Question

Find an example of a disaster that has occurred in a country of your choosing outside the United States.

Introduce the country and the disaster and evaluate the response.

Which organizations responded to the disaster?

Was the response appropriate?

How could it have been improved?

Answer 1

Hazards are potentially damaging physical events, which may cause loss of life, injury, or property damage. a natural phenomenon or hazard (biological, geological, or climatic), a technologically originated problem; or a conflict.

2004 Indian Ocean tsunami Indonesia is a Southeast Asian nation (between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean) made up of thousands of volcanic islands. It’s known for beaches, volcanoes, Komodo dragons and jungles sheltering elephants, orangutans and ...

on 26 December, a powerful undersea earthquake that struck off the coast of Sumatra island, Indonesia,

The epicentre of the 9.0 magnitude quake was located in the Indian Ocean near the west coast of Sumatra Iceland.

A tsunami is caused due to sudden movement of ocean waves, is a series of waves - the first wave may not be the most dangerous. A tsunami “wave train” may come in surges five minutes to an hour apart. The cycle is marked by the repeated retreat and advance of the ocean.

humanitarian toll: it affected more than 18 countries from Southeast Asia to Southern Africa, killing more than 250,000 people in a single day and leaving more than one million homeless,

(ii)economic toll: it left several millions of dollars of economic loss affecting fishing and tourist industries,

(iii)environmental and medical threats including water pollution and flooding and endemic diseases.

Aid was received from many countries, UNICEF set about providing sustainable solutions to the water crisis that would have a longterm impact.

To respond to disaster situations a coordinated effort is required.

• The United Nations and its organisations.
• Health Care in Danger project.
• The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
• The International Committee of the Red Cross.
• International non-governmental agencies.

UN data shows Japan was single biggest doner to tsunami response committing more than $500m and developing more than 100 emergency workers to assist with relief efforts.

International aid from all sources for the recovery has topped $13.5bn, almost half of it given by private individuals and organisations.

Since 2004 it has provided 4,807,000 people with assistance; 51,395 new houses have been built; 289 hospitals and clinics built or rehabilitated.