Indian Ocean Earthquake- Tsunami Emergency One-Year Progress Report January– December 2005 Flash Appeal ithin the days following the earthquake and tsunami disaster of 26 December 2004, Requirements UNHCR swiftly mobilized its emergency resources to provide immediate assistance (Revised March 05) W in Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Although UNHCR is not traditionally involved in natural disasters, the sheer magnitude of the devastation, the fact that UNHCR had on-the-ground Indonesia presence and emergency capacities to respond swiftly, and that many of the affected popula- US$ 59,800,000 tions are of concern to the Office, prompted a positive reply to the request by the UN Country Somalia Team for UNHCR’s involvement. UNHCR is therefore participating in an inter-agency re- US$ 1,500,000 sponse to this natural disaster on an exceptional basis. Sri Lanka US$ 15,351,540 The Flash Appeal of 6 January 2005 called for US$ 977 million to assist some 5 million af- Regional projects fected people in a 6 months’ period. UNHCR’s requirements were US$ 75.8 million for its US$ 200,000 activities in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Somalia, focusing on the delivery of non-food house- Total US$ 76,851,540 hold items, the provision of temporary family shelter, and the reconstruction of houses. The Flash Appeal came out 11 days after the devastating earthquake. Assessments con- ducted during this period were inevitably not comprehensive enough to establish global and Flash Appeal for Indian accurate needs. Also as the situation evolved, there was a recognition at an early stage that a Ocean Earthquake - Tsunami and its Mid- revision of the Appeal would be necessary. A Mid-Term Review was thus issued on 6 April Term Review (revision) with the revised total requirements of US$ 1.1 billion and an extended timeframe for imple- are available for mentation to 31 December 2005. UNHCR’s needs remained at about the same level: US$ download on Reliefweb 76.9 million. [http://www.reliefweb.int]. Project requirements are Some of the activities presented in the Flash Appeal, especially those related to rehabilitation, updated on the site as are ongoing and expected to continue in 2006. In this regard, the Flash Appeal has been and when necessary to extended to 30 June 2006. UNHCR will continue its programme in 2006 with the currently reflect the most up-to- available funds, up to the amount already received against the Flash Appeal (see section on date situation on the ground. Funding on page 11). INDONESIA Emergency Phase (December 04-March 05) Staff and resources were quickly mobilized, with the first assessment mission from Jakarta arriving in Banda Aceh on 31 December, followed by UNHCR’s advance team on 2 January. Despite the lack of available aircraft and congestion, the first team of emergency staff and technical experts were deployed in Banda Aceh on 5 January. UNHCR established temporary field locations in Banda Aceh, Meulaboh, Calang and Lamno, with a logistics hub in Medan. As an initial response, UNHCR airlifted more than 400 metric tonnes of relief items and tele- communication equipment from Copenhagen, Frankfurt and Dubai. The first planes departed on 2 January, 7 days after the disaster. This major logistics operation was completed within 5 days. Mobile teams were deployed to facilitate and monitor distribution of relief supplies in less ac- cessible areas along the west coast. Targeted assistance was provided to some 100,000 af- Photo on the cover: fected persons, through the provision of emergency shelter (plastic sheets and tents) and The Burhan family, other relief items (water jerry cans, kitchen sets, blankets, and sleeping mats). whose house by the sea on the outskirts of Meu- UNHCR also worked with the Government and other actors to support efforts which pursued laboh, Sumatra, Indone- permanent shelter solutions. This collaboration resulted in more family-friendly and gender- sia, was utterly devas- conscious design of temporary shelters, as well as the design of an integrated shelter pro- tated by the tsunami, gramme with a view to the imminent start of rehabilitation activities. build a temporary shelter on the foundations of their former home with On 25 March, at the end of the emergency phase declared by the Government of Indonesia, sheeting provided by UNHCR completed its operation in the Province of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) and UNHCR. UNHCR/ withdrew its staff from the area. During the emergency phase, a total of 65 international staff T.Pengilley had been deployed in addition to the regular staff of UNHCR Indonesia. 2 Distribution of Emergency Shelter and Relief Items—NAD, January-March 2005 Banda Aceh Lamno Calang Meulaboh Partners4 Total Tents1 1,416 2,900 2,075 3,978 5,915 16,284 Blankets2 12,850 17,925 12,000 13,555 39,920 96,250 Kitchen sets 1,300 5,572 2,088 2,672 6,764 18,396 Jerry cans 3,325 2,980 5,810 5,399 2,486 20,000 Plastic mats 3,850 13,425 5,500 10,190 17,035 50,000 Plastic sheets 3,975 5,060 3,265 5,076 2,620 19,996 Plastic rolls3 90 46 95 63 66 360 Note: 1. Including 6,287 tents and shelter kits contributed by ICRC, UNDP, Johanniter, B-Fast, Rotary, and CRS. 2. Including 800 blankets contributed by the Government of Norway. 3. Contributed by the Government of Norway. Distribution of Emergency Shelter and Relief 4. Distributed to remote locations mostly by the Indonesian Red Cross. Items—Nias Island, North Sumatra Province Nias Earthquake of 28 March 2005 Item Quantity Tents 8,718 Only 3 days after UNHCR’s withdrawal from NAD, another earthquake Blankets 17,475 struck the already-impacted Nias Island off the west coast of northern Su- matra. UNHCR immediately released the remaining stock in Medan (which Kitchen sets 6,629 was pending hand-over to partners) for distribution on the island of Nias. Jerry cans 5,825 Logistical support was also provided to the Indonesian Red Cross. Plastics Sheeting 4,945 UNHCR’s response to the 28 March earthquake was closely coordinated Plastic mats 7,475 with the Provincial Government of North Sumatra. On 4 April, the Governor Hurricane lanterns 2,112 formally requested UNHCR’s involvement in humanitarian as well as reha- bilitation activities. UNHCR sought approval from the central government Stoves 1,337 and received a positive response from the Office of the Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare for providing humanitarian assistance. The UN Country Team also extended its sup- port to UNHCR in this regard. AT A GLANCE Following the government’s endorsement, UNHCR ordered relief items from its emergency 400+ metric tonnes of stockpiles abroad for delivery to Medan, from where the Nias operation is managed. Distribu- relief items airlifted tion has assisted some 45,000 persons on Nias Island. within 5 days. Rehabilitation phase (June 2005 onward) Approximately 100,000 persons assisted in the UNHCR resumed its work in NAD and continued operations on Nias Island (North Sumatra Province of Aceh Province) on the basis of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Indonesia which set out the framework for UNHCR’s support to the Government for rehabilitation and Approximately 45,000 reconstruction in these areas. The focus is on an inter-agency and community-based pro- persons assisted on gramme, including the construction of houses, municipality and community buildings and re- Nias Island lated infrastructure. As a result of a thorough assessment exercise and in close collaboration with government authorities, other UN and non-UN international actors, communities con- 1,022 houses being cerned and beneficiaries themselves, the emphasis of UNHCR’s rehabilitation and reconstruc- constructed in Krueng tion efforts has been placed on the west coast of NAD (communities of Krueng Sabee and Sabee Calang), as well as Nias Island. 272 houses being con- UNHCR’s shelter programme is premised on the concept of permanent housing as the foun- structed in Calang dation stone for the recovery process for families and communities, as it also includes key elements for livelihoods and community building such as schools, places of worship, health Over 10,000 m3 of tim- clinics and other supporting infrastructure through inter-agency partnership. ber being delivered to Nias Island In the interim period, however, UNHCR was requested by the government rehabilitation and reconstruction agency to replace tents in NAD which had deteriorated since the emergency Work started on first phase. Working closely with the government’s Urban Poverty Project team and a Malaysian houses in Bozihona NGO, UNHCR provided 1,000 tents and plastic sheets to families in the provincial capital, Village in Nias Banda Aceh, and the district of Aceh Besar. 3 In September, UNHCR was able to launch implementa- tion of the pilot project in Krueng Sabee (Aceh Jaya Dis- trict of NAD) to build 1,022 housing units. Four community halls and two demonstration houses (one of which is be- ing used as a women’s centre) have already been com- pleted, and the local junior high school has been rehabili- tated. Work is continuing in the first two construction sites totaling 400 units to accommodate the needs of the most vulnerable beneficiaries. In late October, UNHCR was asked by the UN Recovery Coordinator to be the lead agency in the subdistrict of Krueng Sabee in partnering with other agencies to fill gaps identified through a joint needs assessment. UNHCR has put forward a concept paper for an inte- grated programming approach in the recovery process for this sub-district, and is working with other agencies to take this concept forward. In Calang, a contract has been established for 272 houses, which is part of an overall effort by several agencies to build some 2,400 units in the area.