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Rebuilding lives
THE RECOVERY initiatives launched following the recent Asian tsunami are at various stages in the various countries hit by it.
India
A World Bank report says tsunami losses in Tamil Nadu state, India, were $815m and about $100m in each of Kerala, Pondicherry and Andrah Pradesh. Relief work is expected to continue for several months but reconstruction is beginning in some areas.
India has given up hope of rebuilding on six islands in the badly-hit Andaman and Nicobar archipelago where 5,764 are still missing, 40,000 are in camps, and the infrastructure is in chaos. It could take up to eight years for hospitals, power stations, and resorts to be rebuilt, says the government.
Thailand
Thailand's death toll was 5,303, including 2,159 unidentified people. Another 3,396 people are still missing and another 8,457 injured. Assistance is shifting from relief to reconstruction, as displaced people start to move back from emergency camps to their communities. Fishermen have started returning to work in boats donated by western aid organizations.
Indonesia
In Aceh province, 125,996 bodies have been buried, and 94,105 people are still missing. The number displaced is estimated at 400,156. Indonesia aims to take over relief efforts in Aceh by the end of this month, and has said it wants foreign troops from more than 12 countries to leave Aceh within the next fortnight. More than $4.5bn is needed to rebuild roads, power plants, houses, office buildings, farm lands and other facilities destroyed.
Sri Lanka
Latest official figures say 31,000 died, 5,000 are missing, 15,000 were injured, and 443,000 displaced. Some 75,000 houses were destroyed, as were 150,000 vehicles. Roads, railway, power, and water supplies were badly damaged. More than half of the damaged hotel and phone capacity has been repaired and the rail track is back to normal. Sri Lanka will need $1.5bn and has asked for a longer period of relief from debt payments to rebuild its economy. Total losses are estimated to equal 4.4 per cent of GDP, with $500m needed in external financing in the short-term for 2005.
Somalia
A relatively small total of 298 were killed and a similar number injured. But containers of hazardous waste, radioactive waste and other substances, previously dumped on the coastline, are spawning illnesses after the containers were damaged. Reports suggest 18,000 households were affected, while an estimated 20,000 people are still living in caves and under trees. Dawn/The Guardian News Service
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