Tsunami disaster in

The response of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

New version - updated 21 March 2005

29, Layards Road, Colombo 05, Sri Lanka – Tel (011) 250 33 46 / Fax (011) 250 33 48 E-mail: [email protected] – Web site: www.icrc.org/eng 1 Executive Summary

Most of Sri Lanka’s coastlines were overwhelmed by the tsunami on 26 December. Over 30,000 people died. Of the approximately 500,000 people currently displaced, over 150,000 are housed in welfare centres (mostly temples and schools) or transit camps, while others are staying with relatives or friends. The response to the disaster is now focusing on planning and coordinating the long-term rehabilitation and reconstruction in the areas affected by the Tsunami. At the same time work continues to ensure adequate mid-term shelter, health care, water and sanitation for the people left homeless. The Red Cross Movement has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Sri Lankan Ministry of Health concerning the rehabilitation of 33 medical facilities in various regions including the north and the east. The ICRC, which has been present in northern and eastern Sri Lanka for 15 years, is coordinating the humanitarian response in those areas. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is responsible for setting strategy and laying down general operational guidelines for the whole region, in addition to coordinating specific operations in the south and south-west of Sri Lanka. Both the ICRC and the Federation are working closely with the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society and the national and local authorities.

Assistance Working with the local authorities, the Sri Lankan Red Cross and the ICRC have delivered over 32,000 family kits to welfare centres and transit camps in the north and east of the country. Such kits typically contain floor mats, bed sheets, soap, towels, buckets, jerry cans and plastic dishes. In addition, over 100 welfare centres in the same regions were provided with cooking pots and utensils for communal cooking. Nearly 12,000 pieces of clothing have been distributed so far to displaced families. The ICRC has agreed to provide 30,000 displaced families with monthly hygiene kits over a six-month period. The kits contain soap, toothpaste, sanitary towels, bath towels, mosquito coils, etc.

Shelter The ICRC has supplied 4,000 tents to displaced families to enable them to move from the emergency welfare centres to transit camps in the Districts of , Kilinochchi, Mullaittivu, Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara. 1000 additional tents are being set-up currently. The ICRC has also distributed over 7,800 plastic sheets for temporary shelter purposes.

Water and sanitation The ICRC has provided latrines, water distribution systems and washing facilities in transit camps and welfare centres, and is cleaning wells in cooperation with local authorities in Mullaittivu, Kilinochchi, Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara. Teams from the Swedish, German, Italian and French Red Cross Societies are also providing fresh water and are cleaning wells in Batticaloa and Ampara Districts. Furthermore, the ICRC is furnishing the National Water Supply and Drainage Board with 480 tonnes of aluminium sulphate to purify drinking water.

1 Medical programmes An ICRC medical team of specialized doctors and nurses, including members on loan from the German Red Cross, is providing support for the Puthukkudiyiruppu hospital. The ICRC has also deployed a team to the Pallai Divisional Hospital. The ICRC has also set up a number of large tents in welfare centres and transit camps to be used as medical structures and has provided material such as medications, medical equipment and dressings to hospitals in Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, and Vavuniya. Some 250 Sri Lankan Red Cross volunteers in Batticaloa District have been trained in health education by the ICRC and deployed in welfare centres and transit camps. In Kilinochchi and Mullaittivu, over 50 Red Cross community health workers paid by the ICRC are providing first aid and health-education services for displaced families. Medical teams from the Finnish, Norwegian, French and Italian Red Cross Societies opened temporary clinics in Tsunami-affected areas in the Districts of Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara. Most of those teams have left the country and handed over their equipment and supplies to local health facilities, as the emergency phase is over. The Danish Red Cross is conducting series of training sessions to assist teachers and Sri Lankan Red Cross volunteers to provide psychological support services in Tsunami affected areas.

Restoring family links Immediately following the disaster, the ICRC set up 12 mobile teams to help restore family links for survivors and their relatives. The teams had been established in cooperation with the Sri Lankan Red Cross and with the participation of tracing experts from the Netherlands, Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States and Israel. Those teams visited over 300 welfare centres in the Districts of Colombo, Galle, Matara, Tangalle, Hambantota, Ampara, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Kilinochchi and Mullaittivu, where they gave people the opportunity to make over 1,700 satellite telephone calls – the majority to relatives overseas – and collected 417 “I Am Alive” messages that were posted on the website and published in the Sri Lankan media. Over 50 particularly vulnerable people were actively traced and contact with their families was restored through Red Cross messages. With the speedy restoration of normal communication channels in Sri Lanka, tsunami-related tracing activities have been scaled back. The ICRC has also started distributing mail kits, consisting of stamps, envelopes, paper and pens to families in certain areas, allowing them to stay in touch with relatives and at the same time express themselves concerning the events and their emotions.

Set-up In Sri Lanka, the ICRC counts currently on 88 international and 380 national staff. It has offices in Colombo, Ampara, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Muthur, Vavuniya, Mannar, Kilinochchi, Puthukkudiyiruppu, and Jaffna.

2 2 Regional information on activities

2.1. Ampara

Health In Arugam Bay south of Pottuvil, a health team from the French Red Cross had installed a dispensary, which had attended over 120 patients a day in the first weeks after the tsunami. The clinic has now closed down with supplies and drugs donated to local authorities. South of Komari, a team from the Finnish Red Cross treated 300 patients a week in a tent clinic. The clinic has since closed and the efforts of the team focused on support to local health facilities. In Ampara, the Danish Red Cross runs a psycho-social counselling program in close cooperation with the regional health authorities and with volunteers from the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society. The program aims at assisting people in the welfare centres and transit camps to come to terms with the loss of loved ones, and focuses particularly on the psychosocial support for traumatised children.

Water & sanitation In the Kalmunai region, an engineer team from the French Red Cross is repairing the affected water supply system, in coordination with the Water Board and has set up a water purification unit that produces about 100 cubic metres per day. In the areas of Komari and Arugam Bay, engineers from the German Red Cross are providing up to 150 cubic metres per day of purified drinking water to the population. The team also installed a new treatment plant that produces 90 cubic metres a day in the area of Tirukovil. A team of the Swedish Red Cross has constructed 10 water tanks, 80 latrines in Komari and rehabilitated about 1400 water wells in the area of Pottuvil. After completion of the project, the team has now left Ampara District. ICRC will be using their material to clean wells in the area of Kalmunai South. Furthermore, two trucks with bladder tanks provided by the ICRC continue to distribute water in Kalmunai.

Shelter The ICRC has responded positively to the Government Agent’s request to provide over 2000 tents to displaced families. 458 tents have been distributed to families in Kalmunaikudy, and 138 tents in Saintamaruthu. The ICRC is supplying 500 tents in Kalmunai and a further 360 will be delivered in Saintamaruthu, 300 in Karaithivu and 150 in Addelachennai. The American Red Cross has provided 483 tents and tarpaulins in the region of Pottuvil, Komari and Tirrukkovil. The Swiss Red Cross sent 840 tents to the Ampara branch of the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society.

Assistance With the assistance of volunteers from the Sri Lanka Red Cross, the ICRC delivered over 12,500 family parcels to displaced people, containing essential household items such as floor mats, bed sheets, towels, soap, buckets, cups, plates, and bowls. Of these, 2000 family parcels went to welfare centres in Sainthamaruthu, 1186 to Periya Neelavanai, 1765 to Karaithivu, 1748 to Pottuvil, 1195 to Ninthavur, 1417 to Kalmunaikudy, 345 to Kalmunai, 1180 to Maruthumunai, 1060 to Komari, 760 to Akkaraipattu, 497 to Ampara town, 288 to

3 Lahagula-Panama, and 28 to Ulla Arugambay. The ICRC also distributed kitchen sets, blankets and jerrycans to displaced families in the District. The American Red Cross has given household parcels to around 12,500 displaced families in an area including Panama, Pottuvil, Komari and Tirrukkovil. The Swiss Red Cross has provided additional 300 family parcels containing essential household items to the Ampara Branch of the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society, for distribution among displaced families. The Turkish Red Crescent, supported by the ICRC and the SLRCS has distributed 1,567 kitchen sets and 5,000 mosquito nets.

2.2. Batticaloa

Health In the first week following the tsunami disaster, joint ICRC and Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRCS) rescue teams assisted the local authorities and the affected population to evacuate many injured, as well as to recover the bodies of deceased. SLRCS First Aid volunteers treated hundreds of patients that sought refuge in the welfare centres of the District. 250 SLRCS volunteers received a training course on public health awareness. Following the completion of the course, those volunteers have been working in 32 camps for displaced families to raise health awareness and to encourage use of the latrines as a measure to prevent the spread of communicable diseases. In addition, they participate in clean-up operations within camps and schools, together with the affected population. The ICRC has also provided medical supplies (including antibiotics and dressing material) to the Batticaloa General Teaching Hospital. Since end of January, a 30-member medical team of the Italian Red Cross has set up a field clinic in Vakarai, which offers paediatrics, gynaecology, basic health care and emergency care. The team currently counts up to 80 consultations a day. Four mobile health units are deployed to villages around Vakarai to improve health care access for the rural population.

Water & sanitation The ICRC is upgrading the water supply of the Batticaloa General Teaching Hospital, Kallar Hospital and Paleemenmadu Hospital. In Paleemenmadu, the drinking water supply has been secured with a new distribution system to wards, staff quarters and dispensary for the outpatient department. At the Batticaloa Teaching Hospital, the ICRC is assisting the authorities to build a shelter to protect the reverse osmosis plant, which serves to decrease salinity of the water coming from the well. The same assistance has been provided in Kallar, where the ICRC also is installing a pipe network. Furthermore, four ICRC teams have started to clean wells in the areas of Arirthakali, Seelanumai and Periyauppodai, all located in Manumai North. 539 wells have received an initial cleaning so far. In Batticaloa, the ICRC provided the National Water Supply and Drainage Board with transportation, 12 chlorine / PH test kits and reagents. Works to rehabilitate latrines at the Vigneswara Vidyalayam School (Manumai North) have started. A water engineer team attached to the Italian Red Cross medical team has installed a water purification plant in Vallechennay with a production capacity of 40,000 litres per day. The purified water is being delivered to the camps in Kalawanchikudy and Aryampatai. The French Red Cross Mobile water treatment plant at Kaluthavalai produces 100 cubic metres of clean water per day.

4 Shelter The ICRC with assistance from the German Red Cross is contributing to the construction of the Thiramadu permanent resettlement site in the Manumai North Division by organizing site preparation, the construction of the access road and by undertaking a hydrological survey of the area to determine permanent water sources for the site. In Vakarai, the ICRC has distributed 480 tents to families who lost their homes during the tsunami disaster. Earlier, nearly 500 tarpaulin plastic sheets were provided to families in Vakarai, Panichankerny, Uriankattu, Kirimichchai, Mankerni, Vattavan and Cobra Junction. The Swiss Red Cross signed a contract with the Urban Development Authority in Colombo, assigning them 200 houses to be built in Thiraymadu, Batticaloa town.

Assistance With the help of volunteers from the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society, the ICRC delivered almost 6000 family parcels containing essential household items, such as floor mats, bed sheets, towels, soap, buckets, cups, plates, and bowls. Of these, 1550 family parcels went to welfare centres located in Vakarai, 1536 to Vallechennai, 1423 to Batticaloa town, 660 to Kote Kallar, 343 to Kattankudy, 170 to Karuvankerny, 135 to Vinaygapuram, 67 to Santhivelly, 30 in Kaluda and 10 in Wembo. The ICRC also distributed 288 lanterns as well as cooking pots for community kitchens. A list of nearly 7000 beneficiaries of hygiene parcels was finalised. The Swiss Red Cross is to start distributions in the near future.

2.3. Trincomalee

Health In Eachchilampattu, a medical team of the Norwegian Red Cross had set up a clinic that treated up to 200 outpatients a day during the initial phase. The clinic has been handed over to local authorities. In Kinniya, the Norwegian Red Cross donated two big tents that were set up by the ICRC to serve as temporary wards, one for immunization of children, and the other for an ante-natal clinic. The ICRC donated dressing sets and plaster casting material used for the treatment of up to 1000 injured patients as well as medications to the Trincomalee General Hospital. 80 mattresses were supplied to the Mutur Hospital. Medications and equipment were also provided to other sites such as two welfare camps located in Buddhist temples in Trincomalee town. Furthermore, the ICRC team is putting up 20 temporary health centres in the camps of Mutur and Eachchilampattu. These temporary structures will be used for vaccination campaigns, baby clinics, first aid, nutritional programs, and health education / hygiene promotion. Eight of the structures have been installed so far. Since the last week of January, a Sri Lanka Red Cross Mobile Health Team, funded by the Swedish Red Cross, is visiting villages and welfare centres in Mutur, Kinniya and Eachchilampattu. Over 1000 patients have received consultations since the program began.

5 Water & sanitation The ICRC has assumed responsibility for water and sanitation in the Kallady, Poogiyady and ASC camps. In the Kallady and Poonivadi camps the ICRC team installed 5000-litre flexible water tanks, tap stands and pumps. In Kallady, a block of four latrines has been constructed and three other blocks of four latrines are planned as well as two new wells for bathing purposes in addition to improvements to neighbouring wells. In the Poonivadi camp, the ICRC has rehabilitated two existing latrines and built 3 new ones. A kitchen has been constructed and a temporary health centre is planned. The ICRC has equipped four wells with concrete aprons for bathing purposes and plans improvements on other wells around the camp. At the ASC camp, one block of two latrines has been constructed and the existing well will be disinfected and improved. A water treatment unit given to the ICRC by the Norwegian Red Cross has been installed at the Eachchilampatu Hospital and produces 15,000 litres of washing water per day.

Shelter The ICRC agreed to put up tents for all displaced families in Eachchilampattu, Mutur, Kuchchaveli town and gravets. 759 tents have been set up so far in seven camps and other locations. An additional 79 tents have been distributed to displaced families in the area. Six temporary communal kitchens are under construction in three of the camps. In the initial emergency phase, because of the weather conditions, the ICRC delivered over 4400 tarpaulin plastic sheets to serve as a temporary shelter to camps in Eachchilampattu, Mutur, Gomarakadawala and Madawachchi.

Assistance With the help of volunteers from the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society, the ICRC delivered around 5600 family parcels containing essential household items, such as floor mats, bed sheets, towels, soap, buckets, cups, plates, and bowls. Of these, 2378 family parcels went to welfare centres and camps in Muthur, 2000 in Eachchilampattu, 148 in Gomarakadawala, 43 in Madawachchi, and 31 in Arisimale. Furthermore, the ICRC provided about 100 large 50- litre communal cooking pots and 2600 family cooking sets, as well as lanterns and hygienic cleaning material.

2.4. Kilinochchi & Mullaittivu

Health In the first week following the tsunami disaster, joint ICRC and Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRCS) rescue teams assisted the local authorities and the affected population to evacuate many injured, as well as to recover the bodies of deceased. Dozens of injured were brought by SLRCS ambulances to the Vavuniya Hospital. The ICRC donated almost 3000 body bags, as well as thick gloves and disinfectant for safe recovery and burial of the dead. Responding to urgent requests from hospitals in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu Districts, the ICRC supplied the health authorities within the first days after the disaster with essential drugs, such as over 1500 Tetanus Toxoid vaccines, over 10'000 units of antibiotics, over 10'000 painkiller tablets, and other drugs, including emergency health kits to treat around 1000 patients during 3 months. Furthermore, the ICRC also provided surgical kits to conduct follow-up surgical care and treatment for 100 injured patients. As the Vavuniya Hospital often

6 receives severely injured patients from the North, it was provided with 10 dressing sets and 5 plaster kits. Since end of January 2005, a medical team has been reinforcing the medical staff employed at the Puthukkudiyiruppu Rural Hospital, which serves a population of 75'000 people. The ICRC team, including members on loan from the German Red Cross, includes two surgeons, a paediatrician, a gynaecologist, a physiotherapist, several ward and operational theatre nurses, a mid-wife, and an x-ray technician. Around 12,000 outpatient consultations have been provided since the end of January and 150 to 200 inpatients are treated per week. Furthermore, the ICRC has dispatched a 4-member medical team including a ward nurse, a mid-wife, a hospital administrator and a doctor to Pallai Divisional Hospital, as it is located in an area that is accommodating hundreds of families displaced from the northern coast due to the tsunami. Basic ward equipment such as dressing trolleys and infusion stands have also been provided. The ICRC has also installed large medical tents at the Vattuvahal, Mathalan, Selvapuram, Unnappulavu, Karachchikudiyirrupu, Samythoddam, and Alampil transit camps and the Vidyananda College Welfare Centre. In Kilinochchi and Mullaittivu, over 50 Red Cross community health workers paid by the ICRC are providing first aid and health-education services for displaced families. They had just received their certification in late December and were often amongst the first on the scene to provide primary medical care to survivors.

Water & sanitation Within the first 2 weeks, the ICRC water engineer team in Kilinochchi installed four 1000-litre water tanks and 30 latrines in welfare centres. In eight of the newly set-up transit camps (Panaiyadi, Valaiganmadam, Vattuvahal, Mullivaykal, Mathalan, Ambalanpokkanai, Unnappalavu and Selvapuram) the ICRC has finalised the installation of water distribution systems, and works are ongoing to clean existing wells and construct new ones. The ICRC has provided the water distribution system and latrines at the Kevil Camp in the Pallai area and has agreed to provide the water distribution systems for the Niththiyaveddai and Kaddaikkadu camps.

The ICRC is upgrading the facilities of the Mullaittivu District Hospital. The team repaired the hospital’s main water well, upgraded the water tower and the electrical pump and provided two generators to maintain a 24-hour cool chain for the storage of drugs and vaccines. As most of the hospital’s staff lost their homes in the disaster, the ICRC provided a staff quarter's compound composed of 7 tents with masonry foundations, kitchen, bathrooms and toilets. In addition, 2 large tents have been installed to house inpatients, allowing an urgently needed renovation of the existing wards. Later on, these tents will be used as outpatients’ clinics. At the Puthukkudiyiruppu Rural Hospital, the ICRC has increased the water storage capacity with the installation of water bladder tanks. Wash basins with access to running water and to the sewage system have been put in place. A generator donated by the German Red Cross provides electricity to the Operation Theatre, the sterilization chamber and the x-ray department.

Shelter In the first week, the ICRC provided over 2000 tarpaulin plastic sheets to families living in welfare centres in Pallai, Mullaittivu and Kilinochchi areas. The ICRC has installed 560 family tents in the transit camps located in Selvapuram, Idaikadhu, Panaiyadi, Mathalan, Puthumathalam, Mullaivaikal, Ampalavanpookanai, Vailaiganmadam, and Vattuvahal.

7 Assistance The ICRC delivered over 4000 family parcels containing essential household items, such as floor mats, bed sheets, towels, soap, buckets, cups, plates, and bowls. Of these, 1250 family parcels went to Puthukkudiyiruppu, 980 to Mullaittivu, 600 to Kilinochchi, 400 to Thalyadi, 186 to Selvapurram, 159 to Unnapulavu, 134 to Mattalan, 116 to Chilawathai, 64 to Nayaru, 51 to Karachikudiyiruppu, 50 to Mulliyavalai, 46 to Vanankulam, 46 to Kovilkudduyiruppu, 41 to Mullaivakkal, 27 to Chemalai, and 16 to Ampalavanpokkanai. Furthermore, the ICRC also provided over 11,800 articles of clothing to the displaced people, including sarees, sarongs, gowns for girls, shorts and shirts for boys, socks, and underwear. In addition, over 600 blankets, 125 jerrycans, 1400 kerosene lanterns and dozens of 50-litre communal cooking pots were also distributed. The ICRC has also distributed mail kits to 2430 families. The kits contain envelopes, stamps, paper and pens and allow families to stay in touch with relatives and at the same time to express their reactions to what has happened to them. The Canadian Red Cross started distributing hygienic kits to 709 tsunami-affected families in Mullaitivu.

2.5. Jaffna

Health Within the first days, the ICRC provided nearly 2000 litres of disinfectant to help the authorities to safely bury the dead and to spray affected areas. The ICRC has completed three health centres (in Katkoyalam, Manalkadu and Pothpathy) for displaced and resident populations in the tsunami affected areas. Another seven are planned. In 2004, the Danish Red Cross had started a psycho-social counselling program in Jaffna, working closely with the regional health authorities and with volunteers from the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society. Following the tsunami disaster, the program has been enhanced to assist people in the welfare centres and transit camps to come to terms with the loss of loved ones, and to support traumatised children.

Water & sanitation At Niththiaveddai Camp ( East), a high platform was built up for the bladder tanks (total 15’000 litres capacity). This was connected to a supply pipeline with 5 tap stands. This system was so designed that it could also supply Kaddaikaddu Camp and pipelining work was completed to near the school. At Kevil Camp, construction of a new large open well is ongoing.

Shelter In the Vadamarachchi East region (geographically in the , but administrated by Kilinochchi), the ICRC set up 210 tents for families living under plastic sheeting in the vicinity of Kaddaikadu School. In the Vadamarachchi North region, the ICRC set up a further 232 tents for families leaving the emergency accommodation centre. ICRC supplied tarpaulin plastic sheets to ensure waterproofing of roofs and walls, improving conditions for 80 families at a new accommodation centre (Kudathanai Mixed School) near Manalkadu, one of the worst-hit places in the peninsula. A further 23 tents and 17 tarpaulin

8 plastic sheets were provided to other centres to ease overcrowding, and to accommodate health centres. 35 tarpaulins were distributed at Thondamanaru and Puloly to meet emergency shelter requirements.

Assistance With the help of volunteers from the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society, the ICRC delivered nearly 2000 family parcels containing essential household items, such as floor mats, bed sheets, towels, soap, buckets, cups, plates, and bowls. Of these, 468 family parcels were handed out to centres in Karaveddy, 454 to Vadamaradchchi East, 402 to Valvedditturai, 250 to , 240 to Chavakachchery, 67 to Sandilipai, 20 to Tellipalai, 14 to Uduvil, and 54 to individual families outside accommodation centres. It has also provided mats, bed sheets, towels and blankets to 460 families in Polykandy west, 340 families in Alvai north, and 200 families in Point Pedro. 364 blankets were given to welfare centres in Vadamarachchi East. The ICRC has contributed plates and cups, bowls, buckets and jerry-cans as part of an inter-agency effort to distribute a standardized resettlement package to over 4200 families.

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