PACIFIC DISASTER MANAGEMENT INFORMATION NETWORK
(PDMIN)
1 Jarrett White Road MCPA-DM, Tripler AMC, HI 96859-5000
Telephone: 808.433.7035 á PDMIN@coe-dmha.org
á http://www.coe-dmha.org
Indian Ocean Earthquake & Tsunami Emergency Update
January 21, 2005
Note: New content has been inserted in red, italicized, bold font.
Table of Contents:
Overview......................................page 2-5
Indonesia.....................................page 6-18
Sri Lanka......................................page 19-26
Thailand.......................................page 27-33
Overview
á Search and rescue operations for last monthÕs (December 26) massive tsunamis are largely over. The overall focus of attention is relief, recovery and rehabilitation. The death toll from tsunamis triggered by an undersea earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale off the west coast of IndonesiaÕs northern Sumatra Island is now over 220,000 people along the coastal areas of 11 countries in the Indian Ocean. Tsunami-related deaths have been reported in Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar, Maldives, Bangladesh, Somalia, Tanzania and Kenya. The loss of life is particularly severe in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. The death toll in IndonesiaÕs northern province of Aceh on the island of Sumatra, which was close to the epicenter of the earthquake, climbed to more than 166,000, with tens of thousands people still unaccounted for. WHO estimates 80 percent of AcehÕs west coast was damaged. The death toll in Sri Lanka climbed to 38,000 and is expected to go higher. In India at least 10,672 died. IndiaÕs Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and the southern state of Tamil Nadu were the worst hit areas. The death toll on ThailandÕs west coast, including the resort islands of Phuket and Phi Phi, climbed to over 5,300, including some 1,765 foreigners from at least 36 countries. More than 400 combined deaths have been reported in Malaysia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Maldives, Somalia, Tanzania and Kenya. Preliminary cost are: Indonesia – US$4.5 billion, Sri Lanka - US$3.5 billion, India - US$2 billion, Thailand - US$235 million and Maldives at US$1.3 billion. The worldÕs largest reinsurer, Munich Re, estimates the total cost of the disaster to exceed US$13.6 billion.
á Coordination: The United States and a number of other militaries and agencies are operating out of and coordinating at ThailandÕs Utapao Royal Thai Air Force Base, about 100 miles south of Bangkok. The US Combined Support Force 536 (CSF 536), Combined Coordination Center (CCC), which is comprised of liaison officers from Australia, UK, Japan, Thailand and Singapore, and a Civil-Military Coordination Cell, are operating. USAID DART representatives are present, as is the UNOCHA coordinator in Thailand. 1,200 US troops are on the ground. Additionally, the US and perhaps others are using the base for transshipment of relief supplies. Work continues on refining the process humanitarian organizations use to request military transport.
o Lieutenant General Robert Blackman, commander of Combined Support Force (CSF 536), said Òconditions for transitionÓ have been met in both Thailand and Sri Lanka. Lieutenant General Blackman plans to officially disband CSF-Thailand by January 22, pending concurrence by US Ambassador to Thailand Ralph Boyce. Blackman also plans to phase out CSF-Sri Lanka by January 29.
á Logistics: A number of logistics challenges remain despite progress. Thailand is in good shape. In Sri Lanka, transport capacity is improving to move relief supplies as are distribution mechanisms. The need for helicopters is diminishing as more areas becoming accessible by road. In Indonesia, backlogs at Banda Aceh airport and nearby Medan airport are diminishing with increased humanitarian coordination and the opening of airport facilities on Weh Island and in neighboring Singapore and Malaysia. Tracking and prioritization systems for humanitarian cargo and military airlift are being developed. Indonesian military (TNI) control of Banda Aceh and Medan airports and control of humanitarian and military access has been a challenge for relief efforts. UNJLC has teams in Banda Aceh, Medan, Jakarta, and Colombo and liaison officers to work with the US military. Roads are now open to Meulaboh on the west coast of Aceh, but the road south from Banda Aceh is closed for perhaps a month as TNI effects repairs. (Jan-18, OCHA, US DoD)
o The UN is using MalaysiaÕs Subang Airport near the capital Kuala Lumpur as its regional Humanitarian Air Hub (SHAH). SHAH is jointly managed by WFP, the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF), the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) and UNJLC. Cargo is airlifted to either Banda Aceh or Medan or transported for dispatch by ship. UNJLC recommends all international relief flights land in Subang and then further dispatch the cargo by smaller aircraft to Banda Aceh and Medan. (Jan-17, WFP)
o With congestion at the Banda Aceh airport, UNJLC will begin to move cargo from SHAH by ship. WFP has a total shipping capacity of 10,000 metric tons, some of which it plans to make available to other agencies. (Jan-18, OCHA)
á Food: Jan Egeland, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs says at least 1.6 million people affected by the disaster are in need of food aid. UNÕs World Food Program (WFP) has already delivered some 9,744 metric tons of food in affected countries. WFP is currently assisting 1,100,000 people with food in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Myanmar, Thailand and Somalia. WFP says it has received US$81.9 million or one third of its US$256 million emergency appeal. The UNÕs Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates 2 million people in 12 countries affected by the tsunami disaster are in need of food assistance. FAO says despite local losses, overall food availability in the region is adequate to cover needs. FAO recommends local purchases of food, where possible, to meet food aid requirements. The agency is working to rehabilitate fisheries and agriculture in affected countries.
á Health/Medical: World Health Organization (WHO) officials in South Asia estimate as many as five million people displaced and at risk across the region. In Indonesia alone, an estimated 750,000 people are displaced. WHO estimates 500,000 people were injured. There have been some reports of diarrhea, malaria, pneumonia and skin infections in Indonesia. Ingestion of dirty water from the tsunami has increased the risk of pneumonia. Contamination of drinking water sources and stagnant water has increased the risk of water-borne diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, malaria and dengue fever. With the lack of services in some areas, wounds quickly become infected. Measles inoculation in camps has prevented the spread of that disease so far.
o WHO reports no disease outbreaks anywhere in the region. WHO is conducting helicopter-assisted rapid health assessments along the west coast of IndonesiaÕs Aceh Province. Large-scale measles vaccination campaigns aimed at 1.16 million children in IndonesiaÕs Meulaboh and in North Aceh following sporadic reports of measles. Local health officials vaccinated children against measles in four hardest-hit Thai provinces. WHO recommends malaria treatment and control measures be put in place, as well as a strategic plan to support existing health facilities. WHO established an effective disease surveillance system in the vicinity of Banda Aceh; in Thailand, disease surveillance is focused on risks of dengue fever outbreaks following reports of five cases of dengue in mid-January.
o WFP Executive-Director James Morris says before the tsunami in northern Sri Lanka, 35% (385,000) of an estimated 1.1 million children under the age of five were malnourished. WFP will distribute special rations to mothers and children in worst areas.
o Along AcechÕs west coast, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) reports cases of tetanus, a potentially life-threatening disease with a mortality rate as high as 25%. The disease is caused when untreated wounds are infected with the tetanus bacteria. MSF is urging other organizations to start preventive measures.
á Security: Aid groups and foreign troops helping with the relief efforts in Aceh have not reported any security problems. The Indonesian military reports it killed 120 insurgents in the last two weeks as they interfered with relief operations. The insurgent Free Aceh Movement (GAM) disputes the allegation and death count.
o UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan says relief workers have had no problems working in IndonesiaÕs tsunami-ravaged Aceh province despite simmering tensions between the government and rebels. However, he asked the UN staff to be careful.
o While visiting the provincial capital of Banda Aceh, Indonesian Vice President Yusuf Kalla said his government was working with GAM rebels for a permanent truce. The government indicates it may open talks with GAM this month.
o Sri Lankan government allows the UN and NGOs access to areas controlled by Liberation Tigers of Tamil (LTTE) rebels, which were devastated by last monthÕs tsunami. Both parties accuse the other of slowing down aid.
á Political-Military: US Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz says the US military is eager to begin a transitional phase to hand over its relief operations in countries affected by last monthÕs tsunami to their respective governments, other militaries, non-governmental organizations and aid agencies. He said, Òwe certainly hope that the US military can be handing this off to other people long before [the end of March]Ó
á UN head of tsunami coordination Margareta Walhstrom says the need for foreign militaries will diminish rapidly in the coming weeks as the UN and other aid organizations organize their own transportation. Admiral Thomas Fargo, the commander of the US Pacific Command, says that effective immediately, the US military will start transferring functions to the appropriate host nations and international organizations. The UN Joint Logistics Center has developed a transportation transition plan emphasizing shipping and trucking. The plan has been approved by the Indonesian government and coordinated with foreign militaries. Some humanitarians express concern that the militaries will depart too soon.
á Senior Indonesian military officials assure their foreign military counterparts that troops from friendly ASEAN nations can stay in tsunami-ravaged Aceh province as long as necessary to assist tsunami relief efforts—withdrawing an earlier-announced Vice Presidential deadline of 26 March.
o Singapore is wrapping up their military projects in IndonesiaÕs Aceh with the arrival of their third ship with Singaporean NGOs. SingaporeÕs Defense Minister Teo Chee Hean says the overall situation in Aceh is stabilizing ,and it is time for relief efforts to move from the emergency phase to the reconstruction phase.
á International Assistance: On January 20 an international group of donors known as the Consultative Group on Indonesia pledged US$1.7 billion to help Indonesia fund the reconstruction of its tsunami-stricken Aceh province. The pledges, made at the close of a two-day donor conference, are preliminary and depend on Jakarta's drafting of a plan to rebuild Aceh. Donors also pledged an additional US$3.4 billion to help Indonesia balance its budget and fund other programs bringing the total aid package to US$5.1 billion. (Jan-20, FT, JP)
o US congressman Jim Kolbe, chairman of the subcommittee on foreign operations on aid and relief work, said the US administration is likely to make another substantial request to Congress for aid to tsunami-affected countries.
o Jan Egeland, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, says his office is working with international financial experts, including the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, to devise a public tracking system on the Internet that will allow donors to track the progress and utilization of their contributions as they make their way to those in need.
o 4,000 delegates from over 150 nations are wrapping up a weeklong UN-sponsored World Conference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR) that opened on Tuesday (January 18) in Kobe, Japan. The conference agreed on a broad 10-year framework for action, which calls for nations to share technology and draw up their own disaster reduction and response plans. The UN will lead efforts to set up a tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean within 18 months, at a cost of US$30 million. Richer nations pledged US$8 million toward the system. Thailand is hosting a 43-nation, 13-international organization meeting in Phuket to plan the warning system. Jan Egeland, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, says all communities around the world should have access to an early warning system as soon as possible not only for tsunamis that occur relatively infrequently, but also for other natural disasters such as typhoons, hurricanes and drought that occur more frequently.
á International Development & Relief Organizations: IFRC says its Revised Preliminary Appeal 28/2004 is funded at US$119 million (77.1%) of the US$155 million target.
Indonesia
Organization
Overview ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉpage 7
SectorsÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉpage 8
Domestic ResponseÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉpage 14
Government
Local Humanitarian Organizations
International ResponseÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ.page 15
Foreign Governments
United Nations
International Humanitarian Organizations