Tsunami: Magnitude of Terror

1
Tsunami Magnitude of Terror

• Relief Efforts

2
Contents

• Emergency Relief
• Rehabilitation
• Reconstruction
• Case Study Relief Efforts in Singapore
• Case Study Singapore Armed Forces (SAF)

3
Relief Efforts

• Emergency Relief

4
Search and Rescue

• Many countries were quick to respond to the
  disaster. Some countries sent military and
  medical personnel to affected areas. Others
  provided military equipment to facilitate the
  search and rescue operations.
• The tsunami brought about the devastation of
  transport and communication infrastructure. Roads
  were destroyed, blocking off access via land to
  some affected areas. Thus, aerial and sea
  military transports were required to reach some
  rural areas.
• The force of the tsunami has altered the
  landscape of coastal areas, rendering most
  conventional topological maps useless. Therefore,
  ships with radar capabilities play supporting
  roles by coordinating the operations, and
  carrying out surveillance work.

5
Identification of bodies

• Techniques of preservation and identification
• Thousands of corpses of victims are stacked in
  temporary morgues converted from Buddhist temples
  across southern Thailand.
• Some are kept in refrigerated containers, others
  are buried near the temples in rows of shallow
  graves.
• However, many bodies were already in various
  stages of decomposition before they were found.
• In addition, Thailand's hot and humid climate
  accelerated the rate of decomposition,
  complicating efforts to identify them.
• Facial recognition of bodies is almost
  impossible, as bodies are bloated.
• Therefore, experts are relying on modern methods
  to identify victims. Forensic scientists rely on
  dental records to identify Westerners, who
  generally have dental records since childhood.
• For locals and other Asians, DNA must be used, as
  fingerprints have dissolved, rendering
  fingerprint records totally useless.

6
Searching for missing loved ones

• The first stop for people in search of their
  loved ones is a gallery of photographs displayed
  on bulletin boards at the temporary morgues.
• Families scrutinize pictures for distinctive
  scars, jewellery or facial features, hoping to
  find the bodies of their loved ones.
• Although the pictures were taken as soon as the
  bodies were found, most bodies were already
  beyond recognition, and covered in dirt, mud and
  debris.
• If the search is without success, they move on
  to a search coordination centre where they supply
  information of dead family members, such as
  records of surgeries

7
Problems

• Thai authorities have decided that every corpse
  has to be DNA tested, so that there is no mistake
  in identification.
• That means that even people who can provide
  evidence such as prominent features have to wait
  for the test results, before they can claim the
  bodies of their deceased family.
• Moreover, the quality of DNA degenerates over
  time, and some entire families may have been
  wiped out, such that their kin may not have DNA
  which is representative of the families' genetic
  traits.
• Sadly, some bodies may never be recovered, as
  they have been washed into the open sea.

8
Medical Aid

• Singapore has established a medical camp at the
  Secata military camp outside Banda Aceh, which
  primary objectives include providing outpatient
  treatment and on-the-spot surgeries.
• The medical team, which comprises of 6 doctors
  and 6 nurses from private hospitals, and 6
  Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) personnel, serves
  between 100 and 120 patients a day.
• In addition, the camp serves as a temporary
  shelter to approximately 3000 tsunami survivors.

9
Provision of Food Drinking Water

• In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, fresh
  water became a scarce commodity across the
  region, as reservoirs and other water sources
  were damaged or contaminated by ocean water, and
  decomposing bodies.
• Experts estimate that this could lead to the
  widespread occurrence of water borne diseases
  such as cholera, which could cause up to twice as
  many deaths as the direct impact of the tsunami.
  
• This was carried out in a series of efforts.
  Firstly, medical workers have to locate water
  sources that are uncontaminated, and protect them
  from contamination by building cement walls,
  protective fencing and drainage systems.
• Next, the people have to be educated on the
  various water purification techniques. For
  example, chlorination, or the addition of water
  purification tablets.

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Provision of Food Drinking Water

• Potable water is transported to affected areas,
  to meet the demand. Water purification systems
  have been set up at affected areas, to ensure a
  constant supply of clean water.
• There was also an acute shortage of food, as a
  result of the tsunami.
• Farmlands and rice paddies have been inundated
  with salty seawater, and it could be years before
  the soil can again sustain crops.
• An estimated 53 of all of the protein in the
  dietary intake of Indonesians come from fish.
• The destruction of the eco-system meant the lost
  of habitats and a decrease in the number of
  fishes.
• Thus, the lost of the 2 main sources of food
  ensured its scarcity.
• However, due to spontaneous international relief
  aid, almost 12,500 tons of food was delivered to
  Banda Aceh, effectively alleviating the
  situation.

11
Relief Efforts

• Rehabilitation

12
Volunteer Work

• Volunteers can provide help to the tsunami
  victims in many different ways. Some help in the
  orderly distribution of food, clothes, drinking
  water and medicine and other basic necessities.
• Some help clean up the debris and search for the
  missing. While others bury or cremate the dead,
  treat the injured in medical camps and relief
  centers or provide emotional support to those who
  have lost family in the tragedy.
• It is estimated that there are 4 persons injured
  for every person dead. Thus, medical staff is
  required to provide health care, such as
  treatment of injury, and vaccination against
  cholera and other water-borne diseases.

13
Volunteer Work

• In Thailand, local youth who are able to speak a
  foreign language are volunteering their abilities
  to help foreigners who are desperately looking
  for missing family members.
• While groups of people from the online community
  have made use of their technological expertise to
  set up websites which promotes relief aid, or
  regarding missing persons.
• For the rest of us, according to experts, giving
  money is the most practical and effective
  assistance one can give.
• It is not practical to donate food as the cost to
  transport the food may outweigh the cost of the
  food itself. Food supplies are also readily
  available locally.

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Housing

• In the immediate aftermath of a disaster, houses
  were swept away, and millions of survivors were
  made homeless.
• Tents and tarpaulins are good temporary
  shelters, but something more substantial is
  needed, as reconstruction may take several years.
  
• The absence of permanent shelter increases the
  likelihood of insect bites exposure to other
  parasitic diseases.
• There are other inexpensive alternatives such as
  the Global Village Shelter, a flat-pack hut made
  from water and fire resistant cardboard-type
  material.
• It takes approximately 20 minutes to assemble,
  and costs about US400, about 5 times the cost of
  a tent.

15
Housing

• World Vision India is supplying the materials and
  the labourers to construct temporary housing for
  7,000 families made homeless by the tsunami in
  two districts south of Chennai.
• Each new house is a 10 x 12 foot, temporary
  shelter of fibre-cement board attached to a frame
  of wooden poles.
• In the fishing village of Sonankuppam, workers
  are putting up 25 temporary houses a day.
• As they work, bulldozers clear aside the debris
  of the hundreds of thatch and brick homes
  demolished by the tsunami.
• Locals are employed in the reconstruction,
  helping to kick start economic activity.

16
Education

• Many children have lost the chance to attend
  school, as the tsunami has destroyed school
  buildings.
• For some, the chaotic situation simply disallows
  the privilege of an education.
• Restarting the education system gets children
  back into a daily routine and helps them cope
  with the trauma.
• Moreover, it offers them a way escape from the
  vicious cycle of poverty.
• Once tents or temporary structures had been set
  up for children, the next stage was making sure
  that they were engaged in activities beneficial
  for their mental and psychological well being.
• However, exercise books, textbooks and equipment
  had all been destroyed.

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Relief Efforts

• Reconstruction

18
Tourism

• Importance of Tourism Sector
• Most of the areas worst hit by the tsunami depend
  on tourism to support its economy.
• Among them, Maldives is most badly affected.
• Tourism contributes to as much as 72.1 of the
  country's GDP.
• An estimated 64.4 of the population's livelihood
  depends on tourism and related industries.
• Tourism also contributes significantly to the
  economies of other affected nations such as
  Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.

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Tourism

• Phuket Action Plan
• Countries hit by the tsunami are appealing to the
  international community to help in the
  reconstruction process by booking a holiday to
  the region.
• The WTO has said tourism was the best form of aid
  the international community could give to
  affected areas.
• During the talks held by the WTO on 1st February
  in Phuket, tourism experts have drafted a plan,
  which aims to draw the tourist back to the
  tsunami stricken areas.
• The agreement is named the "Phuket Action Plan",
  and includes a comprehensive series of
  activities, which focuses on saving jobs in the
  tourism industry, re-launching tourism-related
  businesses, and increasing visitor numbers.

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Tourism

• Phuket Action Plan
• Participants in the meeting appealed to the
  international community to support the
  implementation of the Plan through financial aid,
  contribution of materials, or the loan of expert
  staff.
• 14 countries have pledged assistance for the
  plan. International organizations such as the
  International Finance Corporation and the United
  Nations Development Programme have also promised
  support.

21
Tourism

• Quick Recovery Expected
• Only the coastal areas were badly hit by the
  waves, and 70 of the tourist areas are intact.
• However, the tourism sector is suffering.
• In Maldives, hotel bookings are 50 that of
  pre-disaster periods, even though only 3 tourists
  were killed in the disaster.
• Hotel rooms in Thailand, which suffered the
  largest number of tourist deaths, have an
  occupancy rate of only 20.
• Travel to affected areas in Thailand is down by a
  third.
• Still, experts are optimistic of a quick
  recovery.
• Bali took only a year to recover from the
  nightclub bombing in 2002.
• Tourism in Asia was back in full force after the
  SARS outbreak in 2003.

22
Fishing Industry

• Importance of Rebuilding Fishing Industry
• The fishing industry is an important aspect of
  the economies of affected nations. In any
  disaster, the poorest of society have always been
  affected most.
• Problems Faced
• As the tsunami hit the coast, many fishing boats
  and equipment including boats and fishing gear
  have been swept away or damaged.
• Most of the people whose livelihoods depend on
  fishing have no insurance to recover their loss
  of equipments.
• Moreover, the rumors that it is dangerous to eat
  fish that have been in proximity to or have fed
  on victims' bodies has dealt a further blow to
  the industry, and reports suggest that fish
  consumption is dropping as a result.
• However, experts agree that such worries are
  unfounded, and there was no evidence of an
  increased risk of fish or seafood borne diseases
  in the affected regions.

23
Fishing Industry

• Measures to rebuild Fishing Industry
• The European commission has adopted a decision to
  provide immediate and long-term technical
  expertise and assistance to the countries
  concerned.
• They will also assist in the implementation of
  the agreed rehabilitation measures in this
  sector.
• European vessels destined to be scrapped because
  of overfishing would be sent to affected areas.
• The EC and UN's Food and Agriculture Organization
  will meet on March 12 to discuss ways to overcome
  the legal barriers in the transfer of fishing
  vessels.

24
Fishing Industry

• Measures to rebuild Fishing Industry
• The Food and Agriculture Organization of the
  United Nations (FAO), and the German technical
  cooperation agency, has provided boat repair kits
  worth US380,000 to help restore the livelihoods
  of Sri Lankan fishermen.
• The repair kits will be made available at
  boatyards set up around the country by the Sri
  Lankan government to repair those vessels
  salvaged by the surviving fishermen.
• Furthermore, FAO will provide fishing nets and
  gear, as well as outboard engines and will repair
  damaged boats or replace those lost with new
  ones.

25
Agriculture

• As there were human casualties, undoubtedly,
  domestic farm animals reared for commercial
  purposes were not spared.
• In affected areas, such livestock was vital in
  its contribution to the economic livelihoods of
  the people.
• Some means of solving this includes restocking,
  with the replacement of animals from other
  villages or regions less affected.
• Moreover, proper sanitary conditions have to be
  established, not just for the health of human,
  but for that of the livestock as well.
• The Food and Agricultural Organisation of the
  United Nations (FAO) will prepare appropriate
  guidelines, checklists and specifications for
  rehabilitating household livestock enterprises.
• The findings would then be made available to the
  relief organizations, so that they are able to
  effectively meet the differing specific needs of
  various affected areas.

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Agriculture

• The plains were flooded by the saline sea water,
  and many acres of crops was laid waste.
• Even as the water had evaporated, the problem
  persisted, as the salt remained.
• The salt dissolved in ground water, decreasing
  its water potential, and restricting the uptake
  of water from the soil water.
• The tsunami also caused soil erosion, as the
  fertile topsoil is washed away.
• To begin the reconstruction of the agricultural
  sector, Equipment and other agriculture inputs
  such as chemical fertilizers would have to be
  made available to affected areas.
• Infrastructure such as roads has to be
  re-established.
• Furthermore, agriculture requires a constant
  supply of fresh water.
• Thus, water sources with a supply of fresh water
  would have to be located, storage and irrigation
  facilities would have to be built.

27
Donations

• The international community was spontaneous in
  the effort to provide humanitarian assistance and
  disaster relief to affected nations.
• The World Bank estimates the total amount of aid
  required to be US5 Billion.
• As of 8th February 2005, the total amount pledged
  by governments, International aid organisations,
  Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) and private
  individuals has already exceeded this amount, and
  stands at US5.5 Billion.
• Of this amount, donations of governments from 87
  countries make up US5.1 Billion.
• Private persons and institutions have contributed
  the balance of US 393 Million.

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Relief Efforts

• Case Study Relief Efforts in Singapore

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Case Study Relief Efforts in Singapore

• Volunteers can help by coordinating the relief
  efforts locally.
• For example, many local volunteers are required
  for the packing of relief kits and other
  non-monetary relief aid.
• Typical relief kits consist of cups, plates,
  cutlery, buckets, bowls, bed sheets, soap,
  clothes and sleeping mats.
• Furthermore, some people are over enthusiastic to
  provide help to the victims and yet are ill
  informed of the local situation, thus resulting
  in the donation of impractical items.
• For example, too revealing clothes are unsuitable
  for the generally conservative Asian society.
• Certain food products may spoil even before it
  reaches its destination.

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Case Study Relief Efforts in Singapore

• Yet there are others who are not directly
  involved in the relief effort or do not have the
  financial capability to make a significant
  impact, and yet do their part for the victims of
  the tsunami.
• For example, students and members of the public
  have took to the streets for collection of
  donations. This activity has been encouraged by
  instituitions all over Singapore.
• The Singapore government has pledged SGD 5m to
  relief efforts initially, including SGD 1m to the
  Singapore Red Cross Society.
• As of January 8, SRCS has collected more than SGD
  27m in donations from the public.
• At the recent emergency disaster summit in
  Jakarta, the government has pledged an additional
  USD 10m to help victims of the tsunami disaster.
• In addition, Temasek Holdings, a government
  linked investment corporation, has set aside USD
  10m for relief work.

31
Case Study Relief Efforts in Singapore

• The government has also offered the use of its
  air and naval bases as a staging area to the
  United Nations and other relief agencies.
• The United Nations has also accepted Singapore's
  offer to set up a UN Regional Coordination Centre
  to coordinate relief efforts in affected areas.
• Singapore has also offered to rebuild hospitals
  and clinics in Aceh.
• The Singaporean humanitarian relief operation
  involves more than 1200 military and civil
  defence personnel.
• The humanitarian assistance provided by its
  military, medical and rescue teams is estimated
  to cost SGD 20m.

32
Relief Efforts

• Case Study Singapore Armed Forces (SAF)

33
Accomplishments

• They created land and air bridges by building two
  beach landing points and seven helicopter landing
  sites in Meulaboh.
• The SAF field hospitals in Meulaboh and Banda
  Aceh cured 5174 patients
• 190,000kg of relief supplies was ferried by
  Landing Ship Tanks.
• RSAF Chinook and Super Puma helicopters flew 143
  missions, ferried 150,000kg of relief supplies
  and carried 2,500 passengers.
• C-130 and Fokker-50 aircraft flew 76 missions,
  ferried 240,000kg of relief loads and carried
  1,200 passengers.
• The engineers built a modular building,
  approximately 139 square metre and two logistics
  storage areas.
• The SAF set up a mobile air traffic control tower
  and air traffic control support.
• About 70 personnel would continue assistance with
  the presence of two liaison teams and three
  Chinooks

34
Experiences

• The Navy managed to obtain the only and special
  hand-traced sea chart of the Meulaboh area in
  western Sumatra, which was critical for
  navigation in the unfamiliar waters of Meulaboh.
• This could only be done due to the close
  relationship developed over the years between the
  SAF and the Tentera Nasional Indonesia (TNI).
• The SAF commanders were familiar with the key
  Indonesian military personnel running the
  emergency relief work in Aceh and they spoke
  their language and knew how to relate to the
  Acehnese, unlike many other foreign troops.
• Hence the TNI officers were comfortable with the
  presence of the SAF officers and were impressed
  with the SAF's low profile and the sincerity of
  its assistance.
• The SAF were surprised by the resilient and the
  will to live of the Indonesian people, although
  exhausted, they still continued to work
  tirelessly to clear debris and remove bodies.

35
Conclusions

• The SAF realized that careful and forward
  planning and well thought-out strategies and
  policies were important.
• Team work also played an important role. This
  shows the close integration between army, navy
  and air force.
• The SAF are professional and flexible when faced
  with difficult circumstances.
• They found the best way to get ashore, to bring
  equipment in, to fly helicopters to places
  unknown, and to locate places to land.
• The field engineers found sea landing sites as
  well as clear and create new landing sites for
  heavy helicopters.
• The success of Singapore's biggest-ever tsunami
  deployment has boosted the public's confidence
  and pride in the SAF.
• The mission has given the SAF more belief in
  their system, in the way they do things, in the
  way they train and in the way the leaders lead
  their comrades.

36
References
37
References

• "OPERATION FLYING EAGLE - The inside story of the
  SAF's tsunami relief deployment" . "AsiaOne News
  Link" . Online http//nnewslink.asia1.com.sg/brs
  web/read_1.brsw?thisresultQDT1QFLSTHD3AHG3A
  PDDBST4004-05QSTR2828OperationFlyingEagle
  insidestory2929.HD.DTSTR2828PD3E20041
  01229and28PD3C200503142929PSZ30MAXL4
  00SUMY2HLT1LSTN0ID000006040_at_ST05 14
  March 2005
• "Setting up a lifeline to Aceh" . "Straits Times
  Interactive" . Online http//straitstimes.asia1.
  com.sg/sub/news/story/0,5562,301708,00.html? 20
  February 2005
• "Mission Accomplised" . "Straits Times
  Interactive" . Online http//straitstimes.asia1.
  com.sg/sub/news/story/0,5562,302893,00.html? 27
  February 2005