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| On
26 December 2004 at 00:58:50 (GMT), an earthquake with a magnitude
of 9.00 on the Richter Scale erupted in the Indian Ocean, off
the western coast of Northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The underwater
earthquake triggered a huge Tsunami, which swept over the Province
of Aceh in Indonesia before hitting Sri Lanka, India, Thailand,
Malaysia, and Maldives; killing and injuring hundreds of thousands,
bringing with it immense destruction to property and livelihood.
The earthquake has been recorded as the fifth largest earthquake
in the world in the past 100 years and worst in 40 years. Several
other countries in the Asia - Myanmar, Bangladesh and Eastern
Africa - Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania and Seychelles were also severely
affected. |
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Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) responded
to requests for assistance from and mobilized teams to visit
the different affected areas in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Indonesia
and Maldives. ADPC is working closely with the governments,
United Nations agencies, local and international NGOs and the
donor community.
Dr Suvit Yodmani, ADPC Executive Director, was invited to attend
the “Special ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting on Aftermath
of Earthquake and Tsunami” in Jakarta on January 6, 2005.
The summit meeting was attended by the Heads of State/Government,
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Special Envoys and Heads of
regional and international organizations. The meeting discussed
the experiences and concerns of the countries in the Asian region,
with regards to the national and regional impact of and destruction
caused by the tsunami. The meeting also discussed the way ahead,
especially the establishment of early warning systems in the
region affected.
ADPC has been invited to participate in the Workshop on Tsunami
Early Warning, hosted by the Government of the People's Republic
of China, in Beijing on January 25 - 26, 2005.
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| Thailand |
December 27, 2004: In partnership with Télécoms
sans Frontieres International (TSFI), Asian Disaster Preparedness
Center sent a team to Phuket and Phang-Nga in Thailand. Its
initial task was to provide telecommunication in the affected
areas, which had been badly disrupted. The team was able to
establish and provide communication until 29 December when all
communication networks were restored by the Thai Government.
The team also conducted a Rapid Disaster Damage and Needs Assessment
and Analysis of the affected areas.
January 5 - 12, 2005: ADPC was asked to participate in an UN-OCHA/UNDAC
team to coordinate its rescue and restoration operations in
the Phuket and Phang Nga areas. The team worked closely with
the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, and local and international NGOs.
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| Sri Lanka |
| December 28,
2004: Upon invitation of the Sri Lankan Government, an ADPC team
was sent to the affected areas in Sri Lanka. In partnership with
TSFI, ADPC helped to provide communications to the people in the
affected areas in south and southeastern parts of Sri Lanka covering
Galle, Matara and Hambantota districts. With the assistance of
the National Building Research Organization (NBRO), and the Centre
for Housing Planning and Building (CHPB) - ADPC's two local partners
- two rapid assessment were conducted on (i) identifying factors
contributing to the high losses, casualties and damage to property,
possible risk reduction measures including long and short term
recovery programs, and suggesting approaches for implementing
reconstruction and rehabilitation programs in human settlement
sector; and (ii) assessing the status quo of centers established
for internally displaced persons, with reference to operational
efficiency and extent of damage to human settlements due to the
Tsunami. The study was completed on 3 January 2005 and a report
of the preliminary findings with recommendations was presented
to the Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Construction Industries,
Eastern Province Education and Irrigation Development on 6 January
2005. |
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| Indonesia |
| January
2, 2005: In collaboration with TSFI, an ADPC team was sent to
Indonesia to provide telecommunication support. |
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| Maldives |
| January
10, 2005: Two ADPC experts were invited to participate in a Joint
Assessment Mission undertaken by the World Bank/ADB/UN System
to assess the damage and losses occurred by the disaster and to
identify the medium to long term reconstruction needs and define
the reconstruction strategy; a consolidated report to be submitted
to the Government of Maldives.
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reports |
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Summary of Sri Lanka
Findings in pictures.
The lack of awareness about tsunami behavior increased the impact
of the event. Nature provided a few warning indicators, which
were ignored by everyone. If the public were aware of indicators
such as the disappearance of the sea for few minutes, they could
have identified the danger and many lives could have been saved.
There was nearly 40minute of lag time between the destructive
sea waves. Especially in the case of Sri Lanka there was enough
lag time between the affected zones in eastern coast and western
coast for warnings to be issued. |
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Commendation Letter from the President,
World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine |
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