Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management

Crisis and Emergency Management

Newsletter Website
return to mainpage

February 2005                                                                            Volume 8 - Number 1

Tsunami Disaster Updates...

Red Cross and Red Crescent Relief Efforts - Re: South Asia Tsunami, Dec. 26 – present

By Matt Hewett

On Sunday, Dec. 26, 2004, an 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia, creating massive devastation through it’s shockwaves and massive tsunami waves throughout South Asia. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) sent out emergency assessment and first aid teams to the affected areas. The IFRC also began a substantial public relations campaign to raise funds for the Tsunami relief efforts. To date, they have raised over $59 million US dollars (this does not include the $250 million raised by the American Red Cross).

IFRC’s efforts in the region began by coordinating with local chapters to help evacuate the wounded, remove dead bodies and assist those displaced by the disaster. Assisting those effected by the tsunami ranged from the distribution of water containers, family hygiene kits and kitchen sets in Sri Lanka, to the allocation of basic medical provisions such as bandages, dressing materials and painkillers survivors in Indonesia, as well as assisting with the psycho-social training of Maldives local professionals to support their populace. While teams of IFCR workers converged from all over the globe, local chapters in the effected regions provided the vanguard for the relief effort , directing the emergency teams and international aid to the most needed areas.

Two weeks following the disaster the IFRC and it’s local affiliates were distributing plastic sheeting, tarps, and cotton blankets, providing telecommunications and logistical support, and extending their assessments to underserved outlying areas. New medical clinics and field hospitals were also created in Sri Lanka, employing foreign and local medical professionals to treat injured survivors. The IFRC also took the lead with the effort to restore contacts between separated family members in both Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

As the relief effort winds down one month following the disaster, the results of the IFRC’s efforts are impressive, with emergency relief supplies reaching over 300,000 people. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies from day one were heavily involved in the tsunami disaster relief effort and continue to provide relief to the survivors on many fronts.