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Indonesia, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Thailand: Earthquake and Tsunami OCHA Situation Report No. 22

Ref: OCHA/GVA - 2005/0018
OCHA Situation Report No. 22
Earthquake and Tsunami
Indonesia, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Thailand

Ms. Margareta Wahlstrom, the Special Coordinator for Humanitarian Assistance to Tsunami Affected Communities, is participating in the Ministerial meeting on regional cooperation on tsunami early warning arrangements which takes place from 28 to 29 January 2005 in Phuket, Thailand.

INDONESIA

Situation

Latest figures from National Coordination Board for Disaster Management (BAKORNAS) indicate that the human toll for the disaster shows a slight increase in the number of bodies buried (101,199) and in the number of displaced people residing in spontaneous settlements (417,124) in Nanggroe Aceh Darusalam (NAD). An inter-agency mission to update and verify data on IDP settlements in Banda Aceh has been completed. Of the 103 sites indicated on the official list, only 20 spontaneous settlements and 25 host communities were identified: IDP numbers at all sites remain fluid. Government-listed IDP locations in Aceh Besar are now being reviewed and it is hoped that the list will be available for the humanitarian community very shortly.

In a major step forward to normalcy, the "Back to Learning" campaign, supported by UNICEF and several NGOs, was launched on 26 January 2005 by the Ministry of National Education with the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

Update by sector and Response

Child Protection:

UNICEF advises that after small surveys in Banda Aceh and the East Coast, agencies are using as a planning figure 2.5 percent of the displaced population for children who have lost parents. Agencies are confident that the vast majority of these children will be accommodated by extended family/community, and will not require institutional care. The Minister of Social Affairs with support from key agencies is in the process of finalising a policy paper on separated/unaccompanied children.

Education:

In connection with the "Back to Learning" campaign launched on 26 January 2005, distribution of School-in-a-Box and recreation kits sufficient for all primary schools in Banda Aceh was completed. Distribution is also underway in Aceh Barat and Nangan Raya districts. Supplies for 10,800 children have arrived in Meulaboh to be distributed in these two districts. Emergency teacher recruitment and training is underway to replace the nearly 2,000 teachers who died.

Environment:

The UNDAC environmental expert has, to date, identified no acute risks to public health from hazardous chemicals and other waste resulting from the tsunami. Notwithstanding this, waste management issues are a top environmental concern. Further details including urgent assistance requirements, will be provided at the earliest possible time by the UNDAC expert in collaboration with the Joint UNEP/OCHA Environment Unit.

Health:

A WHO rapid initial assessment estimates that up to 50 percent of the affected population may be experiencing significant psychological distress and 5 to10 percent may develop a diagnosable stress-related psychiatric disorder as a result of the disaster in Aceh. This could mean up to 100,000 people in need of skilled mental health interventions for trauma related stress disorders. Mental health needs are expected to increase substantially while mental health system resources are substantially fewer than in the rest of Indonesia. Investment in strengthening the mental health system is essential. The WHO team has put forward a proposed action plan to the Ministry of Health and this will be integrated in the Ministry's sector planning. Key agencies engaged in this area are WHO, UNFPA, UNICEF, IFRC and a range of NGOs, including Care International, Save the Children and MSF. A psychosocial working group has been established, meeting in Jakarta and Aceh. The group is developing common guidelines on mental health and psychosocial support.

The Government is convening a meeting of health partners in Jakarta on 28 January 2005 to consider how the various parties can support the Ministry of Health in the implementation of its action plan for the next six months. The meeting will include detailed discussion of planned actions in six sub-sectoral groups.

Cold chain equipment has arrived in Nanggroe Aceh Darusalam (NAD) and is being installed at the temporary provincial vaccine store. The Ministry of Health, WHO, UNICEF and the American Red Cross propose to extend the measles vaccination campaign targeting more than 68,000 children, aged from six months to 15 years in North Sumatra. Following the detection of malaria cases, insecticide spraying was completed in Krueng Raya.

This week IOM provided a medical tent, general medical supplies, hygiene kits and a generator to a camp for displaced people between Banda Aceh and the airport, in response to a request from the World Health Organisation. IOM and the Irish NGO Goal arrived in Calang, a west coast town, earlier this week, where they have been vaccinating some 150 children a day. As part of UNICEF's and the Indonesian Ministry of Health's large scale vaccination campaign, IOM has provided 1,287 children between the ages of 6 months and 15 years measles vaccinations and vitamin A supplements in and around Banda Aceh.

Food and Nutrition:

WFP is now establishing operational capacity, including warehousing along the west coast. WFP-sourced food distributions are continuing in Simeulue Island for 18,300 beneficiaries, in Aceh Barat Daya for 14,000 beneficiaries (CRS), in Takendon for 3,550 beneficiaries (Help), in Medan hospitals for 1,260 beneficiaries (Save the Children US) and in Lamno, Teunom and Calang in Aceh Jaya (ACF).

A Government-UN pilot rapid survey of nutritional status of under 5 years old and child-bearing age women was conducted over 3 days last week. The prevalence of global acute malnutrition has been assessed as being 12.7 percent among the children and severe acute malnutrition 1.5 percent. Among women, the prevalence of low body mass index (BMI < 18.5) was 15.3 percent. These findings indicate serious malnutrition is present in the community. A comprehensive survey is planned for February 2005.

Livelihoods:

The labour-intensive employment/cash-for-work, supported by UNDP and implemented by Penglima Laut, has scaled up to 1,260 people on 26 January 2005. A team is working on the Phase II clean up at the General Hospital in Banda Aceh. A second team of 100 workers has been dispatched to the military airport in Banda Aceh, which receives most of the aid and logistical supplies in the area. Waste at the site has been hampering helicopter take off and landing. A 30-person crew will remain at the airport for on going clean up until further notice.

Logistics:

Road: Indicative humanitarian cargo planning figures show the Medan-Banda Aceh road will be required to carry >500MT per day for the next six months and the Medan - Meulaboh road >100MT per day. These numbers do not account for road freight for rehabilitation and reconstruction activities which are expected to increase significantly over the next few months. A program of assessment, monitoring and reparation is underway to assist the Government to sustain the routes. The Australian Government has provided an 11 person engineering planning and supervision team for 6 months. It has begun discussions with the key Government agencies managing roads. Repairs on the Banda Aceh harbour bridge have begun. UNJLC Medan is discussing truck sourcing policy with key hirers to ensure market prices do not inflate. Currently over 300 trucks are chartered by IOM and WFP and are plying the Jakarta-Medan-Banda Aceh and the Medan-Meulaboh route. IOM Banda Aceh's truck fleet currently comprises 40 trucks which are used to distribute relief goods in and around Banda Aceh for IOM, UN agencies and international and national NGOs. To date, a total of 7 IOM truck convoys have departed Jakarta via Medan to Banda Aceh. Since the first deployment of trucks on 30 December 2004, IOM has moved and distributed some 5,850 Metric Tons (MT) of relief items from Medan in north Sumatra to Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam Province. Of that total, IOM has transported 1,070 MT of relief goods to Meulaboh in convoys which began operating on 8 January. IOM relief good delivery routes also include Medan-Biruen, Medan-Nias and Medan-Lhokseumwe.

Sea: As sea borne freight gains momentum and efficacy, UNJLC is exploring scope to improve sea transport coordination and the pooling of spare capacity. This will build on current ad hoc load sharing arrangements, notably the IDEP foundation ship carrying IOM, WFP and other cargo, and the Rainbow Warrior, carrying UNICEF and WFP cargo in addition to their primary MSF cargo arrangements.

Air: The US and Australian military have shifted all their humanitarian operations to Sabang (as a base). Sabang has sufficient hard base parking area for helicopters. This has meant a reduction of approximately 20 percent on the total Banda Aceh foreign military aircraft movements. Cumulative Air Deliveries: UNJLC reports total cumulative humanitarian community uplift of humanitarian supplies by the UN and its NGO partners for the period 7-20 January as 730MT, currently between 50MT to 100MT per day of cargo is arriving to Banda Aceh and Medan. To allow coordination and forward planning on needs for helicopters, decrease congestion at airports (in particular in Medan, but also in Subang and Banda Aceh), and increase efficiency and security of offloading of planes, it is imperative that slot times for all aircrafts carrying non-food items (NFI) be requested in advance at airaceh@unjlc.org. More information on this procedure can be obtained from www. unjlc.org .

WFP and IOM data indicates total cumulative dispatches of 6,058MT and 4,579MT respectively since commencement of operations. The Government and UN have now agreed on a system for improved tracking of relief supplies, with computers with commodity tracking software provided by IBM. Training on the system has been provided to UNJLC.

Shelter:

A senior Government/UN/NGO team visited several of the 24 already identified relocation sites in the Banda Aceh and Aceh Barat provinces over the course of the last few days. While visiting the sites, initiatives and planning issues relating to camp design and management were discussed. The Government's current plan is to house an estimated 100,000 to 150,000 IDPs in the Province of Aceh for a period of up to 2 years. BAKORNAS and the UN are developing basic criteria and benchmarks for this by 31 January 2005. In Meulaboh, cooperation between the UN and the Government continues in order to identify appropriate land and the best use of the emergency shelter for the transitional period. UNHCR, in conjunction with other partners, is setting up a first camp in Meulaboh city which will be run by the Government. The camp, scheduled to open in the coming days, will offer shelter to some 1,000 displaced people. Oxfam is constructing latrines and water facilities at the camp site.

IOM's Aceh programme is continuing to expand in other areas including shelter, with an agreement to build 11,000 semi-permanent pre-fabricated houses for people made homeless by the tsunami. IOM has also agreed to build and equip five community health centers and IOM medical staff in Banda Aceh are currently working with the Indonesian health ministry officials to identify suitable locations.

Water and Sanitation:

Poor water and sanitation continues to be the major health issue in Aceh. The situation is currently exacerbated by bad weather conditions and large numbers of displaced people. The joint WHO/UNICEF assessment of water, sanitation and health issues in priority Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camps is ongoing. WHO has been working with the Ministry of Health (MoH) on an action plan to improve water and sanitation conditions.

As part of the Clean Start Program, UNICEF and its partners in Water and Environmental Sanitation are reviewing the safety and cleanliness of schools as plans to bring children back to a learning environment proceed. As of 24 January 2005, 13 schools have been given a "clean start" in Meulaboh; 35 others are in the process of being cleaned.

Coordination mechanisms

The UN's Humanitarian Information Centre (HIC) is now online with a link to the Sumatra page (www.humanitarianinfo.org). The HIC is working closely with the Government to ensure that data on the impact of the tsunami and the subsequent response can be integrated into the reconstruction phase. The HIC is a key clearing house for information for the humanitarian community to assist with planning and coordination, and is producing reports and maps continuously. Current key documents include a new health location map for Banda Aceh, an updated Who does What Where, and an IDP summary report based on the above mission. A key role for the HIC is to hold a database of completed assessments.

A Joint Liaison Unit comprising Government, UN and key NGOs to improve coordination between the Government and the international humanitarian community is now functioning in Banda Aceh. In addition to this working level coordination structure, a Humanitarian Coordination Committee, chaired by BAKORNAS and the UN in Banda Aceh is to be established. Sectoral Working Groups would report to the Humanitarian Coordination Committee directly.

In Banda Aceh, the Sectoral Working Groups are meeting frequently to implement coordinated responses to the identified needs. In Meulaboh, a full coordination structure is in place. This includes daily general coordination meetings with Government, NGOs, and UN agencies, and sectoral working groups for all key sectors. Mapping and other data-gathering activities are fed into the HIC office in Banda Aceh.

MALDIVES

Update by sector and Response

Education

Schools across the country opened for the new academic year on 25 January 2005 and continue to function as normal.

Health

UNFPA reported that clean delivery kits, clinical delivery equipment and materials for safe blood transfusions for ensuring safe delivery have been supplied for the most affected populations. Gynaecological checkups were also arranged for the expecting mothers during assessment visits and there will be continued support for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of obstetric and gynaecological facilities of the most affected atolls.

Food:

On 25 January 2005, WFP launched its school-feeding programme in collaboration with the Government of Maldives. WFP team was on site the first day of the WFP school biscuit distributions in Kaafu Atoll. Schools visited were on the islands of Thulusdhoo, Huraa, Himmafushi and Gaarafu.

Logistics:

Transport costs vary according to distance, location and cargo and other variables such as weather conditions, bulk and volume. First logistic monitoring mission of WFP showed that the distribution system through the National Security Service is working well. Commodities were distributed in the right quantities and on time.

Psychosocial support

UNFPA continues to support the Social Support and Counselling Services of the National Disaster Management Centre on providing psychosocial support services to the most affected families, women and adolescents. In this regard, teams have been sent out to the most affected atolls Raa, Noonu, Thaa, Laamu, Meemu and Dhaal. Life Skills Facilitators trained under the UNFPA programme have been deployed to the relief shelters for psychosocial support in collaboration with the Education sector. Life Skills education sessions for displaced adolescents are also being initiated in collaboration with the education sector. Similar activities are being organised for providing reproductive health information and services.

Shelter

A UNDP/UNHABITAT team visited four islands in Male Atoll on 25 of January 2005 to assess the shelter and housing situation on these islands.

Gaafaru: Situated in the north of the atoll, this island had sustained minimal structural damage to its buildings. Material possessions in most houses were however drenched by floods. Houses were structurally damaged at the end of the island where the tsunami hit. The Dhiraagu telecommunications on this island were destroyed during the Tsunami.

Thulusdhoo: Although most of the island experienced floods of up to two feet on the day, most houses had no structural damage except those located on the side of the island where the Tsunami first struck.

Huraa: This island suffered extensive damage. There is grave concern over the structural integrity of the houses that were badly hit but still standing. Tiles were displaced in many houses and there is a reluctance to start renovation before engineers have examined the buildings.

Himmafushi: A small amount of houses that were totally destroyed.

Needs and Requirements

The GoM reiterated that manifests for aid shipments be sent to the Government well in advance to ensure more efficient processing and reduce bottlenecks. There is limited warehouse storage capacity at the airport. Please send manifests in advance to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Department of External Resources: der@foreign.gov.mv; fax: +960 317 592; copied to the Task Force's Aid Coordination Unit: rshareef@dhivehinet.net.mv and UNDP's focal point for logistics: shaheem.razee@undp.org.

SRI LANKA

Situation

As of 27 January 2005, District Secretaries reported latest figures as follows:

People killed: 30,959
People missing: 5,644
People displaced: 500,668

Sectoral update and Response

Education

While schools in the north and east remain closed for another week, schools in the southern districts had only 25 percent of students arriving for the new term, which started on 25 January 2005. 176 schools are listed as damaged by the Ministry of Education. 3,109 school-in-a-box kits have so far been sent out to the affected districts and UNICEF continues to distribute school supplies.

Environment

Tsunami related emergency waste management activities are ongoing in Galle district, and options to replicate this elsewhere are being explored by the UNDAC environmental expert in collaboration relevant local authorities, with support from the Joint UNEP/OCHA Environment Unit.

Health

A psychosocial support unit has been established in Batticaloa district to coordinate psychosocial agencies which provide services such as setting up a psychosocial programme at schools, promoting best practices in play-therapy activities, and organizing training on supervision of psychosocial staff. In the north-east, a systematic child protection program will be started in all relief camps.

Livelihood

FAO procurement process has been initiated and so far materials have been purchased locally, among them 65 irrigation pumps, 270 knapsack sprayers and 9,000 mammoties (a spade like instrument used for digging). In the fishery sector, nets, lines and ropes have so far been purchased. These materials are now being distributed and will be followed by more.IOM has completed family registration in IDP camps in Batticaloa, Trincomalee and Ampara districts. IOM has registered 6547 families in these districts.

Water and Sanitation

Clean water supplies to affected areas in the south are now reported to be stable, however sanitation remains a problem, particularly in camps. Lack of clarity over plans for relocating Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) makes it difficult to properly plan new sanitation facilities. Nonetheless, latrine construction is ongoing in camps in Galle, Batticaloa and Ampara. Well cleaning is also continuing, but it will be some time before wells can be used again, as the surrounding ground is saturated with salt.

Shelter

In Matara district the development of five emergency shelter sites is in the final phase (IOM). IOM is in the initial stages of emergency shelter site development in Ampara district. Land has been allocated by the government and land levelling has taken place. IOM is currently acquiring materials and tools and the construction of 100 shelters will commence in the near future. Temporary shelter site development has commenced in Vaharai DS division in Batticaloa district. Various materials like timber, tin sheets, and tarpaulins have arrived on site and the initial stages of construction have started. Wells destroyed by the tsunami are being covered.

Logistics

IOM continues to assist humanitarian partners and agencies in transporting relief items throughout Sri Lanka. Total transport provided by IOM Since 6 January when these operations commenced:

  • 453 trucks of 10 metric ton capacity,
  • 16 buses transporting a minimum of 360 passengers/relief workers,
  • 40 vans/four-wheel-drive vehicles and
  • 5 20ft container trucks/trailers.

Needs and Requirements

Detailed information on the relief effort is available on website of the Centre for National Operations (CNO) www.cnosrilanka.org

THAILAND

Situation

The Department of Disaster Mitigation and Prevention of the Ministry of Interior recently released casualty and damage estimates from the tsunami. The casualty figure stands at 5,322 dead, 8,457 injured and 3,144 missing. The severely affected areas cover 308 villages in 79 tambons (sub-districts) of 24 districts. In these areas, 12,068 households with a total of 54,672 people are considered to have been directly affected through loss of, or injury to, a family member. Phang-Nga, the most heavily impacted province, reported 61 villages in 15 tambons of 6 districts as severely affected. In Phang-Nga alone, over 4,000 households, or more than 19,000 people were directly affected. Over 3,600 houses were destroyed and almost 3,200 houses were damaged, with approximately 70 percent of the damage in Phang-Nga province.

The focus of UN agencies and NGOs continues to be one of support for the on-going Royal Thai Government response and recovery efforts. In addition to conducting assessment missions in partnership with various ministries, one of the key areas of UNDP activity has been to assist with coordination of international efforts.

Sectoral update and Response

Education

Education in the coastal areas was also severely affected. Four schools were completely destroyed and more than one hundred were either directly damaged or lost students or teachers. However all schools had reopened by 10 January 2005 and the majority had actually reopened at the start of the school year on 4 January 2005. Children from destroyed schools are attending alternative nearby schools or are having their lessons in makeshift arrangements. However, of greatest concern is that only around 75 percent of children are attending school. The 25 percent of children who are not going to schools are reportedly staying at home because of fear and distress.

UNICEF has procured school supplies, recreational materials and early childhood kits for the 100 most affected schools and nurseries valued at more than USD 300,000. Distribution has started and will be completed in the next week. UNICEF has supported repair of schools and other buildings for temporary use as classrooms, shelters and latrines. In addition to school equipment, funds have been provided to hire temporary school labour, as well as to provide temporary transport. UNICEF is providing home-based psychosocial support that will need to be increased in the coming months, to reduce the number of school children reportedly staying at home because of fear and distress.

Health

Some measles cases were reported from a temporary shelter in the province of Phang Nga. The cumulative dengue hemorrhagic fever case count in the aftermath of the tsunami is slightly above the epidemic threshold in Phuket and Phang Nga provinces. The Bureau of Epidemiology, Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health are to investigate both events.

Cases of depression and other psychological problems among survivors continue to be reported. Preparations are underway for a mental health assessment study on displaced persons, communities and relief workers in affected areas. Next week, WHO will join other UN agencies in an assessment of the situation for migrants affected by the tsunami.

Food

World Food Programme (WFP) will provide USD 500,000 in food aid to 8,000 child tsunami victims and 2,000 migrant workers' families in Thailand's six Andaman coastal provinces. The first batch of food, including 240 tonnes of rice, 56 tonnes of canned fish, and 24 tonnes of oil, will be sent to the damaged provinces under WFP's school feeding programme.

Livelihood

Losses to livelihoods have presumably affected a much larger number, with some estimates of over 120,000 people affected by losses in the fishery sector alone. The Department of Disaster Mitigation and Prevention further reports that estimated damage to the fishery sector is over 36 million dollars with half of the losses in Phang-Nga. The livestock and agricultural sectors are estimated to have sustained losses of USD 1.2 million and USD 6.2 million respectively with over 90 percent of the losses in Phang-Nga. The losses in the business sector are currently estimated at nearly USD 390 million, excluding the losses to 98 damaged hotels and resorts in Phang-Nga, which have yet to be estimated. Damages to civil infrastructure, including roads, bridges and piers are estimated at USD 7.8 million, with almost 70 percent of the damages in Phang-Nga.

Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is ready to disburse its first tranche of financial aid to tsunami-hit fishermen and farmers in the six southern provinces. The FAO expects to help about 8,700 fishermen and farmers. This first phase of the FAO's livelihood rehabilitation programme for tsunami victims, will provide over USD 400,000 for procurement of new fishery equipment and to pay for technical assistance from experts over the next 10 months. It will also cover new agricultural supplies, such as seeds for farmers.

Needs

In recent meetings between the Royal Thai Government and international officials, some future needs were put forward. The identified technical assistance needs include the areas of land survey, GIS and remote sensing; soil and underground water quality assessment; and environmental monitoring, modelling, and restoration. Technical assistance for the development of effective warning systems is also on the list of needs, as well as the set-up of long-term monitoring of the ecosystem and rehabilitation of ocean resources. Immediate key activities to be implemented are assessments of threats and impacts on marine and coastal resources as well as implementing medium and long-term mitigation and rehabilitation plans, in particular with regard to coral reefs, mangroves, sea grass beds and protected areas. The Department of Disaster Mitigation and Prevention (DDMP) has identified the need for technical assistance and funding to support capacity development and training in the full range of disaster management techniques including Search and Rescue.

Coordination mechanisms

The Government has established a Sub-Committee for the Coordination of International Assistance with three Task Forces which focus on coastal and marine environmental restoration efforts; geophysical hazards including seismicity, sink-holes, landslides, and salinity intrusion; and on livelihoods restoration issues. UNDP has taken a lead role in supporting the coordination of both the livelihoods and coastal restoration task forces.

As part of these coordination efforts the existing "UN in Thailand" website has been expanded to facilitate information sharing on tsunami-related matters. The website, which is accessible directly at http://www.un.or.th/tsunami/ or through a link on the "UN in Thailand" site (http://www.un.or.th/), provides a platform to share relevant assessment reports, updates and other information related to tsunami recovery efforts.

PLEDGES - CONTRIBUTIONS

Updates on contributions to this disaster may be found on the Financial Tracking Service (http://www.reliefweb.int/fts; or, click "Financial Tracking" at the top of the ReliefWeb page for this disaster). Donors are requested to verify this table and inform OCHA Geneva of corrections/additions/values. Donors are encouraged to notify OCHA Geneva of their contributions to this disaster using the OCHA Standardized Contributions Recording Format, available electronically on the above-mentioned FTS website.

Together with further information on other ongoing emergencies, this situation report is also available on the OCHA Internet Website at http://www.reliefweb.int.

Aid agencies are encouraged to use the Virtual On-Site Operations Coordination Centre (OSOCC) at http://www.reliefweb.int to share information on assistance and coordinate activities.

Tel. +41-22-917 1234
Fax: +41-22-917 00 23/06 28
E-mail: ochagva@un.org

In case of emergency only: Tel. +41-22-917 20 10

Desk Officers:

Mr. Rudi Müller/Ms. Caroline Péguet
Direct Tel. 41-22-917 3131 / 1836

Press contact:
(GVA) Ms. Elisabeth Byrs, direct Tel. ++41-22-917 26 53
(N.Y.) Ms. Stephanie Bunker, direct Tel. +1-917 367 51 26
(N.Y.) Mr. Brian Grogan, direct Tel. +1-212-963 11 43

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