The Maldives has made its mark on the world as a great place to spend a quiet tropical vacation. Even as the December 26 tsunami thundered through neighboring coastlines, here the waters quietly rose and quietly slipped away. But the disaster did not quietly recede with the floodwaters. “The international community generally thinks the island paradise escaped harm because the death toll was low,” said Moez Doraid, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative in the Maldives. “Yet 10 percent of the Maldives’ inhabited islands were totally destroyed, no structures remain. One-third of the population has been severely affected: their homes destroyed or seriously damaged or their food and water supplies cut,” he says. (...)
Full Press Release
More information: Earthquakes and Tsunamis in Asia: UNDP Update No. 6 // DRU and Maldives // Relief web coverage // Maldives Updates // UNOSAT Maps & Satellite Imagery on the Earthquakes & Tsunamis in Asia // OCHA Situation Reports // Human World AV Bank - Special focus: The tsunami & its consequences

As Indonesia's Aceh tries to cope with the tsunami aftermath, a group with ancient roots in the province's seafaring past has quietly come to aid of fishing communities whose livelihood has been robbed by the disaster. Aceh's coast bore the brunt of the enormous waves which swept across Asia killing some 280,000 people and decimating the province's vital 422-million dollars-a-year fishing industry. Entire villages were lost while wooden boats were smashed or swept out to be lost at sea. Jetties and wharves were splintered into matchwood and shoreline fish farms and markets pulverised. The loss of its shoreline is a crippling blow to Aceh, which has a longstanding relationship with the ocean, a reputation that established it as the gateway to the Indonesian archipelago for mariners in centuries past.
Full story
More information: UNDP Update No 6 // Reducing Risks From Tsunamis: Disaster and Development // Global report - Reducing Disaster Risk // Relief web coverage // UNDP Indonesia Country Office // DRU and Indonesia // UNOSAT Maps & Satellite Imagery on the Earthquakes & Tsunamis in Asia // GLIDE No: TS-2004-000147-IDN

Over the past few decades, disaster losses worldwide have grown exponentially. In parallel with this there has been a growing awareness within the disaster management community for greater impetus on comprehensive reliable, aggregate and low resolution databases. At present, most countries in Asia do not maintain databases of disaster, if they do these are highly aggregated. A similar trend is noticeable in this recent disaster, in which, as in most cases, the data on disaster occurrence and loss is collected and aggregated at the provincial or national level in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, for the primary purpose of making short term financial allocations for relief. However, if this data is stored in a desegregated fashion, systematically captured and shared with relevant stakeholders it will not only guide immediate coordination for relief, but also timely inform the recovery and rehabilitation actors for effective interventions
Full story
More information: UNDP Update No 6 // Desinventar Website

The daunting task of moving hundreds of tons of tsunami-strewn rubble and debris from Banda Aceh is now underway in key public facilities, with local and national authorities taking the lead in what is expected to be a physically and emotionally difficult period. Chief among the clean up tasks is clearing the heavy muck, sludge and debris the tsunami left behind in public facilities such as hospitals and schools. Banda Aceh remains hampered by the pervasive filth and rubble now covering much of the city centre, barring genuine recovery both physical and psychological. Removing this debris is among the top priorities for the government, and uppermost in UNDP’s recovery support agenda.
Full story
More information: UNDP Update No 6 // Reducing Risks From Tsunamis: Disaster and Development // Global report - Reducing Disaster Risk // Relief web coverage // UNDP Indonesia Country Office // DRU and Indonesia // UNOSAT Maps & Satellite Imagery on the Earthquakes & Tsunamis in Asia // GLIDE No: TS-2004-000147-IDN

As Thailand rebuilds its tsunami-stricken coastline, the government and its non-government partners must be extra vigilant in promoting HIV/AIDS prevention in those areas, says Patrick Brenny, the UNAIDS Country Coordinator for Thailand. Mr. Brenny cautioned of the need to guard against increased HIV/AIDS transmission in devastated areas due to increased risk behavior and vulnerability among the affected populations. The main risk factors center on an immediate lack of prevention resources such as condoms and education materials. Increased vulnerability is mainly due to people seeking unhealthy livelihood alternatives because their principle means of income generation has been destroyed.
Full story
More information: Earthquakes and Tsunamis in Asia: UNDP Update No. 6 // UNDP Thailand Country Office // DRU and Thailand // UNAIDS Website // UNAIDS Thailand // More Situation Reports on Thailand // Relief web coverage // UNOSAT Maps & Satellite Imagery on the Earthquakes & Tsunamis in Asia // OCHA Situation Reports

Thousands of people affected by the tsunami in Somalia had already been displaced by years of successive drought from their areas of origin and had moved to the coastal areas in search of opportunities, a report released by the Somali government and various agencies said. "They [had] lost their livestock in the drought and the rest of the animals were decimated by torrential rains," said the report, compiled by a government assessment team that recently visited the affected areas in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland. "Thereafter, they moved to the coastal areas in view to get job opportunities and sustain their daily livelihood." According to the report, about 3,344 families living in areas recently assessed for damage by the December tsunami in Puntland had suffered a "triple disaster".

Full story // Full report // IRIN website
More information: Earthquakes and Tsunamis in Asia: UNDP Update No. 6 // Relief web coverage // UNDP Somalia Country Office // DRU and Somalia

Emphasizing the need for the international community to maintain its focus beyond the present stage of the emergency relief effort under way in the Indian Ocean, the United Nations General Assembly today requested Secretary-General Kofi Annan to appoint a special envoy for the devastated region to help sustain global political will in support of medium- and long-term rehabilitation, reconstruction and risk-reduction efforts led by the governments of the tsunami-affected countries. Unanimously adopting a new resolution, the world’s nations expressed sincere condolences to and deep sympathy with the victims, survivors and governments in the aftermath of last month’s 9.0-magnitude earthquake in the Indian Ocean that left an arc of destruction from Thailand to the Horn of Africa. The resolution invited the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank to bring members of the international donor community together with the affected nations to address their immediate and future rebuilding needs in the aftermath of the disaster.
Full Press Release // Secretary General Statement
Other UN Related News: Secretary General Describes Earthquake-Tsunami Devastation, as Resumed Fifty-Ninth General Assembly Session Extends Condolences to Victims // Secretary-General Addressing General Assembly Meeting on Tsunami Disaster, Underlines Need to Focus on Longer-Term recovery, Reconstruction

Within minutes of the Indian Ocean Tsunami, the Maldives’ economic and social progress in recent years was washed away. Drastic drop in tourism, the country’s main income generating sector, is putting the country’s recovery efforts in serious jeopardy. According to government officials, the Tsunami is a 20 year setback in both economic and social terms. “Only six days before the disaster, the United Nations had decided to officially remove the Maldives from the list of the least developed countries after the country had paid off a substantial portion of the country’s debt and was looking forward to a strong performance in 2005, says Moez Doraid, UNDP Resident Representative in the Maldives.” But on the morning of 26 December these aspirations were shattered as flood waters dealt a serious blow to the tourism sector. Nearly one-fourth of the 87 resorts in the Maldives were damaged and are unable to operate. The good news is that about three quarters of the resorts remain intact and fully functional. Tour operators are now facing the daunting task of convincing tourists to return to the Maldives in an attempt to limit the expected loss of business following the Tsunami.
Full Press Release
More information: Earthquakes and Tsunamis in Asia: UNDP Update No. 6 // DRU and Maldives // Relief web coverage // Maldives Updates // UNOSAT Maps & Satellite Imagery on the Earthquakes & Tsunamis in Asia // OCHA Situation Reports // Human World AV Bank - Special focus: The tsunami & its consequences

“Each year, half a million women die giving birth – that is the death toll from one Asian tsunami every four months. Every year, three million people die of AIDS. That is one tsunami every three weeks. Every year, 11 million children die of hunger and poverty-related and preventable disease. That is one tsunami every 5 days,” said Joana Merlin-Scholtes, the Resident Representative for United Nations Development Programme in Thailand, today at the Asia launch of The UN Millennium Project report, Investing in Development: A Practical Plan to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals. This ground-breaking action plan was released as the Asian tsunami disaster focuses global attention on the need, scale and effectiveness of aid to the world’s poor. The enormously generous response to the tragedy sent a powerful message that ordinary citizens in wealthier nations do in fact support such aid - if they clearly see the need and if they believe the funds they provide will reach and help the people in need. The Project’s plan addresses these legitimate concerns - and shows that targeted investments in essential public services such as health, education and infrastructure make poor communities less vulnerable to such disasters and to the hardships of disease, hunger and environmental degradation.
Full Press Release
More information: The Millennium Project website

Sri Lanka’s fishing industry could take years to recover after the devastation of the Boxing Day tsunami says the United Nations. Fishing is a primary source of livelihood for much of the population hit by the tsunami. “Preliminary figures show that so far close to 18,500 fishing vessels have been reported lost or damaged,” said Miguel Bermeo, head of the UN in Sri Lanka. “This will hit already poor families hard, because fishing is what supports people in coastal communities and what keeps them out of poverty,” he said. Over 80 percent of the fishing fleet may have been lost, according to the UN.
Full Story
More information: UNDP Update No 6 // Reducing Risks From Tsunamis: Disaster and Development // Global report - Reducing Disaster Risk // Relief web coverage // // UNDP Sri Lanka Country Office // DRU and Sri Lanka // Sri Lanka National Disaster Management Center // Sri Lanka Updates

Three hundred displaced and affected people by the tsunami in Indonesia’s Aceh province have been hired today by the Minister of Public Works with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to remove debris from the Indian Ocean Tsunami. This rubble removal mass-employment initiative aims to provide income to displaced people while helping them to begin rebuilding. “To get normality back into people’s lives they need to be given the opportunity to start reorganizing themselves in ways that benefit them, earning cash to ensure that they have choice in the market, they can choose what they want to do”, said UNDP crisis recovery team leader in Aceh Kristanto Sinandang.
Full Story
More information: UNDP Update No 6 // Reducing Risks From Tsunamis: Disaster and Development // Global report - Reducing Disaster Risk // Relief web coverage // UNDP Indonesia Country Office // DRU and Indonesia // UNOSAT Maps & Satellite Imagery on the Earthquakes & Tsunamis in Asia // GLIDE No: TS-2004-000147-IDN

Aerial assessments of the past few days have determined that the worst tsunami damage is limited to the coastal area from Banda Aceh to Meulaboh. Flights further south on the West Coast report minimal damage. According to Government officials, the call for the registration of foreign humanitarian workers traveling outside Banda Aceh and Meulaboh is in the interest of security. United Nations officials commented that such registration fell under standard security procedures, and could also be helpful for coordination efforts. As of today’s meeting of the Disaster Management Centre, no international Non-Governmental Organisations have reported restriction on their movements. The UN agencies and international NGOs assisting the Government have agreed that their first priority is to assist displaced people where they are now, second priority to support the Government in the establishment of temporary relocation centers, and third priority to assist vulnerable people wherever they are.
Full Story
More information: UNDP Update No 6 // Reducing Risks From Tsunamis: Disaster and Development // Global report - Reducing Disaster Risk // Relief web coverage // UNDP Indonesia Country Office // DRU and Indonesia // UNOSAT Maps & Satellite Imagery on the Earthquakes & Tsunamis in Asia // GLIDE No: TS-2004-000147-IDN

Representatives from 70 countries, both donors and victims of last month's devastating Indian Ocean tsunami, met in Geneva yesterday to allocate the nearly $1 billion United Nations flash appeal, with top emergency officials pleading with contributors to stand by their pledges while not forgetting the world's other crises. The conference will determine priority needs for the next six months and UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland told a news briefing the UN already had concrete commitments today from donors for $717 million out of the $977 million appeal.
Full story
Related UN News: Highlights of press briefing by UN ERC and others after donor Meeting on Humanitarian Assistance to Tsunami-Affected Communities // UN agencies zero in on specific tsunami relief from mental health to blankets
More information: UN Flash Appeal // Earthquakes and Tsunamis in Asia: UNDP Update No. 5 // Relief web coverage // OCHA Situation Reports

The island of Naalaafushi has been turned into a construction site since yesterday’s arrival of bags of cement, steel pipes, hammers and other building tools. All buildings on Naalaafushi were either badly damaged or turned into rubble when the Tsunami hit the island and left all residents homeless on 26 December. “The disaster brought everything to a full stop on the island,” says Moez Doraid, UNDP Resident Representative in the Maldives. “We are working closely with the government and the private sector to help those on the island to get roofs over their heads. Each new home brings hope.” Earlier this week, two boats traveled eight hours, carrying 190 tons of building materials provided by UNDP, from Male, the capital of the Maldives to the island which is situated in the Meemu Atoll in the south. Carpenters, plumbers and other construction workers from the private company Banyan Tree Resorts were dispatched to the island to assist the local residents in the reconstruction efforts on the island.
Full story
More information: Earthquakes and Tsunamis in Asia: UNDP Update No. 5 // DRU and Maldives // Relief web coverage // Maldives Updates // UNOSAT Maps & Satellite Imagery on the Earthquakes & Tsunamis in Asia // OCHA Situation Reports

Ahead of his address at the Small Island States’ meeting in Mauritius on Wednesday 12 January, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan highlighted the need for addressing the serious challenges facing small island states in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean Tsunami. Upon conclusion of his visit to the Maldives, Annan said: “I think there is no doubt that your country has a special vulnerability because of the environment.” On 12 January there will be a meeting in Mauritius of small island states where one will be discussing their vulnerability due to climate change, due to other threats that are feared by these states. On 26 December, the Tsunami inundated the entire Maldives and affected everyone. One third of the population was severely affected and the water swept away 10 percent of the country’s housing stock leaving more than 12,000 homeless and displaced.
Full story
More information: Earthquakes and Tsunamis in Asia: UNDP Update No. 5 // DRU and Maldives // Relief web coverage // More Situation Reports on Maldives // UNOSAT Maps & Satellite Imagery on the Earthquakes & Tsunamis in Asia // OCHA Situation Reports

A joint assessment mission conducted this week by The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), The World Bank and The Food and Agricultural Organization has prompted UNDP to provide clean-up equipment to help rehabilitate coral reefs off Thailand’s coast affected by the December 26 tsunami. Heavy debris, from deck chairs to kitchen sinks, are putting coral in harms way. Equipment including a vehicle and boat trailer, rubber speed boat, GPS, diving gear, underwater cameras and underwater lift bags will be delivered to the Department of Marine Resources (DMR) to begin immediate work on affected areas.
Full story
More information: Earthquakes and Tsunamis in Asia: UNDP Update No. 5 // UNDP Thailand Country Office // DRU and Thailand // More Situation Reports on Thailand // Relief web coverage // UNOSAT Maps & Satellite Imagery on the Earthquakes & Tsunamis in Asia // OCHA Situation Reports

Adolf Ogi, the Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace, has issued a call for coordinated action to the sports world in response to the recent Indian Ocean tsunami on behalf of the United Nations system. The Director-General of the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB), Jean-Pierre Seppey, has announced a $3 million contribution to support, among other things, the rebuilding of schools and playing fields, as the first response to Mr. Ogi’s call. Mr. Ogi sees three ways in which sport can render assistance to the victims of the tsunami: “First, the sports associations can contribute financially to the reconstruction efforts; second, clubs and federations can directly cooperate with sports associations in the affected region; and third, the large number of volunteers who are so essential to sport could be made available to help in the longer term” said Mr. Ogi in Geneva. This initiative is placed within the context of the International Year of Sport and Physical Education (IYSPE 2005) and will strengthen efforts already under way by some sport organizations by linking them to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which will manage the reconstruction efforts together with the world of sport in the framework of its recovery work. James Rawley, Deputy Director of the UNDP in Geneva, has assured the UNDP’s support and coordination for Mr. Ogi’s action.
More information: UN Sport for Development and Peace Website

The Indonesian Government established today a joint Disaster Management Centre (DMC) with the United Nations at the Office of the Vice-President, which is to set priorities for the management and coordination of international relief efforts. “The Centre will ensure that the Government and the UN are working with the same baseline data on the affected people – who they are and what their needs are,” according to Francois Desruisseaux, United Nations Senior Logistics and Civil Military Coordinator at the Centre. “This will be crucial for earmarking available resources,” he said.
Full story
More information: UNDP Indonesia Country Office // DRU and Indonesia // UNOSAT Maps & Satellite Imagery on the Earthquakes & Tsunamis in Asia // GLIDE No: TS-2004-000147-IDN

Emergency assessments were conducted in Batticaloa, Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and Trincomalee Districts to determine the effects of the 26 December tsunami on landmine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) contamination. These began immediately after the tsunami and are ongoing. Assessments were conducted by UNDP, Mines Advisory Group, Danish Demining Group, Norwegian People’s Aid, Humanitarian Demining Unit (TRO) and HALO Trust
Full story // Map of Numbers and Locations of Landmines and UXO displaced by the Tsunami in Sri Lanka (updated as of 11.01.2005)
More information: UNDP/BCPR Mines Action Unit // Earthquakes and Tsunamis in Asia: UNDP Update No. 5 // Relief web coverage // UNDP Sri Lanka Country Office // DRU and Sri Lanka // Sri Lanka National Disaster Management Center // Sri Lanka Updates

Fishing villages and farms wiped out by the tsunami along the Pang Na coast of Thailand have left 30,000 families without any means of earning a living, according to an assessment conducted this week by the United Nations Development Programme, the World Bank and the Food and Agriculture Organization. The aim of the three-day mission was to determine the impact of the disaster on non-tourist areas. The destruction of more than 3,300 fishing trawlers has left tens of thousands of fishing families without work, affecting roughly 100,000 people. “Some of these fishing boats were also used to shuttle tourists. It’s a double whammy for communities dependent on these boats for their livelihoods: No boats, no fishing. No boats, no tourism,” says Hakan Bjorkman, Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP in Thailand.
Full story
More information: Earthquakes and Tsunamis in Asia: UNDP Update No. 5 // UNDP Thailand Country Office // DRU and Thailand // More Situation Reports on Thailand // Relief web coverage // UNOSAT Maps & Satellite Imagery on the Earthquakes & Tsunamis in Asia // OCHA Situation Reports

On January 6th 2005, the Tsunami Assistance Coordination Group met to consolidate the findings of the different assessment and verification missions undertaken throughout the affected areas of Myanmar. The Coordination Group* was set up at the onset of the disaster and is chaired by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). The group concluded that Myanmar has been largely spared from the destructive forces of the earthquake and subsequent Tsunami, and that the initial emergency needs have been met by the Government and by the aid community. The group’s assessment of the scale of impact is in line with the Government’s own findings. The group confirms a death toll of 60-80, and estimates the longer-term affected population at 10-15,000, of whom 5-7,000 are directly affected.
Full story
More information: Earthquakes and Tsunamis in Asia: UNDP Update No. 5 // Relief web coverage // UNDP Myanmar Country Office // DRU and Myanmar // UNOSAT Maps & Satellite Imagery on the Earthquakes & Tsunamis in Asia // OCHA Situation Reports

Spearheading the international effort to bring relief to victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami catastrophe, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan launched an appeal for US$977 million at an emergency summit today, the largest ever for a natural disaster and almost three times the previous record. Mr. Annan and his newly appointed Chef de Cabinet Mark Malloch Brown, concurrently UNDP Administrator, are touring the disaster areas along with other top UN officials.
Full story

Worldwide solidarity with the affected populations has been swift and generous, and must continue well beyond the immediate disaster period. This flash appeal reflects the efforts of some forty United Nations (UN) agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to plan and implement a strategic, efficient, and coordinated response to the needs of some 5 million people. Programmes focus on keeping people alive and supporting their efforts to recover, for example in the agriculture, education, health, food, shelter, or water and sanitation sectors. Reaching isolated communities is a serious challenge because of the destruction of transport infrastructure and communication systems. This requires the establishment of complex logistics and operations platforms. Strong coordination with Governments and between Governments and the international aid community will ensure that assistance is efficient and reaches the people who need aid most. This Flash Appeal focuses on supporting people in Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Seychelles, Somalia and Sri Lanka from January to the end of June 2005, and calls for US$ 977 million to fund the critical work of some forty UN agencies and NGOs.
Full Flash Appeal for Indian Ocean Earthquake & Tsunamis (2.5MB - 95 pages)
More information: Global report - Reducing Disaster Risk // DRU and Asia //