Sri Lanka

07.00 hrs 31 December 2004

as at 19.00 hrs 31 December 2004

This report covers key issues, developments, DFID responses to date, planned responses and UN and Red Cross/Crescent actions.

KEY ISSUES

- A key DFID objective at this stage is to provide capacity for the UN to become fully operational. Aceh is assessed to be a particularly urgent need in this respect. Ms Wahlstrom, UN Special Coordinator for the crisis, has called for military support to provide infrastructure necessary for UN teams to operate.

- DFID received 40 concept notes from humanitarian agencies by today's deadline.

U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA)

07.00 hrs 30 December 2004

KEY ISSUES

- Hilary Benn, Secretary of State yesterday announced an initial £15 million for immediate humanitarian response in the region.

- The US is dispatching a Marine expeditionary unit, the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, and the Maritime pre-position squadron from Guam to the area to help with relief efforts. The US, in conjunction with Japan, India and Australia are looking to build and international coalition for immediate humanitarian relief and long-term recovery.

U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA)
OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)

06.00 hrs 29 December 2004

KEY ISSUES

- The Government of Indonesia has declared a national disaster but has not called for international assistance. Increased access to affected regions approved, assessments underway.

- The Government of the Maldives has declared a national disaster and has requested international assistance "for environmental disaster".

- The Government of Sri Lanka has declared a national disaster and has requested international assistance.

19:00 hrs 29 December 2004

KEY ISSUES

- Secretary of State announces an initial £15 million for immediate humanitarian response in the region.

- The US is dispatching a Marine expeditionary unit, the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, and the Maritime pre-position squadron from Guam to the area to help with relief efforts. The US, in conjunction with Japan, India and Australia are looking to build an international coalition for immediate humanitarian relief and long-term recovery.

Cologne. As from today, 29 December, Malteser Germany will extend its emergency relief to the region north of Phuket and Khao Lak. "We have encountered around 2,000 families whose villages have been wholly swept away. Help had not yet arrived so we immediately began distributing food, blankets and drinking water", states a Malteser staff member. The region's hospital, too, is in dire need of medical and dressing material. Tomorrow, Marie-Theres Benner, Malteser coordinator in Thailand, will be arriving to coordinate relief efforts.

NOAA scientists at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii went to work within minutes of getting a seismic signal that an earthquake occurred off the west coast of Northern Sumatra, Indonesia.

CURRENT SITUATION

Most Powerful Earthquake in 40 Years

A magnitude 9.0 earthquake on December 26, off the west coast of Northern Sumatra, Indonesia, triggered massive tsunamis that affected several countries throughout South and Southeast Asia, as well as Somalia, Tanzania, and Kenya in East Africa.

CROP AND FOOD SUPPLY SITUATION

OVERVIEW

As of October 2004, the number of countries facing serious food shortages throughout the world stands at 35 with 23 in Africa, 6 in Asia/Near East, 5 in Latin America and 1 in Europe. The causes are varied but civil strife and adverse weather, including drought predominate. In many of these countries, the HIV/AIDS pandemic is a major contributing factor.

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