ReliefWeb

29 Dec 2009

Maldives
European Commission hands Maldives €6.5 million for climate adaption

Report

— Minivan News

By JJ Robinson

The European Commission has pledged €6.5 million (US$9.36 million) to help the Maldives adapt to the effects of climate change and mitigate the impact, and provide technical support.

The new Climate Change Trust Fund will be administered by the World Bank in a deal cemented between President Mohamed Nasheed and World Bank President Robert Zoellick at Copenhagen.

"The European Commission has given the money to the World Bank and asked them to manage it," noted Minister for the Environment, Mohamed Aslam. "I believe the contract is already

Minivan News:

Minivan News http://www.minivannews.com/

29 Dec 2009

Maldives
Social services now reaching children in the Maldives

Report

By Rob McBride

RAA ATOLL, Maldives, 29 December 2009 - Ahmed Hussain has a tough job. As a social worker in the closely-knit communities of the atoll islands that make up the Maldives, issues like child neglect or abuse rarely surface in conversation, especially with outsiders.

But gradually Mr. Hussain has witnessed a change. "Before we would only hear about cases indirectly from others," he recalled. "But now we hear from the families and even the victims

28 Dec 2009

Maldives
New homes for a tsunami-affected community in the Maldives

Report

DHUVAAFARU, Maldives, 28 December 2009 - Approaching Dhuvaafaru by boat, you soon notice it is unlike many of the other atolls and islands which form the Maldives. All of the houses are new and organized into neat rows. Mounds of golden sand on the shoreline and the sounds of construction are omnipresent as workers build up the island's defences against rising sea levels.

After years spent in temporary settlements on other islands, the community has been reunited once more. This island

28 Dec 2009

Chad + 9 others
Oxfam Internacional cierra sus proyectos en el sudeste asiático tras haber ayudado a 2,5 millones de víctimas del tsunami de 2004

Report

— Oxfam

La organización humanitaria ha construido 10.800 pozos de agua, 2.900 viviendas, 102 escuelas, 31 puentes y 100 kilómetros de vías de comunicación

Oxfam Internacional, Intermón Oxfam en España, cerrará sus =FAltimos proyectos de ayuda humanitaria en los países del sudeste asiático que en diciembre de 2004 fueron arrasados por un tsunami. Cinco años después, la organización finaliza la mayor respuesta humanitaria de su historia habiendo ayudado a unos 2,5 millones de personas.

Oxfam Internacional destaca que su trabajo

25 Dec 2009

India + 4 others
Tsunami early warning must start at community level

Report

— Reuters - AlertNet

By Katherine Baldwin

LONDON, Dec 25 (Reuters) - Five years on from the Indian Ocean tsunami, the region has its own early warning system but experts say the new technology will not save lives unless local communities are more involved in planning how to respond.

The 230,000 people killed in Africa and Asia by the 2004 tsunami received no formal warning of the approaching waves.

Since then, millions of dollars have gone into building a vast network of seismic and tsunami information centres, setting up sea and coastal instruments and erecting warning towers.

Reuters - AlertNet:

For more humanitarian news and analysis, please visit www.trust.org/alertnet

25 Dec 2009

Indonesia + 4 others
FACTBOX-How the Indian Ocean gets tsunami warnings

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— Reuters - AlertNet

LONDON, Dec 25 (Reuters) - For more than 40 years, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC) has been alerting countries in the Pacific region to the dangers of killer waves.

Following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed almost 230,000 people, the United Nation's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) began coordinating efforts to create an Indian Ocean tsunami early warning system.

Before 2004, there were no sea-level monitoring instruments in the Indian Ocean and many countries did not have agencies responsible for tsunami warnings or points of contact to receive

Reuters - AlertNet:

For more humanitarian news and analysis, please visit www.trust.org/alertnet

25 Dec 2009

Indonesia + 3 others
Five Years After Indian Ocean Tsunami, Millions of Survivors Assisted and Moving On With Their Lives

Report

— American Red Cross

American Red Cross tsunami recovery program to finish in 2010

WASHINGTON, Friday, December 25, 2009 - Nearly five years after the Indian Ocean tsunami killed more than 230,000 people and destroyed entire communities, hundreds of thousands of houses have been rebuilt, life has returned to normal and communities are more prepared for future disasters.The more than 9.0 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami, which hit 12 countries from Southeast Asia to East Africa in December 2004, caused more than $8 billion in damages and affected nearly 5 million people.

American Red Cross:

All American Red Cross disaster assistance is provided at no cost, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. The Red Cross also supplies nearly half of the nation's lifesaving blood. This, too, is made possible by generous voluntary donations. To help the victims of disaster, you may make a secure online credit card donation or call 1-800-HELP NOW (1-800-435-7669) or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Or you may send your donation to your local Red Cross or to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C. 20013. To donate blood, please call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE (1-800-448-3543), or contact your local Red Cross to find out about upcoming blood drives..

© Copyright, The American National Red Cross. All Rights Reserved.

24 Dec 2009

Indonesia + 4 others
Cruz Roja Española mantiene su trabajo con las víctimas del tsunami

Report

— Cruz Roja Española

- Cruz Roja seguirá trabajando con los afectados hasta 2011.

- Se ha ejecutado el 86 por ciento el total de fondos disponibles para la operación.

El 26 de diciembre de 2004, un terremoto de 9 grados en la escala Richter golpeó las costas de Sumatra (Indonesia) generando una serie de tsunamis que barrieron las poblaciones costeras del Índico, desde Indonesia a Somalia.

Fallecieron más de 225.000 personas y la devastación afectó a todos los ámbitos de la vida de los supervivientes: más de 500.000 viviendas fueron destruidas y millones de personas perdieron

24 Dec 2009

Bangladesh + 7 others
South Asian Tsunami: 5th Year Commemoration

Report

— Hong Kong Red Cross

On 26 December 2004, a massive earthquake off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia (of magnitude Richter scale 9.0) led a tsunami that swept across the Indian Ocean. Almost 226,000 people lost their lives across 13 countries. In its wake came extraordinary generosity, the Hong Kong Red Cross (HKRC) has received over HK$660 million in donations (including bank interests) and assisted almost 5.3 million person-times in 8 countries.

To date, HKRC has allocated a total of approximately HK$620 million to support programs in Indonesia, Sri Lanka,

— UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction

24 Dec 2009

India + 4 others
Five years after the Indian Ocean Tsunami - are we better prepared and more resilient to disasters?

Report

Download PDF (248.81 KB)

UNISDR 2009/24

Geneva - On December 26, 2004, a massive tsunami reared up in the Indian Ocean and spread towards millions of people on the surrounding coasts. For those nearby, in Aceh, Indonesia, the Thai coastal resorts, and the island communities, there was little warning. With no knowledge or preparedness, people faced a terrifying situation as they tried to escape the growing wall of turbulent water, forcing its way across beaches, harbours, and towns. The earthquake that caused the tsunami was a warning to those who felt it, but only a few people recognized

23 Dec 2009

Indonesia + 3 others
Five million people five years on: boxing day tsunami

Report

— New Zealand Red Cross

On 26 December 2004, Boxing Day, a massive earthquake struck an area off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The earthquake triggered tsunami waves that pummelled coastal areas at speeds of more than 500 kilometres per hour.

Waves reached northern Sumatra in minutes, the coast of Thailand within an hour, India and Sri Lanka in two hours and the north coast of Somalia after eight hours. The 20 metre high waves smashed into the western coast of Aceh Province in Indonesia destroying everything three kilometres inland.

Over 230,000 people lost their lives

23 Dec 2009

Indonesia + 3 others
Learning from the tsunami - five years on

Report

— IFRC

By Patrick Fuller, tsunami communications coordinator, IFRC

When the tsunami struck on Dec 26th 2004, millions of people watched in horror as the full extent of the worst natural disaster in living memory unfolded on their television screens. More than 226,000 people lost their lives across 14 countries and 470,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. Now, five years on, the story is a very different one. Communities have recovered and in some cases been entirely rebuilt.

The Red Cross Red Crescent launched a major recovery operation with programmes in Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka

22 Dec 2009

India + 6 others
Fifth anniversary of the Asian tsunami

Report

— Oxfam

2.5 million people helped, 10,800 wells, 2,900 houses, 102 schools, 31 bridges built and 100 km of roads cleared and constructed

Unprecedented public generosity saw January 2005 set a new record for donations to Oxfam shops and 6,000 new volunteers

By the fifth anniversary of the 2004 Asian tsunami, 26 December 2009, international agency Oxfam will close the last few remaining tsunami aid projects having helped approximately 2.5 million people. The tsunami response was the largest aid effort Oxfam has ever undertaken in its 67-year history.

This enormous aid effort was only made

22 Dec 2009

Maldives
Child-friendly schools benefiting students in the Maldives

Report

Child-friendly schools

By Rob McBride

MEEDHOO, Raa Atoll, Maldives, 22 December 2009 - The session is interactive, spontaneous and fun. Led by a teacher who turns the pages on a book to reveal different animals, the children eagerly raise their hands wanting to mimic the sound each makes. This pre-school has, like so many other schools here, undergone a child-friendly transformation since the tsunami five years ago.

The cheerfully decorated room is filled

22 Dec 2009

India + 3 others
Aid worker recalls delivering first disaster relief ShelterBoxes on fifth anniversary of Boxing Day Tsunami

Report

— ShelterBox

A passenger train toppled by giant waves, boats washed in miles from sea and whole towns wiped off the map are just some of the images recalled by aid worker and photographer Mark Pearson who helped deliver emergency shelter to thousands of people following the Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004.

22 Dec 2009

Indonesia + 2 others
Five years after the Asian Tsunami: Red Cross helps reduce the risk of future disasters

Report

— Australian Red Cross

On the fifth anniversary of the devastating Boxing Day tsunamis, Australian Red Cross is in the final stages of recovery work, which has involved the construction of thousands of homes across the region, and the rebuilding of livelihoods and local economies.

In Indonesia, Red Cross has finished building more than 1600 homes for tsunami survivors, complete with vital infrastructure such as roads, healthcare and clean water. Construction has also been a focus in Sri Lanka, where Red Cross has completed major water and sanitation projects. The construction of 575 new homes in the

22 Dec 2009

Indonesia + 4 others
Build back better' has made concrete improvements for children five years after the tsunami

Report

By Val Wang

NEW YORK, USA, 22 December 2009 - 'Building back better' has been the mission of UNICEF's recovery work in the countries that were devastated by the Indian Ocean tsunami five years ago.

Some 230,000 people perished in the tsunami on December 26, 2004, which also washed away homes, schools and communities - many of them already poor and remote. In the years since, the task of rebuilding after the tragedy has been viewed as an opportunity to bring

21 Dec 2009

India + 4 others
Five years later, the tsunami-affected teach the world how to build back better

Report

— UN Development Programme

On December 26, 2004, no one was prepared for the gigantic seismic sea wave that ravished the coasts of 14 countries in Asia, killing nearly one-quarter of a million people and displacing more than 2 million. The disaster kick-started the largest aid effort of all times. Now, the lessons learned from this response help prevent and recover from natural disasters - not only in Asia but in all parts of the world. The Indian Ocean tsunami showed the power of community involvement in the reconstruction process.

Five years ago, the world witnessed the