Second
Meeting of the Intergovernmental Coordination
Group for the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning
and Mitigation System (ICG/IOTWS), Hyderabad,
India, 14 – 16 December 2005
The UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic
Commission (IOC) organized a meeting in Hyderabad
to produce a concrete plan of the warning system
elements that are now in place and to identify
what else remains to be accomplished with a
timeline for implementation. The basic warning
system technical elements will be in place
by June 2006. The summary report of the IOC-led
assessment missions to 16 countries was released
at the meeting and provides a good basis for
developing more detailed specific interventions.
The need for activities on preparedness, mitigation
and response is recognized by the ICG and some
countries have taken steps with public awareness
efforts, signage, and evacuation drills. However
more efforts and representation in the ICG
process are needed from the relevant groups
in disaster management and development. For
this reason, the ISDR secretariat will lead
a new working group on mitigation, preparedness
and response over the next 5-6 months in order
realign efforts for the next ICG in Bali in
June 2006.
See more at: www.unisdr.org/ppew/tsunami/ppew-tsunami.htm
Commemmoration of the 1st anniversary of
the Tsunami, 26 December 2005
Commemorations for the first year anniversary
of the 26 December 2004 tsunami were organized
in most tsunami-affected countries. Indonesia
carried out a simulation exercise of national
real-time early warning capacities and an
evaluation of the level of local community
preparedness
following a year of run-up preparations which
include development of maps, evacuation guidelines
and paths using satellite imageries. A training
for the local communities, a”training
for Trainers” on hazards and a Workshop
on ICT in Tsunami Early Warning System (TEWS)
were also carried out on the occasion. Additional
activities to commemorate the first year anniversary
of the tsunami include press conferences, on-air
radio broadcasts, the launch of a book on TEWS
activities and a national exhibition at the
National Museum in Jakarta.
In Malaysia, the Deputy Prime Minister, in
his capacity of Chairman of National Disaster
Relief Committee, officially proclaimed 26
December as "National Disaster Awareness
Day". A dinner was organized by the National
Security Division in Kuala Lumpur with representatives
from government agencies, NGOs and private
companies who had contributed to responding
to disasters at the domestic and international
level. Over 930 government officials, NGOs
and individual citizens were awarded a Certificate
of Appreciation by the government. Force of
Nature, an NGO established by Malaysian Government
to generate programs on Disaster Awareness
among Malaysians, launched a one-week exhibition
on disaster management in Damansara, Kuala
Lumpur.
In Thailand, the Royal Thai Government proclaimed
26 December as the ‘National Disaster
Prevention Day’ and called on relevant
national actors to produce and conduct a wide
range of disaster reduction related activities
every year. The Royal Thai Government also
organized a major ceremony entitled ‘One
Year in Memory of Tsunami’, to commemorate
the first anniversary of the 2004 Indian Ocean
Tsunami. The ceremony took place in the tsunami-affected
areas of Phuket, Phang-nga, Krabi and Trang
and included a Tsunami Victims Memorial Service,
a Tsunami Memorial Foundation Stone Laying
Ceremony at Haad Lek Beach, Khao Lak-Lam Roo
National Park and an Interfaith Memorial Services
in Bang Niang Beach, Phang-nga. The relatives
of the tsunami victims, the injured, and Thai
volunteers attended the events. Tilly Smith,
the young British girl who saved lives in Southern
Thailand by prompting the evacuation of the
beach at the time of the tsunami, was also
invited at the ceremony, together with Patiwat,
a young tsunami survivor from Indonesia to
read poems in commemoration of those killed
at the Thai resort of Phangnga. Praised as “Angel
of the Beach”, Tilly urged children to
learn more about natural disasters.
A new website for the Disaster Tracking
Recovery Assistance Centre (D-TRAC)
In conjunction with the first year anniversary
of the Indian Ocean Tsunami, the Disaster
Tracking Recovery Assistance Center (D-TRAC)
of Thailand
developed a website providing details on
the status of and progress made in tsunami
relief
activities. The site can be accessed at
www.d-trac.org. It includes detailed reports
from 27 aid
organizations helping in the relief phase
as well as maps,
village names and a list of requests for
assistance from a variety of aid organizations
involved
in the Tsunami recovery. D-TRAC is an overall
initiative launched in partnership with
the Office of Representative Krit SriFa
of the
Royal Thai Parliament and the District
Office of Khuraburi. D-TRAC aims at coordinating
and harmonizing relief action through the
establishment
of an effective system for the collection,
organization and easy access to relevant
information and data on overall tsunami
relief
related
activities in the province. Local and international
aid agencies as well as the Provincial
Representative requested the expansion
of the project to
other natural hazards as well as throughout
the entire
province. Detailed information can be obtained
at saundra.s@d-trac.org
ECHO Regional Consultative Meeting, 2 December
2005, Bangkok, Thailand
The ECHO Regional Consultative Meeting
was organized by DIPECHO South East Asia
with
the participation of the Government of
Thailand, as the culmination of several
national consultations
throughout Asia (including Philippines,
Cambodia, Timor among others). The purpose
of this
strategic
exercise was to ensure a participatory
dialogue from relevant regional actors
in disaster
management to assist DIPECHO identify
its strategic funding
priorities for the 2006/2007 financial
cycle at the regional level. Many UN
organizations were represented, including
OCHA, UNDP,
ISDR,
WFP, UNESCAP as well as various NGOs
(IFRC, MRC, Oxfam), IGOS (ADPC) and donor
organizations.
A strong emphasis was placed on the community
and people-centered approach of DRR strategies,
which was recognized as a priority for
DIPECHO. Participants emphasized the
benefits of having
the Hyogo Framework of Action (HFA) as
the overarching framework to develop
disaster risk reduction initiatives.
Positive discussions
also took place with regard to the need
to
harmonize existing and planned disaster
risk reduction initiatives and programmes
at the
national and regional levels. A way to
achieve this would be the development
of strategic
national action plans, pooling resources,
which
was proposed by different partners as
a possible priority action for DIPECHO.
ASEAN activities for disaster reduction
The ASEAN Ministers responsible for disaster
management in December 2004 decided
to celebrate the annual ASEAN Day for Disaster
Management
(ADDM) in conjunction with the International
Day for Disaster Reduction commencing
in 2005. The 2005 ADDM was celebrated
on 12
October
2005. ASEAN Member Countries organized
a series of promotional activities
at
the national
level.
The Secretary-General of ASEAN issued
a message on the occasion of the Day
which
was widely
broadcasted in the region.
For more
information, please visit www.aseansec.org
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