Tsunami

Realisation of vulnerability

You are with the emergency Services Branch of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and you arrived in Maldives the day after the earthquake and tsunami had occurred.What were your first impressions when you arrived in Male ?

I arrived, as part of the UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination team, late afternoon on the 28th December in Male, the capital island of the Maldives. Luckily, the town was very little damaged and the seawater that inundated all the streets had receded by then. Upon arrival we were immediately taken for a briefing by the government in their Disaster Task Force Centre followed by a UN country team briefing. The following days we undertook assessment missions to some of the worst affected islands and the real extend of the tsunami became clear.

Where do you stay ? How do you live there ?

We stayed in a hotel close to the UN building where we had set up an operations centre.

What can you say about your assignment ?

This was my first UNDAC mission as an associate expert on environmental emergencies. After the first assessments on different islands it became clear that, as a result of the tsunami, no other (secondary) life threatening environmental emergencies had occurred. However, health threats by poor waste management practices, serious damage to vegetation and crops, the pollution of groundwater by salt water and the potential damage to the coral reefs systems are all issues that still require further investigations and actions. The negative environmental impacts of the tsunami arrived on top of an already fragile environment.

The magnitude and scale of the tsunami disaster relative to the size and population of the Maldives is unprecedented in living memory. The tsunami struck the Maldives at 09:30 hours local time on 26 December, inundating the entire country. All of the Maldives’ 2000 inhabited islands were hit, as were all of its 87 resorts islands. As CNN reported, for a few moments, the Maldives disappeared off the face of the earth. The highest elevation in the country being 1.5 metres, and the islands so small, there was nowhere to run when the tsunami struck. The entire population of the Maldives was affected by the disaster. One-third of the population, some 100,000 people, was severely affected: their homes were destroyed or severely damaged, they have no or very limited access to clean water and food, and they are at risk of disease. Over 20,000 people became displaced when houses collapsed or became uninhabited. The death toll was 82, with 26 persons missing. Most of the dead are children and women. It is believed that, due to the unique geography of coral reefs surrounding the islands and the deep channels between the atolls, the main physical impact of the tsunami was on the reefs. While the partially explains the relatively low death toll, the reefs did not protect the country from extensive damage to building and infrastructure (extracts from the Flash appeal for the Maldives, executive summary by Ms.Aimee Wielechowski, OCHA).
Within hours of the disaster on 26 December, the Government of the Maldives declared a state of natural disaster and a state of emergency and officially requested support from the international community. Both the Government and the UN Country Team organized a disaster management task force and stayed in close contact to coordinate the relief efforts. A UN Disaster and Assessment Coordination (UNDAC) team was requested and arrived in the Maldives on the day three of the crisis.

How is your work organized there ?

The UN Country Team had meetings every morning at 8am to coordinate the efforts of the individual organizations. In the evening at 8pm, the government organized meetings to brief everybody on their activities and by participating in both, we ensured a solid coordination of the incoming efforts. We also made sure to keep the donor community up to date on the activities and especially of the specific needs of the people (water, food, means of transport these items to the various islands, etc)

What difficulties are you facing in providing assistance ?

The greatest challenge was and still is the distribution of aid. Aid has been coming in by plane, and also by a number of countries who had their navy in the neighborhood. The Maldives stretch 860 km from north to south and 130 km from east to west and distribution to the almost 200 inhabited islands can only take place by boat or seaplane and nearly everything, from the most basic food supplies to reconstruction materials, must be delivered. “Everything, including a pin, must be brought in”. Destruction of jetties and boats, and disruption of transport links undermines food and other vital supply lines. Inclement weather can bring the entire aid operation to a standstill.

What are the main problems the country is facing right now?

It seems that so far sufficient immediate relief items have been received. Relief is continuously being provided and the Government and the UN are undertaking more detailed assessments to identify the needs for the next 6 months and even for the recovery phase.

What other UN agencies are you cooperating with right now?

UNDP, OCHA, UNEP, UNFPA, UNICEF, WFP, WHO and FAO are among the United Nations agencies that are currently present and working together.

How do you assess your own role in coordinating relief assistance for the Maldives ? As UN staff member ?

My contribution is only minimal in the bigger efforts undertaken in the country and by all the people that could not help directly, by donating clothes and money. When we arrived, complete island communities of over a 1000 people had been evacuated and absorbed by communities on the less affected islands. I visited a household that normally consisted of 9 people and had now increased to 23. The best role the UN could play was getting the message of these people that had lost everything out.

The Secretary General Mr. Kofi Annan just visited the Maldives. What are your emotions after this visit?

The visit of the Secretary General, Mr. Kofi Annan was the best moral boost that could happen to the UN staff here during these hard times in the Maldives. It was his first visit to the country and they were incredibly proud of his visit.

Is if difficult for you to work there after this disaster, are you afraid of staying there? The risk is still high (continuous earthquakes of high magnitude near the epicenter, risk of epidemic diseases, etc.).

There is obviously a certain risk to this work but everybody in the UN team is geared towards reducing these risks to the minimum. The chance of another tsunami of the same magnitude happening is small but extremely relevant.

Do you have Security Team?
What assistance does this team provide to the UN personnel ?

A security officer will arrive soon in the Maldives now that there is such an influx of UN personnel. Most of the delivery of items is undertaken by the government, especially by the coast guards in cooperation with the navy of assisting countries. In addition, volunteer groups of people from less affected islands have started traveling to the most affected ones to assist with cleaning up and saving remaining valuables from destroyed houses.
Foreign assistance teams are also on the islands, like for example the German Government has sent four mobile desalination units with staff to ensure safe drinking water supply.

Do you want to say something to your colleagues who have been staying here, in a more secure place such as Geneva ?

From the news and supporting emails that we have been receiving it is apparent that the UN, friends and family are united. Everybody has done what is in his or her capacity. Donating clothes and money is as critical as delivering water and doing assessment missions.

What is your strongest impression during your mission in the Maldives ?

Facing climate change and sea level rise, the Maldives will endure more similar disasters in the future. The predictions for sea level rise between now and the year 2100 range between 0.09 and 0.88 metres. Within the entire Maldives, there is no natural point higher than 1.5 meters and it is that realisation of a vulnerable future that I will carry with me.