Today’s Talk

December 26th, 2006 by CD

The tsunami brought devastation to the S. East Asian region along with parts of East Africa. In looking at ongoing work and work that will need to be started in the future, some countries are doing better than others. For example, we saw the quickness of the Thailand government in reconstruction efforts in Phuket province. The Indonesia government was not as quick and/or equipped to deal with the nearly 600,000 people who were left homeless.

It is important to look at the reconstruction efforts in a number of ways:

• Shelter
• Health
• Water
• Disaster Preparedness
• Psychosocial Support

Coupled with these efforts are the challenges that each of these problem areas will be combated by each government. The Red Cross has spent most of its funds on “water/sanitation.” Approximately, $127.5 million has been spent in this area. Followed by health ($112.2), shelter ($89.4) and psychosocial support ($35.3). The importance of a clean water system is evident. The governments including but not limited to Indonesia and Si Lanka will have to work harder in building efficient water and sanitation infrastructure specifically in the rural areas. The internal friction practically within the Indonesian and Sri Lankan governments which is plagues with corruption and inefficiency is putting several badly need reconstruction projects on hold

In terms of psychosocial support programs, healing is an important part of the recovery process. For example, programs that are directed at children who lost one or more parents will be an ongoing effort to international relief agencies and for the governments.

In the area of shelter, shelter still remains an issue that will need to be alleviated. Although, some progress along with the hard work from the international community have given, thousands of people are still without a permanent shelter.

Since this area is prone to disasters, governments along with the international community must step of the effort in programs that are aimed at hazards and vulnerabilities in the region. For example, the Indonesian government has implemented a community-based disaster preparedness program for 150 Aceh communities.

According to the Associate Press, here are how some projects stand in terms of the factors that I discussed above:

Indonesia: Around one-third of the some 600,000 people made homeless have moved into permanent homes, but some 70,000 people still live in roach-infested and leaky wooden barracks.

Sri Lanka: The main challenge to rebuilding is widespread fighting between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels. The tsunami crashed into government-controlled areas and rebel territory, and rebuilding efforts were initially undermined by disputes between the two sides over how aid money should be distributed.

India: The two areas in India worst hit by the tsunami, the southern state of Tamil Nadu and the remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands, are rebuilding in very different ways. A third of the more than 66,000 homes destroyed in Tamil Nadu have already been rebuilt or repaired and work is expected to be completed in the next year on the rest. Fishing fleets have been restored and the local economy is again healthy.

Thailand: Authorities faced the task of luring tourists back as well as rebuilding for homeless villagers. Roughly half the dead were foreign tourists. With a few exceptions, physical damage to hotels and resorts was limited, and the government launched special promotions within months.
Further information and sources:

UNICEF Report (Pdf)
Associate Press
Red Cross

This post is dedicated to the tsunami victims of 2004.