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Thursday 31 March, 2005

UN steps up relief operations to quake-ravaged Indonesian islands

United Nations agencies stepped up relief operations today on the Indonesian islands ravaged by Monday night's earthquake, with a dedicated fleet of aircraft and boats delivering emergency aid and evacuating the critically injured. Water purification, food and logistics are among the current priorities.

"It's critical to send aid very quickly to people who were already extremely traumatized by the 26 December tsunami disaster," World Food Programme (WFP) Country Director Mohamed Saleheen said, referring to the catastrophe that two months ago killed more than 200,000 people and left up to 5 million in need of basic services in a dozen Indian Ocean nations.

Read the Full Article at UN News Centre

Hundreds said killed on Indonesia Banyak islands

About 200-300 people on the isolated Banyak island group were killed in Monday's huge earthquake, an Indonesian disaster official said on Wednesday.

"It is reported that 200 to 300 people died in Banyak. But we have not received further information about the homeless and wounded," Nerli Sulitiani, an official with the national disaster agency in the northern city of Medan told Reuters.

Sulitiani said the report came from agency staff on nearby Nias island, just to the south of the Banyak isles. Nias bore the brunt of the quake and oficials say at least 1,000 people there were killed.

Nias and the Banyak group are about 1,400 km (870 miles) northwest of Jakarta, off the western coast of Sumatra.

Source: Reuters AlertNet

Aid struggles to reach Indonesia

Search and rescue teams have begun to arrive on the Indonesian island of Nias, which was worst hit by Monday's massive earthquake.

Damaged infrastructure and bad weather are hindering rescue efforts.

Nias residents have been scrambling for aid supplies and searching for survivors. The main town, Gunung Sitoli, has been largely destroyed.

The UN has confirmed 518 were killed in the 8.7-magnitude tremor, but it is thought up to 1,000 may have died.

Read the Full Article at BBC News

Tuesday 29 March, 2005

Snapshot - Sumatran Earthquake

* Magnitude 8.7 earthquake strikes off Indonesia's Sumatra island
* Hundreds may have been killed on Indonesia's Nias island, says police official.
* No immediate reports of a tsunami
* Thousands flee to higher ground on Thailand's southern Andaman Sea coast. Thailand later cancels tsunami alert.
* India issues tsunami warning and orders coastal areas evacuated. It later cancels warning
* Malaysian police advise people on west coast to get out of the path of possible tsunami
* Sri Lanka evacuates coastline but later lifts tsunami alert
* Quake one of eight biggest since 1900 by magnitude

Source: Reuters AlertNet

India & Malaysia withdraw Tsunami Alert

The Centre early on Tuesday withdrew the tsunami warning it issued in the wake of a massive earthquake, measuring 8.2 on the Richter scale, off the Indonesian coast.

It said it was safe for coastal residents to return home.

Four hours have passed since the earthquake, which the US Geological Survey said measured 8.7, and no unusual sea conditions have been reported from Port Blair or Chennai, S K Swami, Director, Disaster Management, said in a message issued at 0230 hours.

The Centre, however, asked authorities in the coastal states and Andaman and Nicobar islands to continue to keep a watch as a precautionary measure.

Source: Rediff

Update:

Malaysia withdraws the alert as well.

Sri Lanka withdraws Tsunami Alert

This just in via a volunteer at the International Airport in Sri Lanka:

Sri Lanka's meteorological department has withdrawn its tsunami warning and said it was safe for coastal residents to return to their homes despite a submarine earthquake near Indonesia.

Met chief P. M. Jayatilake said they decided to withdraw the tsunami warning as there were no reports of unusual wave activity anywhere in the neighbouring countries within the Indian Ocean. - this statement was released about 45 mins ago.

Earthquake Information Lines

More info on casualties, extended alerts & other info regarding the past earthquake and withdrawn alerts can be obtained via phone on the following numbers:

Jakarta (Indonesia) (00) (62) 2131901314 or (00) (62) 811802435

Phuket (Thailand) (00) (66) 76264473

Colombo (Sri Lanka and the Maldives) (00) (9411) 2437336

Mauritius (00) (230) 252 8006

NOAA Tsunami Bulletin No 003

SEA LEVEL READINGS INDICATE A TSUNAMI WAS GENERATED. IT MAY HAVE BEEN DESTRUCTIVE ALONG COASTS NEAR THE EARTHQUAKE EPICENTER. FOR THOSE AREAS - WHEN NO MAJOR WAVES ARE OBSERVED FOR TWO HOURS AFTER THE ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL OR DAMAGING WAVES HAVE NOT OCCURRED FOR AT LEAST TWO HOURS THEN LOCAL AUTHORITIES CAN ASSUME THE THREAT IS PASSED. DANGER TO BOATS AND COASTAL STRUCTURES CAN CONTINUE FOR SEVERAL HOURS DUE TO RAPID CURRENTS. AS LOCAL CONDITIONS CAN CAUSE A WIDE VARIATION IN TSUNAMI WAVE ACTION THE ALL CLEAR DETERMINATION MUST BE MADE BY LOCAL AUTHORITIES.

COUNTRIES IN THE BAY OF BENGAL AND ANDAMAN SEA REGIONS SHOULD EXPECT DECREASING WAVE HEIGHTS WHERE OBSERVED.

IT IS UNKNOWN IF A DESTRUCTIVE TSUNAMI THREAT EXIST FOR OTHER REGIONS OF THE INDIAN OCEAN.

Source: NOAA

Sri Lanka - GeoLanka Web Resources Update

Via Email from GeoLanka Web Resources
Update #7 March 28, 2005

The web sites www.recoverlanka.net (RECOVER), www.geolanka.net (GEO)and servesrilanka.blogspot.com (SERVESL) were developed to assist in recovery from the tsunami in Sri Lanka. Here is an emergency update.

----------------------------

An earthquake measuring 8.7 on the Richter scale has been reported at a location close to the December 26th event. The magnitude of 9.3 is smaller than that due to the last one yet, this is a considerable powerful earthquake. The present update goes out after 3 hours past the occurence of the earthquake at 11.09 pm in Indonesia. Thus far there have been no reports of a Tsunami wave as yet. The threat of a Tsunami for Sri Lanka from this earthquake shall recede in a few hours - yet attention is warranted on after shocks from this event. Thus evacuation to higher ground is wise.

A TSUNAMI WARNING FOR THE INDIAN OCEAN HAS BEEN ISSUED BY PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTRE PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER/NOAA/NWS
ISSUED AT 1629Z 28 MAR 2005

An Earthquake Has Occurred With These Preliminary Parameters
Origin Time - 1610z 28 Mar 2005
Coordinates - 2.3 North 97.1 East
Location - Northern Sumatra Indonesia
Magnitude - 8.7

Warning... This earthquake has the potential to generate a widely destructive tsunami in the ocean or seas near the earthquake. Authorities in those regions should be aware of this possibility and take immediate action. This action should include evacuation of coasts within a thousand kilometers of the epicenter and close monitoring to determine the need for evacuation further away.

This center does not have sea level gauges outside the Pacific Ocean so will not be able to detect or measure a tsunami if one was generated. Authorities can assume the danger has passed if no tsunami waves are observed in the region near the epicenter within three hours of the earthquake.

Sri Lanka - report, 3.00 a.m.

From Angelo Embuldeniya
This just came to via sms from a paramedic at Kalmunai hospital on the East Coast of SL:

2 people have died during evacuations in the East, one was an elderly lady in Kalmunai and the other was a young child in Mavadippalli. The first death happened when the elderly citizen was fleeing to higher ground and the child died during a lorry accident a few hours ago. Many residents have relocated themselves at Puliyanthivu while others have keept watch for any incoming waves on a bridge called the 'White Bridge' in Batticloa.
According to an SLBC radio report [2.30 am sl time], people near Moratuwa are going to the sea shore to keep a watch out for tidal waves.

Sanjay Senanayake (Morquendi) in Colomobo confirms via chat:
i got a call from moratuwa...
a friend said that some people were heading down to the beach...
but a very very small number only...
a majority of the people were heading inland...

UN on alert after new Indian Ocean quake, calls for speeding up early warning

United Nations offices throughout the area hit by last December's tsunami are on alert after a new earthquake struck the west coast of Indonesia today, and though no tsunamis have been reported this time, the shocks are a wake-up call for the world to speed up an early warning system for the region, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator said.

"What we hope is now that the international community will really speed up work on the early warning system for the tsunami," Under-Secretary-General Jan Egeland told a news briefing in New York, noting that there were unconfirmed reports of deaths on one island near the epicentre and accounts of limited damage in the region, which suffered most from the earlier disaster.

"A little bit stronger earthquake this time [and] we could have another major tsunami in the middle of the night," he added, referring to the giant waves of 26 December that killed more than 200,000 people and left up to 5 million in need of basic services in a dozen Indian Ocean countries. "We need that early warning system up and going."

Read the Full Article at ReliefWeb

Sri Lanka - siren and SMS warnings

From Angelo Embuldeniya in Sri Lanka
I've just got the following sms from Debbie (volunteer) from VolunteerSriLanka based in Hikkaduwa [sri lanka] a few mins ago:
"Everyone was warned via mobile phone and sirens. Everybody is waiting
inland or on high ground"

Sri Lanka: Government meeting to decide on tsunami warning withdrawal

Message from Sanjay a.k.a. Morquendi in Colombo, quoting the Department of Information Government of Sri Lanka:
There will be a meeting of Government officials here at 0300 SL time to decide if the warning is to be withdrawn
More updates as they become available.

India issues full tsunami warning, people leaving coastal areas

India late Monday issued a tsunami alert along its entire south coast following a powerful quake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra, an official told AFP, as people began fleeing inland.

The alert was sounded from the Andaman and Nicobar island chain in the east, where residents spoke of feeling a "massive jolt", to the Lakshadweep archipelago in the southwest, S.K. Swami, director of the emergency response control room in the home ministry, told AFP.

India's army, navy and air force were also put on alert, officials said.

Warnings were being issued through radio channels asking people to move away from the ocean in southern Tamil Nadu state, which was the worst hit in the December 26 tsunami disaster.

Read the Full Article at ReliefWeb

Tsunami alert issued in Madagascar, Mauritius

ANTANANARIVO, March 28 (AFP) - Warnings of a possible tsunami have been issued in Madagascar and the island of Mauritius after an earthquake measuring over 8.0 on the Richter scale struck Monday off the Indonesian island of Sumatra, officials said.

Source: ReliefWeb

As yet, no sign of tsunami

There is no sign of any tsunami after a major earthquake measuring 8.2 on the Richter scale hit off the coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island on Monday night.

Since there has been no sign of a tsunami even after over three hours of the quake, there is unlikely to be one, the Meteorological and Geophysics agency in Indonesia said.

UN officials said though there was no report of any tsunami towards the east of the epicentre of the quake in the direction of Sumatra, it is yet to be assessed if there are waves progressing towards the west in the direction of Sri Lanka.

Source: Rediff

India: People in TN told to move away from coast

The Tamil Nadu government on Monday night asked the people to move 500 metres away from the state's coastal area as a precautionary measure in view of the possibility of a tsunami following a massive earthquake hitting the Indonesia island of Sumatra, it was officially stated in Chennai.

The administration and the police force in coastal districts are on full alert.

Source: Rediff

Indonesian police say many trapped by quake

Many residents in the main town on Indonesia's Nias island have been trapped in damaged buildings after a powerful earthquake struck on Monday evening, a senior police officer told Reuters by telephone.

A. Nainggolan, deputy police chief in Gunungsitoli town, said he had seen three dead from the 8.2 magnitude quake.

"I have seen three bodies. Many people are hurt and many are still trapped in the buildings. The earthquake was massive, it's still shaking now."

Source: AlertNet

Tsunami fears receding

More than three hours after the earthquake happened, there are very few reports of tsunami activity according to this CNN article.

"A tidal gauge has detected a small tsunami in the Indian Ocean several hundred miles southwest of the earthquake that struck off the coast of Indonesia on Monday.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported that an instrument near the Cocos Islands recorded the passing wave, but the magnitude of the "small" tsunami was not clear.

The agency said no major tsunami has been observed near epicenter of the earthquake which was upgraded from a magnitude of 8.2 to 8.7. An aftershock measuring 6.0 struck 30 minutes after the initial quake."

AP updates: "It seems this earthquake did not trigger a tsunami. If it had, the tsunami would have hit the coastline of Sumatra by now," said Prihar Yadi, a scientist with the Indonesia Geophysics Agency. "And if there's no tsunami on the coastline near the epicenter of the quake, there will not be one heading in the other direction."

USGS Raises Estimate to 8.7; possible tsunami towards Mauritius, Rodrigues, Sri Lanka

CNN is reporting that the US Geological Survey has raised its estimate of the earthquake's strength to 8.7 on the Richter Scale. The article goes on to say that a small tsunami may be on its way towards Mauritius. "We think this event probably ruptured to the south, with the beam of energy probably propagated to the south toward Mauritius and the Rodrigues," said Robert Cessaro of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. Additionally, the Sri Lankan government warns that a tsunami may reach the country's coastline around 3am local time Tuesday. Meanwhile, they have just reported that at least 50 people have died on the island of Nias. andy carvin

Peter Tan Blogs the Quake

Malaysian blogger Jeff Ooi credits Peter Tan as the first blogger to capture the earthquake. "At the time of the quake, TV Smith, Daniel Tang and I were shooting the breeze at a coffee joint in TTDI," Jeff writes. "We went helter-skelter for our blogs when MackZul broke the news to us." But Peter beat them to their keyboards; his one-line post said, "My apartment is shaking now."

Paola Reports from Phuket

The following email comes from Paola in Phuket, Thailand:

Luckily somebody woke me up!
The girl who works in the kitchen knocked at my door she was gasping for breath
she almost could not speak
she said - my friend phoned me tsunami may be coming -
I thought that maybe I should check on the net, so she said ok I ll wait

then I thought again, no, first I go somewhere safe then I check
- I was half asleep but still capable of a self preserving reaction obviously -

so i grabbed the laptop, the phone, the bag with the passport and money which has been on standby
since the disaster, and I jumped on the motorbike, this guy rode me uphill

here there were already a few dozen people and families waiting

we are in a house with a small shop on top of a hill near the airport in phuket, this area was badly hit last time

people are watching television but its in thai, so i dont know what is being said

there are rolf and kerstin karlsson from aland in finland, they are the only other foreigners
we dont know where the others have gone but we think everyody has been warned
i have phoned a friend who lives also opposite the beach but she did not reply the phone

some people kept on drinking at the bars as we ran away uphill

let s hope nothing is going to happen
I am due to go back to Europe on Thursday
if god so wishes
and I dont think I ll stay on the beach when I come back

I guess I ll stay here for three hours then I go back home to finish packing
and thats it for beach life

Dozens Dead on Nias Island; Heading to Mauritius?

Yahoo! News reports that dozens of people have died on Indonesia's Nias island. "I can guarantee that dozens have died," Agus Mendrofa, the deputy mayor of Gunungsitoli town, said.

"Things are quite bad right now," one resident said. "There is much damage. People are running in panic. Many people are also trapped."

Meanwhile, the article noted that a tsunami could be on its way to Mauritius, though it offered no specific data to support that point. - andy

NOAA Tsunami Bulletin No 002

THERE HAS BEEN NO MAJOR TSUNAMI OBSERVED NEAR THE EPICENTER.

THERE WAS HOWEVER A SMALL TSUNAMI OBSERVED ON THE COCOS TIDE GAGE. WARNING... THIS EARTHQUAKE HAS THE POTENTIAL TO GENERATE A WIDELY DESTRUCTIVE TSUNAMI IN THE OCEAN OR SEAS NEAR THE EARTHQUAKE. AUTHORITIES IN THOSE REGIONS SHOULD BE AWARE OF THIS POSSIBILITY AND TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION. THIS ACTION SHOULD INCLUDE EVACUATION OF COASTS WITHIN A THOUSAND KILOMETERS OF THE EPICENTER AND CLOSE MONITORING TO DETERMINE THE NEED FOR EVACUATION FURTHER AWAY.

THIS CENTER DOES NOT HAVE SEA LEVEL GAUGES OUTSIDE THE PACIFIC SO WILL NOT BE ABLE TO DETECT OR MEASURE A TSUNAMI IF ONE WAS GENERATED. AUTHORITIES CAN ASSUME THE DANGER HAS PASSED IF NO TSUNAMI WAVES ARE OBSERVED IN THE REGION NEAR THE EPICENTER WITHIN THREE HOURS OF THE EARTHQUAKE.

Read the bulletin at NOAA

More Earthquake Information

A Wikipedia portal has been setup here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_Sumatran_Earthquake

A Wikinews portal is also up:

http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Magnitude_8.2_earthquake_in_Northern_Sumatra

DMA Earthquake Alert Tool

The DMA Earthquake Alert Tool has a variety of data related to today's earthquake. The site includes this model for the propogation of a tsunami, if it does indeed occur.

Sri Lanka Update

All Sri Lankans living on the coast have been asked to move away from the coast within an hour. This was about a half an hour ago. The information has been distributed fairly widely. The Commissioner of Police has also stated that they are taking steps to stop traffic on the Galle Road. People fleeing also asked to watch out for looters.

India: Earthquake Updates

• No risk to India: Science &Tech secy...
• ...tsunami possible: Met Dept
• Emergency Control Room activated
• Evacuation ordered across TN coast
• Crisis mgmt group is holding a meeting
• Official tsunami warning in Andaman
• Evacuation on in A&N, Kanyakumari
• Mild tremors in Andaman and Nicobar

Source: Rediff

Monday 28 March, 2005

IRC Chat for Info on EarthQuake

There's an IRC Channel for information on quake and quake blogs here:

Server: DALnet
Channel: #quakeblogs

USGS Page on the earthquake

USGS has setup a page giving information on the just occurred earthquake:

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqinthenews/2005/usweax/

Malaysian Bloggers Cover the Earthquake

Malaysian bloggers are mobilizing to cover today's earthquake. Mack Zulkifli was perhaps the first to write about it; Jeff Ooi is also actively involved. You can follow more of this on the Global Voices blog.

Tsunami Warning from NOAA

TSUNAMI BULLETIN NUMBER 001
PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER/NOAA/NWS
ISSUED AT 1629Z 28 MAR 2005

THIS BULLETIN IS FOR ALL AREAS OF THE PACIFIC BASIN EXCEPT ALASKA - BRITISH COLUMBIA - WASHINGTON - OREGON - CALIFORNIA.

... TSUNAMI INFORMATION BULLETIN ...

THIS MESSAGE IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY. THERE IS NO TSUNAMI WARNING OR WATCH IN EFFECT.

AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS

ORIGIN TIME - 1610Z 28 MAR 2005
COORDINATES - 2.3 NORTH 97.1 EAST
LOCATION - NORTHERN SUMATERA INDONESIA
MAGNITUDE - 8.5

EVALUATION

THIS EARTHQUAKE IS LOCATED OUTSIDE THE PACIFIC. NO TSUNAMI THREAT EXISTS TO COASTLINES IN THE PACIFIC.

WARNING... THIS EARTHQUAKE HAS THE POTENTIAL TO GENERATE A WIDELY DESTRUCTIVE TSUNAMI IN THE OCEAN OR SEAS NEAR THE EARTHQUAKE. AUTHORITIES IN THOSE REGIONS SHOULD BE AWARE OF THIS POSSIBILITY AND TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION. THIS ACTION SHOULD INCLUDE EVACUATION OF COASTS WITHIN A THOUSAND KILOMETERS OF THE EPICENTER AND CLOSE MONITORING TO DETERMINE THE NEED FOR EVACUATION FURTHER AWAY.

THIS CENTER DOES NOT HAVE SEA LEVEL GAUGES OUTSIDE THE PACIFIC SO WILL NOT BE ABLE TO DETECT OR MEASURE A TSUNAMI IF ONE WAS GENERATED. AUTHORITIES CAN ASSUME THE DANGER HAS PASSED IF NO TSUNAMI WAVES ARE OBSERVED IN THE REGION NEAR THE EPICENTER WITHIN THREE HOURS OF THE EARTHQUAKE.

Read more at NOAA

Powerful Quake Hits Off Indonesia Island; Tsunami Warning Issued

A large earthquake struck off the west coast of Indonesia's Sumatra Island late Monday, and the U.S. Geological Survey (news - web sites) said it was a major quake measuring a magnitude of 8.2.

Officials issued a tsunami warning for residents of southern Thai provinces, three months after a tsunami devastated parts of Indonesia and other countries in the region. The quake occurred at 11:09 p.m. local time at a depth of nearly 19 miles, the USGS (news - web sites) in Golden, Colo., said.

Japan's Meteorological Agency said the quake registered 8.5. Tremors were felt throughout peninsular Malaysia's west coast, causing thousands of residents to flee high-rise apartment buildings and hotels. There were no immediate reports of any casualties or major damage.

Link to Yahoo News' Article

BBC: Huge quake hits Indonesian coast

From BBC
Huge quake hits Indonesian coast
A powerful earthquake in the Indian Ocean has hit the coast of Indonesia's tsunami-hit island of Sumatra, triggering a tsunami alert.

The quake was given a magnitude of 8.2 by the US geological survey who have warned it could cause tidal waves.

The epicentre was located at about 200 km (125 miles) off the mainland.

The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the quake could cause a 'widely destructive tsunami' in the area around its epicentre.

ALERT: New 8.5 Magnitude Earthquake off Indonesia, Tsunami Possible

The Associated Press is reporting that a major 8.5 magnitude earthquake has just struck along the same fault line as the December earthquake. From the latest story on yahoo news:

A large earthquake struck off Indonesia's Sumatra Island in the Andaman Sea late Monday, and the U.S. Geological Survey said it was a major quake measuring a magnitude of 8.2. Thai officials issued a warning of a possible tsunami, three months after a tsunami devastated parts of Indonesia and other countries in the region. The quake occurred at 11:09 p.m. local at a depth of nearly 19 miles, the USGS in Golden, Colo., said. Japan's Meteorological Agency measured the quake at magnitude 8.5.

Please take proper precautions and alert friends/colleagues in the region immediately.

Andy Carvin
Digital Divide Network

Saturday 26 March, 2005

Most tsunami dead female - Oxfam

More women than men were killed by the Asian tsunami, Oxfam figures from India, Indonesia and Sri Lanka suggest. In some regions the disaster claimed four times as many women as men.

The charity says women were worst-hit because they were waiting on beaches for fishermen to return, or at home looking after children at the time.

The research comes exactly three months after the under-sea earthquake caused a wave that devastated coastlines around the Indian Ocean.

Oxfam International focused their research on the Indonesian province of Aceh, the Cuddalore district of India, and took data from camps across Sri Lanka.

Read the Full Article at BBC News

Friday 25 March, 2005

India: Rs. 1,950-crore rehabilitation plan for tsunami victims in TN

Hardly three months after the tsunami hit the Tamil Nadu coast killing more than 8,000 people, the Government today unveiled its Rs. 1,950-crore rehabilitation policy.

"About 1.3 lakh families will be provided with concrete houses at an approximate cost of Rs.1.5 lakhs each. The houses will have 300-325 sqft of built-up space," Chief Minister Jayalalithaa told the Assembly.

In Chennai and Tiruvallur, the Slum Clearance Board will construct multistorey tenements. These units, costing Rs. 1.5 lakhs each, will have an area of 235-250 sqft. Non-governmental organisations and corporates will be given priority in reconstructing houses with their own funds.

All houses will be insured and given in the joint names of the husband and the wife. The houses cannot be sold for 10 years. "Any transfer of the share of the wife's property to the husband will be considered invalid."

Read the Full Article at The Hindu

Wednesday 23 March, 2005

Sri Lanka Says Slow Aid Delays Post-Tsunami Rebuilding

Reconstruction of tsunami-hit infrastructure and homes along Sri Lanka's ravaged coast has been delayed because pledged donor aid is only trickling in and relief agencies are still discussing plans, the government says.

Sri Lanka estimates it will cost around $1.8 billion to rebuild roads, hospitals, schools and houses flattened by December's tsunami, and thousands of displaced are increasingly frustrated at the prospect of months more living in tents.

A draft rebuilding plan released in January is still awaiting final approval by donors.

"If we did what we wanted to do, we would have probably got the plan out (by now)," Mano Tittawella, chairman of the government's Taskforce for Rebuilding the Nation, told reporters late on Tuesday.

Read the Full Article at Yahoo News

Friday 18 March, 2005

UK researchers issue new Asian quake threat warning

A build-up of stress on faults in Sumatra following the Indonesian earthquake is likely to trigger another large quake and perhaps a tsunami.

That is the claim made in Nature by a team from the University of Ulster, UK.

The slip that caused last year's devastating quake placed increased stress on the Sumatran fault and on the adjacent undersea Sunda Trench.

A new rupture could trigger a magnitude 7-7.5 quake on land and a magnitude 8-8.5 quake beneath the sea, they say.

Read the Full Article at BBC News

Tsunami aid shortfall over $4bn

Governments around the world have been urged to honour their financial pledges to the countries worst-hit by the Indian Ocean tsunami.

The Asian Development Bank said there was a shortfall of more than $4bn promised for rebuilding India, Indonesia, the Maldives and Sri Lanka.

ADB president Haruhiko Kuroda said the world's attention must stay focused as work moved into reconstruction stage.

Nearly 300,000 people died in the 26 December earthquake and sea surges. Many thousands more had their homes and livelihoods wrecked.

Read the Full Article at BBC News

Monday 14 March, 2005

India: Tremors rattle parts of Maharashtra, Goa

According to NDTV's website:
An earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter Scale hit the Koyna region in Maharashtra today.

The tremors were felt in Mumbai, Pune and parts of Goa as well.

The epicentre of the quake was located at 17 degrees latitude and 74 degrees longitude in quake-prone Koyna region, which includes Satara district.

Several high rises in Mumbai and its suburbs were evacuated as a safety measure.

[...]

According to the state government's disaster management cell, no casualties or damage to property have been reported so far.

Mumbai fire brigade sources said there had been no distress calls after the tremors.

[...]

No damage to life or property was reported from Goa also, said the director of the Meteorological Survey K N Singh.

"The tremor can be classified as of moderate intensity and was recorded for a duration of 22 seconds in Panaji," Singh said, adding the possibility of further tremors could not be ruled out.

Singh said the tremor was felt in most parts of Goa, especially the northwestern areas of the state.

India: Tremors rattle parts of Maharashtra

An earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter Scale rattled parts of Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka on Monday afternoon.

Indian Meteorological Department in New Delhi said the quake's epicentre was in Koyna, around 300 km from Mumbai, in Satara district of Maharashtra. No loss of life or property was reported. Koyna, home to one of the state's biggest hydro-electric projects, is prone to seismic activity.

The epicentre of quake"The epicentre of the quake, which occurred at 1514 IST, is in Koyna region. We are still looking into other details," an official at the Indian Meteorological Department in New Delhi told rediff.com just minutes after tremors were felt in Mumbai.

The epicentre of the quake was at 17.2 degree North Latitude, 73.7 degree East Longitude, he added.

Read the Full Article at Rediff

Friday 11 March, 2005

Report on conference at Columbia

Amardeep Singh reports on a conference at Columbia on the seismic, social, and political impact of the Tsunami at the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University (and also links to this Guardian report. Some extracts from his blog:
Vector-borne diseases. One of the morning speakers alluded to the relief that many aid workers have felt that the explosion in diseases like malaria, cholera, and Denge fever, which the WHO had predicted soon after the Tsunami hit, have not materialized. With malaria, the Tsunami actually helped to slow the disease, as mosquitoes can't breed in brackish water.
[...]
...as with water and child protection, there are actually opportunities to "leverage up" the quality of living in the wake of the Tsunami. That is to say, the influx of aid money and the current attention on the above problems can be an opportunity to raise standards to a level above where they were before the tsunami. Khan [Afshan Khan, of UNICEF] gave examples on how this might work with regard to fighting vector-born diseases (she mentioned the increased use of bed-nets). But she didn't say much about how this "leverage up" strategy might work in terms of fighting child-trafficking in particular.

Thursday 10 March, 2005

India: UNICEF to provide psycho-social support to tsunami-hit children

Teachers understand a child's personality, they recognise the culture in a class and are trusted by children: reasons why a United Nations Children's Education Fund (UNICEF) project offering psychosocial support for tsunami-hit children will work through teachers.

The Directorate of Teacher Education Research and Training and the Nehru Yuva Kendra (NYK) will be key partners in the project. A day-long orientation programme for 11 principals of the District Institute of Education and Training (DIET) and NYK coordinators, was held today.

In a four-step roll out project, UNICEF and the Vidya Sagar Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, New Delhi, (VIMHANS) have trained volunteers who will train faculty from the DIETs. The faculty members will train schoolteachers on the psychosocial module, who will in turn offer the support to the children.

Read the Full Article at The Hindu

Wednesday 9 March, 2005

Indian Ocean tsunami early warning system agreed

Indian Ocean countries and UN experts have agreed on a timetable for a tsunami early warning system.

At a meeting in Paris, delegates decided the system, which could save thousands of lives, would be installed in three stages. However, the cost of the system and the location of a central tsunami warning office have yet to be decided.

An estimated 300,000 people died when giant waves, set off by an earthquake, laid waste to Indian Ocean coastlines. Only countries bordering the Pacific Ocean are covered by a tsunami warning system at present.

Read the Full Article at BBC News

Thursday 3 March, 2005

UN agency seeks to boost tourism to tsunami-hit nations

Seeking to avoid a new “infodemic,” a repeat of the slump in Asian tourism from the SARS health crisis two years ago, the United Nations tourism agency has called on the world’s media to take care in its coverage of destinations hit by the Indian Ocean tsunami so as not to slow the recovery of an important economic sector.

“The best way to help the Indian Ocean destinations, in particular Sri Lanka, Maldives, Thailand and Indonesia, is to encourage tourists to return,” World Tourism Organization (WTO) Secretary-General Francesco Frangialli said.

“Saturation coverage of the tragedy in the most damaged areas can lead to a certain level of misunderstanding among consumers,” he added, especially when around 80 per cent of hotels and resorts in these destinations remain fully operational.

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Indonesia, Australia rocked by powerful earthquake

A strong undersea earthquake measuring up to 7.5 on the Richter scale struck Indonesia and northern Australia but there were no reports of casualties or damage, officials said. They said the quake, centred in the Banda Sea, was unlikely to cause a tsunami like the one which devastated westernmost Aceh province in December.

"It is highly unlikely the quake could trigger a tsunami since its focus is located too deep under the sea. We have not received any reports of tsunami over the last two hours," said Suyanto of the meteorology and geophysics office in Jakarta.

An official of the Japanese meteorological agency added: "No tsunami can be expected of an earthquake which occurs 100 kilometers (62 miles) or more below."

The quake occurred at 5:42 pm (1042 GMT) with its epicenter in the Banda Sea about 320 kilometers southwest of the town of Tual on Kai Kecil island in the Malukus, formerly known as the "Spice Islands", officials said.

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Wednesday 2 March, 2005

Clinton says tsunami relief may take 3-4 years

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton said tsunami relief efforts could take three to four years, urging the international community to be prepared to do more to help the hardest-hit Asian regions.

Clinton, a special United Nations envoy for tsunami reconstruction efforts, said there was still much work to do to rebuild tsunami-hit communities, local media quoted him as saying after arriving in Singapore late on Monday.

"I think the long-term rebuilding is challenging and will cost a lot of money and we have to be prepared to do this for three or four years," Clinton told a news briefing.

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