesses. (Dec-16 and 22, Reuters)

Security

Thailand on October 18 extended a controversial emergency decree in the restive south. The emergency law, which was declared on July 20 and replaced martial law that was declared shortly after a renewed insurgency began in the region early last year, is renewable every three months. Over 1,000 people, including Muslim and Buddhist civilians and security forces, have been killed in the region since last year. Insurgency violence continues in southernmost provinces (Yala, Narathiwat, Pattani, and Songkhla). Military declared martial law in Songkhla districts of Chana and Thepha on November 3. (Nov-3, Bangkok Post) The US, Britain and Australia have issued travel warnings to its citizens, advising against non-essential travel to the south.

International Financial Assistance

The Thai government has provided more than US$1 billion to more than 442,000 affected people and international aid has totaled US$69 million. Biggest donors are UNICEF, World Vision, UNDP, World Bank and USAID. Loss in tourism-related income is at US$15 million while the fishing industry suffered losses of some US$267.8 million after the tsunami destroyed some 6,000 boats and marine hatcheries, according to the report. (Dec-22, Irrawaddy, Reuters) Over 100,000 people lost their jobs, according to the Bangkok Post. (Dec-28, Bangkok Post)

 

The ADB has set aside US$1.7 million for Thailand, to help develop long-term solutions for tsunami-affected areas, especially Krabi, Phuket and Phang Nga. Funds will come from the Asian Tsunami Fund, which was set up by the ADB in February with an initial contribution of US$600 million. (July-12, Phuket Gazette)