PACIFIC DISASTER MANAGEMENT INFORMATION NETWORK
(PDMIN)
1 Jarrett White Road MCPA-DM, Tripler AMC, HI 96859-5000
Telephone: 808.433.7035 · PDMIN@coe-dmha.org
· http://www.coe-dmha.org
Indian Ocean Earthquake & Tsunami Emergency Update
November 17, 2005
Note: New content has
been inserted in red, italicized, bold font.
Table of Contents:
Overview......................................page
2
Indonesia.....................................page
3-8
Sri Lanka.....................................page
9-15
Thailand.......................................page
16-20
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’s Aceh province. 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.
· Denmark is hosting an international
workshop entitled, “Strengthening the resilience of local communities to cope
with water related natural hazards,” to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark from
November 16-18. The workshop is
being jointly organized with the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction
secretariat, and will bring together representatives from India, Sri Lanka,
Thailand, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Malaysia, local NGOs and regional and
international experts in disaster reduction. (Nov-15, ISDR)
· Indian Ocean Earthquake-Tsunami Flash
Appeal Expenditure Tracking: http://ocha.unog.ch/ets/Default.aspx
· The UN says that in an unprecedented
response, donors have poured more than US$11 billion into relief and
reconstruction following the disaster, but are neglecting other emergencies. Egeland says that donors already met
around 90 percent of the UN’s own US$1.28 billion appeal for funds for
immediate and interim relief. According
to Reuters Alertnet, governments, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank
have paid or approved US$5.7 billion, or some 80 percent of the US$67.1 billion
they had promised. (Sep-23,
Reuters)
· Insurgency violence continues in
southern Thailand; Election-related violence reported in Sri Lanka’s restive
northeast
Indonesia
Organization
Overview
…………………………………………………………page 3
Sectors……………………………………………………………page
4
Overview:
Former
Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatist rebels began surrendering more weapons
today (Monday, November 14) as part of the third round of disarmament agreed to
under a historic peace agreement signed in August between the GAM and the
government. According to Deutsche Presse-Agentur, a rebel spokesperson
said that rebels turned in close to 60 weapons today. The disarmament was
scheduled to continue through Thursday (November 17) at least 6 different
locations and would see some 200 weapons handed in. Once the disarmament
was finished, Indonesian security forces would begin to withdraw.
“Starting on November 19 tp 25, the TNI and police will withdraw their
troops. The number of TNI to be withdrawn is 5,596 and police is 1,350,”
Jacko Oksanen, an Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM) member said. The European
Union-led AMM is charged with overseeing the withdrawal of Indonesian troops
and the weapons handover of former GAM rebels. According to the agreement,
the GAM is scheduled to hand in 840 weapons in 4 stages by the end of the
year. Over 570 weapons have been surrendered thus far, while the
government has pulled out some 6,000 of its 27,000 troops from the
province. Decommissioning began on September 15, and the fourth and last
phase is expected to take place in December. GOI plans to withdraw some 5,596
TNI troops and 1,350 BRIMOB police once the GAM has finished disarming in this
phase.
|
Sector Status |
|
Affected Population
|
The death toll stands at 131,029, with some 37,000 others
reported to be missing. The Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency for Aceh and
Nias (BRR - Badan Rehabilitasi dan
Rekonstruksi) says that there are over 500,000 IDPs in Aceh and over 22,000
in Nias. In Aceh, about 250,000 are staying in tents, while about 150,000 are
in temporary government shelters.
The remaining 100,000 are either staying with host families or are
rebuilding their homes.
(Jun-19, GoI) |
|
Coordination |
GOI
officials said that Indonesia has activated the first phase of a tsunami
early warning system off Sumatra this week. A team of Indonesian and German scientists installed two
buoys and a pressure sensor on the bottom of the sea off the coast of western
Sumatra as part of a five-year plan. Officials were aiming to install some 20
buoys along the coast by early 2009.
(Nov-17, Reuters) Eric
Schwartz, UN Deputy Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery, visited Indonesia on
November 10-12 to assess the state of reconstruction and recovery. Schwartz visited IDP camps and
reconstruction sites, and met with local officials. (Nov-15, OCHA) BRR has set
up a special trust fund to speed up rebuilding, the Rehabilitation Aceh and
Nias (RAN) Trust Fund. The BRR says that the new plan would cut red
tape in disbursing money for projects. According to Reuters, one major
factor that slowed reconstruction was the channeling of some of the money to
the country’s state budget, requiring a long and bureaucratic process. The new UN
Recovery Coordinator for Aceh is Eric Morris, who will work closely with the BRR and aid groups The BRR will oversee reconstruction. The agency will
be headed by former mines and energy minister Kuntoro Mangkusubroto (May-9, Reuters, BBC) The BRR has
requested that NGOs engaged in rehabilitation and reconstruction to submit
progress reports on their ongoing activities. BRR says that it is requiring NGOs to submit their first
report by September 16 and the second report by December 2. BRR says NGOs can
access guidelines and monitoring forms from www.e-aceh-nias.org
(BRR website) or by requesting forms at projects@brr.go.id (Sep-6, GoI) The GoI has collaborated with NGOs and donors to initiate the
construction of the website, e-Aceh, in response to the need for transparency
and coordination of reconstruction.
(www.e-aceh.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 |
WFP says that a Rapid Food
Security Assessment was completed on October 20 and analysis is
underway. An FAO/WFP Crop and
Food Supply Assessment (CFSAM) will be conducted in Aceh and Nias during
November 8-16. (Nov-4, WFP) WFP working
to expand Mother and Child Nutrition (MCN) program to other districts in
order to improve nutritional status of children under 5 and pregnant and
lactating mothers. Program
expected to assist 180,000 beneficiaries by the end of the year. (Nov-4, WFP) WFP currently feeding about 500,000
people. (Oct-18, Reuters) Indonesia’s
chief of reconstruction says that Aceh will need food aid at least through
2006. WFP currently operating three general activities: General Food Distribution (GFD), a School Feeding Program (SFP), and a Maternal Child Nutritional (MCN) program. GFD will only target vulnerable groups over the coming months. However, supplementary feeding activities will increase. SFP expected to reach 340,000 and MCN plans to reach 180,000 beneficiaries by December. |
|
Water
and Sanitation |
113,000 people benefit from
1 million liters of water provided by IFRC each day. (Nov-9, IFRC) IFRC says overall water distribution figure for Aceh and North
Sumatra stands at more than 1 million liters per day. IFRC says water and sanitation
activities continue to benefit some 113,000 beneficiaries. (Aug-11, IFRC) |
|
Public
Health/Medical |
IFRC and Indonesian
Red Cross leading psychosocial activities in 13 villages in Banda Aceh and 30
communities in Aceh Besar district which are expected to assist more than
13,500 survivors. (Nov-15,
Reuters) UNFPA Executive
Director Thoraya A. Obaid visited the UNFPA Banda Aceh office and also met
with the provincial health office, women’s groups and health officials. (Nov-15, OCHA) IFRC says it has trained 200
volunteers and 1,000 community members to provide psychological support to
communities. (Nov-9, IFRC) WHO operations in Nias will
shut down as district offices are now operational, the WHO says. (Nov-3, WHO)
WHO says the “mapping” of health facilities in Aceh has been completed.
(Nov-3, WHO) In October, the GOI reported a
new case of polio in Aceh. Although the patient lives in East Aceh
district, which was not affected by the disaster, health officials were
concerned over a possible resurgence of polio as tens of thousands of people
were still living in camps and vulnerable. IFRC urges a three-pronged
approach to help stop the spread of polio: comprehensive vaccinations,
awareness campaigns, and safe water systems. (Oct-25, IFRC) The WHO has established an integrated health emergency unit for disaster response, located at the Ministry of Health in Jakarta. The unit is coordinating inputs and tracking progress of ongoing activities in disaster affected areas. (Aug-15, Reliefweb) |
|
Shelter |
According to
Reuters, there are some 67,500 still living in improvised camps, with another
75,000 living in government-built barracks and another 300,000 living with
friends and relatives. The UN
Recovery Coordinator for Aceh has ordered 15,000-20,000 prefabricated
shelters with a minimum durability of some 4 years. (Nov-3, Reuters) The new UN Recovery Coordinator for Aceh, Eric Morris, says that moving
the 67,500 people still living in tents into intermediate shelters as the
rainy season approaches is the biggest priority. (Oct-17, 18, BBC, Jakarta Post, Reuters) BRR head
Kuntoro says that the GoI has built 10,000 homes out of a targeted 120,000
homes to be completed in 2007.
He says the BRR had targeted to build 30,000 homes for this year. (Oct-24, Xinhua) IFRC said
that it is providing 27,000 family-sized tents to the 67,000 people still
living in tents and has begun importing sturdier temporary housing units to
provide at least 20,000 units for some 80,000 people. (Nov-9, IFRC). The IFRC has committed to build, as of August 1, more than 27,000
permanent new homes and to repair more than 7,000 other houses. IFRC
estimates that more than 65,000 people are living in government-built
barracks and says that many of these will need repair in the upcoming months.
IFRC will help build extensions to existing homes to alleviate overcrowding
for an estimated 16,500 families living with host families. The UN estimates the displaced could
be living with host families for one to two years. (Aug-11, IFRC)
Tzu Chi foundation has begun
building 3,700 permanent homes in Aceh worth some US$27 million. (Nov-3, Reuters) |
|
Infrastructure |
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. Disaster
destroyed or damaged some 948 miles (1526 kilometers) of roads. (Oct-25, CSM) 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) 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 |
Third
phase of GAM disarmament and TNI troop withdrawal taking place. UN
Department of Security and Safety (UNDSS) downgraded security phase for Aceh
from Phase IV to Phase III as of November 2. (Nov-15, OCHA) WFP
has been appointed as the UN Agency Focal Point
for Security in Medan. (WFP) |
|
International
Financial Assistance |
The World
Bank has warned that
economic stagnation in the country could push another 600,000 people in Aceh
below the poverty line in the next 6 to 18 months. (Oct-25, CSM) The World Bank says that reconstruction and
monetary aid pouring into Aceh could put livelihoods at risk once the money
dries up unless the economy is strengthened. World Bank data shows the province’s annual inflation rate
at 17 percent, versus 7 percent in other parts of Indonesia. Reuters reports that Aceh’s
unemployment rate is at 27 percent and around 600,000 people will be pushed
below the poverty line, with daily earnings below US$1 within the next 6 to
18 months. (Aug-25, Reuters) GOI put the December tsunami/earthquake losses at US$4.5
billion. 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 has some US$48 billion in
foreign debt to donor countries under the Paris Club. (Mar-14, Xinhua) The World Bank says that about US$500 million has been raised from
foreign donors for reconstruction thus far. 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
9
Sectors…………………………………………………….page
9
Overview:
Sporadic violence and
low voter turnout in Tamil Tiger-held areas in the north and east was reported
after Sri Lankans voted for their next president today (Thursday, November 17).
Sri Lankan officials say that the Tamil minority, which make up some 3.2
million out of the 19 million Sri Lankans, largely avoided the polls after the
rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) virtually called for a boycott of
the elections and because of the violence. The Tamil community was seen
as a possible swing vote in the closely contested race between front-runners
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and opposition
leader Ranil Wickremesinghe of the United National Party. According to
Agence France-Presse (AFP), Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake said
that overall turnout in the poll was expected to be around 75 percent of the
13.3 million eligible voters, but that voting in the Tamil-dominated northeast
had been “very low” out of the some 700,000 eligible voters. Voting
reportedly went smoothly in southern and western parts of the island nation.
The LTTE said that it had no comment on the voting, and had said earlier that
they had no interest in the polls and would not do anything to disrupt the
voting. However, security troops said that at least 2 LTTE rebels and a
Sinhalese civilian were killed, and 17 others wounded by a series of bomb and
grenade attacks in the east. LTTE rebels were also blamed for setting fire to
tires and blocked roads in the eastern province. A series of grenade explosions
forced European Union election observers to pull out of the eastern city of
Batticaloa, according to the Associated Press. Yesterday (Wednesday,
November 16) on the eve of the election, at least 4 people were killed in
separate incidents of violence in the country’s restive east.
Wickremesinghe is seen as more conciliatory to the rebel Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and was Prime Minister when the Norwegian-brokered 2002
ceasefire with the Tigers was signed. If Tamils had made it to the polls
in significant numbers, analysts say that they could have possibly swung
election results in his favor. Rajapakse, on the other hand, has pledged
not to share political power in a proposed federal state or billions in pledged
foreign tsunami aid with the LTTE. He said he would also review the peace
process, which has angered the LTTE. His stance has reportedly won him
support from the hardline Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and Buddhist
Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) political parties. Rajapakse has also vowed to
abolish the Post Tsunami Operational Management Structure (P-TOMS) and instead,
introduce a plan where tsunami relief will not go directly to the LTTE.
P-TOMS had been championed by current President Chandrika Kumaratunga, who is
also in Rajapakse’s party, but has had a falling out with him over their
differences.
|
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) UNICEF says that some 518,698 people
remain displaced with most living with relatives and friends, some in
“collective accommodation centers” or in camps. 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. |
|
Coordination
|
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) HIC is working with TAFREN to
develop CAPS (Coordination and Planning System) database for the management
of information. (Nov-14, OCHA) The NGO, World Vision
International (WVI) reports that a
mapping project from the UN’s Humanitarian Information Centre (HIC) supported by WVI, will provide NGOs a means of putting
project data onto maps of areas affected by the tsunami. (Oct-11, WVI) The International
Organization for Migration (IOM) signed
an agreement with the GoSL to support the creation of computerized database
centers to register people affected by the tsunami. The database will
identify needs of tsunami-affected individuals on a case-by-case basis to
ensure that people receive the assistance they need and avoid
duplication. (Sept-9, IOM) 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
|
FAO has constructed 5 model horticulture nurseries to
enhance the livelihoods of tsunami-affected women. The nurseries were built by women’s groups in Rekawa,
Wadunruppuwa, Walaw, Yodakandiya with support from FAO. (Nov-10, FAO) WFP says that from October 1, Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) has
replaced General Food Distribution (GFD) which scaled distribution down to
350,000 people. The program will
continue until December 31. WFP
planning to distribute 17,485 tons of mixed food commodities under VGF. 444
Food For Work (FFW) projects were approved. From October to December, WFP planning to distribute
10,967 mixed food commodities to some 183,000 beneficiaries. School feeding activities involve 397
schools (106,000 children) (Nov-4, WFP) WFP currently providing fortified Corn Soya Blend (CSB) to
almost 100,000 children and women in health clinics under its Emergency
Operation. (Nov-4, WFP) Child Nutrition Surveillance figures from tsunami-affected areas
available at: www.cnslk.org. (Nov-4, WFP) World Vision has distributed boats, fishing gear and
agricultural equipment worth some US$800,000 to some 1,750 people in eastern
Trincomalee district. WVI also
distributed 90 fiberglass boats, 180 canoes, 35 boat engines in Sampoor,
Muttur and Echchalampattu. WVI
says that some 16,479 boats and 1 million nets were destroyed in the
tsunami. WVI has also
distributed seed paddy to some 1,200 farmers; 25 farmers received water
pumps; and 140 goats were distributed to women in the Kuchchaweli area. (Oct-31, WVI) |
Water and
Sanitation |
IFRC says an estimated 45,000 latrines and 76,000 wells were
destroyed or damaged by the tsunami.
(Oct-10, IFRC) IFRC says it is producing and distributing over 3 million liters
of water a week, which benefits up to 50,000 people in the east of Sri Lanka
(Oct-10, IFRC). |
|
Public Health
and Medical |
Following an outbreak of chicken pox in Kallady, a camp near the
eastern city of Trincomalee, IOM medical staff collaborating with the Sri Lankan
health department organized a vaccination campaign against chicken pox for
200 children. IOM also
carried out an information campaign to halt the spread of the disease. (Oct-11, IOM) |
|
Shelter
|
IOM has completed 4,437 transitional houses for some
20,000 people in seven affected districts. Transitional houses are expected to last between 2 and 4
years. IOM has been asked to
build about 5,500 transitional houses in the country. IOM is also supporting the shelter
upgrading process. (Oct-31, IOM) Rain in northeastern Trincomalee is reportedly getting
heavier and some areas are experiencing flooding. Some camps reportedly getting flooded, but so far no major
problems reported, OCHA reports.
(Nov-14, OCHA) 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) According to the Press Trust of India, Governor Kingsley
Wickramaratne of the Southern province says that the estimated 800,000 people
left homeless by the tsunami will have permanent housing by April. The
tsunami destroyed some 80,000 houses, according to the PTI. (PTI, Oct-29) UNHCR is pushing ahead with a project to provide transitional
shelters for 14,000 people in Ampara district. UNHCR also expected to complete its transitional shelter
work in Jaffna with some 1,558 shelters being built, which will accommodate
some 8,000 people. UNHCR has
supported the GoSL’s Transitional
Accommodation Project (TAP) with the provision of over 55,000 shelters at
500 sites nationwide. 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. 38,600 shelters were constructed in Northern and Eastern
districts of Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Ampara, Jaffna, Killinochchi and
Mullativu, while 12,260 have been constructed in the Southern districts of
Galle, Kalutara, Hambantota, Colombo and Matara. (Oct-11, Daily News) 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) |
Infrastructure
|
Oxfam, along with partner
Education International, has begun work on the first of 12 schools across the
island, damaged by the tsunami. Schools to be rebuilt include one in Galle,
one in Matara, one school with buildings in two different locations in
Kalutara, three in Trincomalee, two in Batticaloa, one in Ampara and two in
Mullaitivu. (Oct-31, Oxfam) 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. UN
resident Coordinator Miquel Bermeo welcomed the decision, saying that it
would free up more land and better accommodate the wishes of the people. (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) |
Security
|
WFP reports UN will cancel workshops or missions during election
week (November 15-19 period) because of potential violence. UNDSS and Security Management Team
have produced contingency plan.
(Nov-4, WFP) The Norwegian-led Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) said
October 31 that the number of political killings in the island nation this
year is over 190 and is undermining a February 2002 ceasefire. Sri Lanka on October 18 extended the state of emergency in the
country which was imposed following the assassination of Foreign Minister
Lakshman Kadirgamar in August. Ongoing violence in the east, some violence reported in the
north. |
|
International Financial Assistance |
IOM helping youths from
eastern Ampara district with vocational training project in cooperation with
the Agriculture and Industrial Development Foundation (AIDF). The World Bank says that
around 220,000 families affected by the disaster have received up to 3
installments of cash grants worth some US$50 each, with another installment
coming soon. The total disbursed
by the WB by the end of the year will be US$40 million. Aside from the cash
grants, WB has been handing out cash grants for housing, worth some US$2500
for families to repair or rebuild their homes. WB has committed up to US$150
million for the country. (Oct-21,
World Bank) The ADB announced a US$2 million grant from its Japan Fund for
Poverty Reduction to help restore income for poor families affected by the
disaster. 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 court is expected to hold the hearing for the aid-sharing
deal, formally known as the Post-Tsunami Operations Management Structure
(P-TOMS), on November 22, which falls after the November 21 deadline for the
country’s presidential election. 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 16
Sectors……………………………………………………page
16
Overview:
The
United Nations Development Program (UNDP) says that Thailand has handled
post-tsunami rehabilitation relatively well versus Sri Lanka and
Indonesia. However, UNDP says that
it needs to focus on integrating economic activities and the livelihoods of
people, according to the Bangkok Post.
UNDP administrator Kermal Dervis said that reconstruction efforts in
Aceh and Sri Lanka were much slower than the initial response had been. Dervis says that the country had
entered the second phase of recovery but local governments and communities
needed to respond in a more coordinated way. He says that people were facing difficulties, such as
“economic issues, land issues, legal issues and governance and local governance
issues all complicated by the recovery efforts.” (Nov-17, Bangkok Post)
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Affected
Population |
Latest 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 2,248, with another 1,175 of unknown
nationality. Number of missing
is at 2,817. Of those, 1,924 are
Thais. (May 13, UN) The Phuket-based Disaster
Victims Identification Centre (DVI) will
be closed on December 26. Thai Deputy Prime Minister Chidchai Vanasatidya
said on October 12 that some 1,000 bodies remain unclaimed by their
relatives. Around 300 westerners
are reported to be among the bodies while the rest are those of Thai and
other Asian nationals. All the bodies have been processed by DVI officials
who are expected to move their office from Phuket to Bangkok before December
26. The head of the victim
identification centre, Police General Noppadol Somboonsub, says that by the
end of 2006, investigators should finish identifying all the bodies of the
people killed in Thailand by the tsunami. There are 3,777 bodies of victims being kept at several
identification units. The Thai
Tsunami Victim Identification (TTVI) Information Management Centre has
identified around 2,419 bodies and returned them to their relatives. Remaining bodies are kept at Mai Khao
morgue, according to police Lt-Col Wiwat. He says forensic experts and DVI officials could examine
30-50 bodies a week. (Oct-14,
Bangkok Post) Foreign experts
helping to identify unknown bodies killed in the disaster will leave Thailand
by the end of the year when their Thai colleagues will take over. (Aug-25,
Reuters) 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) Some 30,000
Burmese workers were registered with the Thai government according to the
Irrawaddy. (Irrawaddy, Oct-6) The Chalong-based Thai
Tsunami Victim Identification (TTVI) center is expected to close some time
before the anniversary of the tsunami disaster on December 26, Pol Col
Khemmarin Hassiri, Superintendent of the TTVI’s Disaster Victim
Identification (DVI) unit said. However, the exact date the center will be closed has not
been fixed. (Phuket Gazette,
Oct-4) |
|
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. The site was
created to avoid redundancy and provides systematic and accurate information
for resources tracking and reporting of technical projects and activities.
Donors will also be able to update their projects online. The website can be found at: http://dadthailand.mfa.go.th. As of October 28, more than US$120
million has come in and 165 projects are under way in 10 Thai provinces. 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) Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, announced towards the end of August that he was
assigning three of his deputy prime ministers with specific responsibilities:
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. In the first phase, it will focus on earthquakes and
tsunamis before extending to other disasters. (May-31, Bangkok Post) The Prime Minister’s Office Minister Suranand Vejjajiva on
October 12 announced that the construction of the tsunami warning system is
in progress and that 24 warning towers will be completed by the first
anniversary of the disaster, on December 26. Suranand says that the government plans to build 62
warning towers, of which four will come under the responsibility of Phuket’s
local officials. Twelve towers
will be complete by next month, the next 12 by December 26 and the rest will
be ready by next March. The
warning towers will be linked to 12 warning stations and will be overseen by
the Ministry of Interior and cost Bt38 million (US$929,000). Maps and signs showing tsunami escape
trails will be finished by November 15.
(Oct-13, The Nation) Phuket launched a Thai-English language website (www.phuketremembers.com)
to commemorate the disaster and keep people updated on the progress and
activities to mark the first anniversary from December 25-27. (Oct-18, The Nation) The Thai
government says it has a working tsunami early warning system in cooperation
with the US and other neighboring countries. “The progress has been very satisfactory. We now have a working system in which
we will be able to provide adequate warning for those who may be living in or
visiting potentially dangerous areas,” Thai Foreign Minister Kantathi
Suphamongkhon said. Kanthathi
says the GOT has been working closely with neighboring countries and the
Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. “We have an early warning center
in Thailand. We will continue to
upgrade that center. We are
coordinating with our neighboring countries and also the center in Hawaii,”
he said. (Nov-7, AFP) Thailand plans to subsidize hotel rooms and flights for thousands
of relatives of foreign victims who plan to attend anniversary memorials of
the disaster. According to
Reuters, Bangkok said it would pay for flights to the country for the next of
kin of some 2,000 foreign victims as well as two nights of hotel accommodations.
Tourists who were hospitalized as a result of the disaster will be invited to
attend memorials, but will not receive reimbursements for their travel. Details can be found at the Thai
Foreign Ministry website at www.mfa.go.th/tsunami. (Nov-3, Reuters) According to AFP, GOT plans to spend
up to US$12 million on events and accommodation and expects at least 2,000
foreigners and 4,000 Thais to attend commemorations along 6 beaches at the
first anniversary of the December 26 disaster. (Nov-7, AFP) |
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Logistics |
For logistical information see: http://www.unjlc.org. |
Food
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Water/Sanitation |
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Public
Health/Medical |
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) Department of Mental Health working on Handbook to help tsunami victims cope with
psychological wounds. Department
deputy chief Vachira Chanpeng, says that the project has the backing of the
WHO. (Oct-14, Bangkok Post) |
|
Shelter |
According to Reuters, only
some 2,900 people are in temporary shelters, less than half the number in
May. (Nov-3, Reuters) |
|
Infrastructure |
The Tourism Authority
of Thailand’s Phuket office, says that hotel rooms in the Thai beach resort
of Khao Lak are now up to 1,200.
Some 5,000 will be open by the next high season in 2006-2007. (Nov-17, Bangkok Post) Phangnga province is
reportedly building 4 warning towers in Takua Pa and Kuraburi districts which
will be completed before the government’s warning towers are ready for use.
The budget to build the warning towers comes from private funds and community
organizations. They are expected to be finished in two months. (Sep-30, TNA) |
|
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 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) |