http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050421/en_afp/asiaquakeczechnemcova_050421153448

Thu Apr 21,11:34 AM ET

Czech tsunami victim Nemcova plans a book about her experience

PRAGUE (AFP) - Czech supermodel Petra Nemcova, who was seriously injured in the Asian tsunami last December, said she wants to write a book about her experience, local media reported.


The 25-year-old model broke her pelvis and suffered internal injuries and survived by clinging to a palm tree for eight hours after her beach cabin was destroyed and she was swept away by the water.

Her boyfriend, British photographer Simon Atlee, 33, died in the disaster.

"I want to help people and give them strength. Each of us confronts tragedies in our lives and I want to show how I fought bad luck," added Nemcova, who still uses crutches to get around following the pelvis fracture.

The model, a celebrity particularly in the United States, confirmed that she wanted to return to Asia to help victims of the catastrophe.

"I will be in Thailand in May with my sister, father and friends.. We want to build something. Maybe a school," she told the Czech daily Mlada fronta Dnes.

Nemcova and Atlee had been on a seaside holiday in Thailand when the disaster struck.

After being rescued the model spent time in a Thai hospital and was then flown to a Prague hospital in early January.

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http://www.vnexpress.net/Vietnam/Van-hoa/Guong-mat-Nghe-sy/2005/04/3B9DD863/

Sri Lankans seek miracles amid tsunami tragedy
09 Jan 2005 08:25:41 GMT

Source: Reuters

By David Fox

GALLE, Sri Lanka, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Amidst the grief and mourning following the Indian Ocean tsunami that flattened coastal Sri Lanka, it is hardly surprising that the nation is searching the rubble for miracles to lighten their spirits.

On Sunday they appeared to get one when Sri Lankan newspapers reported salvage workers had rescued a man from the rubble of a building that had been flattened by the deadly waves 14 days ago.

"A miraculous story of survival," said The Sunday Times, adding H.G. Sirisena was being treated at a Galle hospital for a broken arm and mild pneumonia.

Unfortunately, while Sirisena's story is tragic, it appears to be neither miraculous nor true.

Doctors at Karapiteya Hospital near Galle confirmed on Sunday that a man had been brought to hospital the day before and his rescuers had said they had found him beneath the rubble from a collapsed building at Pettigalawatta, a suburb near the port that is home to numerous small warehouses and residences.

But when pressed, doctors refused to say if they believed his injuries and condition were consistent with someone who had been trapped alive for 13 days beneath a collapsed building.

"The nation needs miracles at this time," one doctor said on condition of anonymity. "We only know what we have been told. Who are we to say what has and hasn't happened."

Sirisena himself has hardly spoken a word since being admitted -- seemingly slipping into unconsciousness whenever medical staff approach him.

"He told us that the last thing he remembered was a gunshot," said Aden Rathnaweera, chief nurse at the hospital. "And he told us his name. He doesn't remember anything else."

At the site itself, rescue workers spoke proudly of how they had pulled Sirisena from the rubble.

"I saw him first," said Ashoka Ratnayake, a teacher from Matale.

But then politics -- never far from the surface of Sri Lankan life -- joins the story.

"Me and the other JVP (People's Liberation Front) volunteers found him. We saved him and took him to hospital."

HIGH-PROFILE CAMPAIGN

The JVP, a hardline Sinhalese nationalist junior partner of the coalition government, is mounting a high-profile post-tsunami clean-up and reconstruction campaign in Galle, and teams of volunteers wearing party badges can be seen sweeping the streets and clearing debris.

B.M.D.K Bandaranayake, whose identity says he is a Ministry of Transport and Highways technical officer based in Matale, was also wearing a JVP badge and said he was a volunteer rescue supervisor.

"The JVP have done a tremendous job here," he said, declining to say why his expertise was not being used in an official capacity.

Local residents, however, poured cold water on their claims.

One said Sirisena could have been a looter, picking through the rubble for something valuable to salvage, slipped and broken his arm.

"There have been gunshots around here. The police fire to scare off looters," he said.

Others were more specific.

"I saw him walking around in the days before he was found," said W.D. Somasiri Wijowoora, who lives on Cross Road, scene of the rescue.

"We have seen him around the area a few times since the tsunami. He seems to be a bit crazy. We have offered him food and clothes but he refuses."

Wilson Vikram, another resident who is also a JVP member but not involved in the clean-up, added:

"I am sure the tsunami affected him, but he was definitely not trapped since then. We have all seen him. This is nonsense."

In the aftermath of the tsunami, Sri Lankan newspapers have been filled with miracle stories -- most, unfortunately, do not stand up to scrutiny.

Media reported that because of their "sixth sense", not a single wild animal was killed in Yalla National Park, but Reuters correspondents saw the bodies of deer and mongoose just two days after the disaster.

Much has also been made of the miracle that meant not one single Buddha statue was damaged by the tsunami -- even when the temples in which they were housed were destroyed.

While it is true many statues did escape, a more plausible explanation is that builders generally put their best materials and workmanship into the construction of statues, and the temples less so.

In any event, Reuters correspondents saw numerous damaged statues along the coast. One near Matara was seen repaired 10 days later and a monk holding court, telling visitors about the miracle -- for a small donation.

As for Sirisena, only he knows his real story.

On Sunday he lay on a hospital bed, arm in cast, curled up in a foetal position.

"He is still not speaking," said Dr Lalith. "Perhaps he is afraid he will get into trouble. Who knows?"

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/B530548.htm

Monday, 9 May, 2005, 14:14 GMT 15:14 UK

Aceh restoration 'close to zero'


The Indonesian official co-ordinating the recovery of tsunami-hit Aceh has said reconstruction there has hardly begun, five months after the disaster.
Kuntoro Mangkusubroto said he was shocked at how little had been done for almost 600,000 survivors who lost their homes on 26 December 2004.

Indonesia had been too slow to set up the agency he heads, and $5bn (£2.7bn) in aid had not been disbursed, he said.

Mr Mangkusubroto said bureaucracy might delay the money for four more months.

'No roads or bridges'

Mr Mangkusubroto told reporters that while some rehabilitation work had been done, it was "close to zero".

There is not enough food for the kids

Kuntoro Mangkusubroto
Reconstruction co-ordinator
"Roads? There are no roads being built. Bridges? There are no bridges being built. Harbours? There are no harbours being built," he said.

He said part of the problem was that foreign governments were waiting for his agency to be up and running before handing out the billions of dollars they had pledged.

Defenders of the aid effort say they are doing their best in the face of overwhelming suffering. They say they need to move with deliberation to avoid misdirected or duplicated assistance.

The BBC's Tim Johnston in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, says Mr Mangkusubroto's comments echo the increasing frustration of many Acehnese at what they feel is the relatively slow pace of reconstruction.

More than 165,00 people died or are assumed dead in Aceh, as a result of the earthquake and tsunami. A further 600,000 were left homeless.

In total, some $10bn has been pledged for relief and reconstruction for the countries around the Indian Ocean, and the bulk of that money is expected to go to Indonesia, the hardest-hit country.

Situation 'shocking'

Mr Mangkusubroto, who took up his position just over a week ago, accused the Indonesian government of dragging its feet.

"There is no sense of urgency," he said.

Mr Mangkusubroto, who has just visited Aceh, said the situation there was "shocking".

"There is not enough food for the kids... at least there should be some food."

He said the key to the problem was co-ordination, and he promised to provide the needed direction.

And he pledged to take a tough stand towards anyone in his agency found misusing funds, saying they would be subject to double penalties under Indonesian law, including prison terms.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/world/2004/asia_quake_disaster/default.stm

Aceh restoration'close to zero'

BBC 9 May 2005

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/default.stm

Monday, 18 April, 2005, 11:41 GMT 12:41 UK

Tsunami: Anatomy of a disaster
An account of the Asian tsunami disaster based on scientific research and survivors' stories

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/world/2004/asia_quake_disaster/default.stm

US Official Pledges New Tsunami Aid for Aceh
By Tim Johnston
Jakarta
08 May 2005




U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick has visited the Indonesian province of Aceh, where more than 165,000 people lost their lives and 600,000 were made homeless in last December's earthquake and tsunami. Mr. Zoellick unveiled another huge U.S.-funded aid project, to add to the help the United States has already provided for the victims of the disaster.

The United States has been among the leading providers of assistance to the hundreds of thousands of survivors of the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, and in Indonesia Sunday, Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick vowed to continue the help.

He signed a pledge to rebuild the vital road that runs along the northwestern coast of Indonesia's Sumatra Island, a project the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates will cost in the region of $240 million.

The project is just part of the $1 billion in public and private funds pledged by the United States for the worst-hit countries around the Indian Ocean. Aceh, which accounts for more than half the total tsunami dead, will get the bulk of those funds.

But there have been concerns about money being lost to Indonesia's endemic corruption. In meetings over the past two days, including a visit with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, officials have sought to reassure Mr. Zoellick, pointing out the extensive measures they have put in place to ensure accountability.

Mr. Zoellick says the world is watching.

"I certainly have a sense the Indonesian government is highly sensitive to the fact that the eyes of the world will be on it. The money needs to be well spent," he said.

More than four months after the original 9.1 magnitude earthquake and tsunami hit, Aceh is starting to rebuild.

The road the United States has promised to repair will be a lifeline for many of the hardest-hit villages in Aceh, which are currently being supplied by boat and helicopter.

http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-05-08-voa9.cfm

Former US Presidents Appeal for Continuing Aid for Tsunami Victims

By Stephanie Ho
Washington
12 May 2005




Former Presidents Clinton and George H.W. Bush are urging the world to keep up interest in recovery and rehabilitation efforts following December's massive tsunami that hit Southeast Asia the hardest. Meanwhile, officials say they are taking precautions to ensure that the unprecedented amount of contributions following the natural disaster will not be lost to corruption.

Shortly after the tsunami disaster, President Bush named his father, George H.W. Bush and his predecessor, Bill Clinton, to lead U.S. efforts for private contributions. To date, American companies have donated more than $500 million in cash and material contributions.

Former President Bush said this is less than half of the total private contributions from Americans, a number he describes as "staggering."

"Some are estimating these kinds of private donations, nationwide, exceed $1.2 billion."

Former President said the donations already have had positive concrete results, including helping to avert widespread shortages of food and outbreaks of diseases in the affected areas.

He spoke at a meeting in Washington sponsored by several groups, including the Asia Society and the Asia Foundation. The gathering brought together officials from the region to discuss the current state of post-tsunami recovery and rehabilitation efforts.

Former President Clinton said the time between now and the end of the year will be crucial for tsunami survivors.

"This is the hardest period, because it's out of the newspapers," he explained. "All the dead who could be found have been buried. People have got to put their lives back together. And the monsoon season is coming, and there are still some people in tents, thousands of them."

Also at the meeting, United Nations Undersecretary for Humanitarian Affairs, Jan Egeland, acknowledged that the reconstruction efforts have been slow. But he added that international organizations working in the tsunami-affected areas are trying to ensure transparency and accountability.

"Because what we cannot afford is scandals, any kind of scandals, and that money goes in the wrong direction or into the wrong pockets, because we have such an unprecedented generosity and also, such unprecedented needs to be filled," he noted.

The issue of corruption on the ground was addressed by Indonesia's National Development Planning Minister Mulyani Indrawati.

"I think we are very aware that for this rehabilitation and reconstruction, the reputation of this implementing agency is at stake and we are fully committed to implement all this rehabilitation and reconstruction activity with a high standard of governance, transparency and accountability," she noted.

Ms. Mulyani said some measures her government is implementing include independent supervisory boards to oversee aid distribution, a private sector liaison office and a website that will provide public information on various government projects.







http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-05-12-voa72.cfm

AFP/DDP/File - Sat May 14, 5:37 AM ET File

Points on a map

File picture of a professor of geophysics, points on a map displaying the propagation of the seismic waves after the Sumatra quake of December last year. An earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale rocked parts of Indonesia's Sumatra island, renewing fears of a tsunami but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.(AFP/DDP/File /Michael Urban)

http://story.news.yahoo.com/photos/ss/events/wl/122604indonesiaquake/im:/050513/ids_photos_wl/r1435782542.jpg?sp=-1&lsp=6000

Attached Image(s)

Collecting scrap metal

Acehnese men collect scrap metal near a mosque in Lampuuk, an area hit by the December 26, 2004 tsunami, on the outskirts of Banda Aceh in the Indonesian Aceh province in this April 4, 2005 file picture. Photo by Steve Crisp/Reuters

http://story.news.yahoo.com/photos/ss/events/wl/122604indonesiaquake/im:/050513/ids_photos_wl/r1435782542.jpg?sp=-1&lsp=6000

[image]http://diendan.vnthuquan.net/upfiles/1124/A0DD654339E1460D91621FDD710631CE.jpg[/image]

Attached Image(s)

Big donors get mixed score card on tsunami aid

By Tim Large
Wed May 18,12:28 AM ET


LONDON (Reuters) - The biggest donors to the aid effort after the Asian tsunami have made spending plans for less than 60 percent of the billions they promised, raising doubts about the pace of rebuilding five months after the disaster.

Offers of aid poured in after the giant waves that killed 228,000 people and wiped out the homes and livelihoods of an estimated 5 million people on Dec. 26.

But aid allocation figures show just 58 percent of the $5.3 billion promised by the top 10 donor governments and multilateral organizations has been disbursed, committed or budgeted for specific programs.

That leaves $2.2 billion of pledges not earmarked and which governments and aid agencies in tsunami-hit countries will struggle to include in planning as relief efforts give way to reconstruction, according to research by humanitarian news Web site Reuters AlertNet.

"Almost five months on, it seems that some rich countries are still dragging their feet," said Jasmine Whitbread, international director of British aid agency Oxfam.

"Until governments honor their aid pledges, the recovery and rebuilding process will be in doubt."

Even where the money is available and ready to be spent, there is the problem of ensuring it goes where it is really needed.

APPROPRIATE PROJECTS

"You're in this classic phase at the moment ... where you've got the destitute Sri Lankan fisherman standing on a beach, for any international journalist to talk to, who's going to say 'Where the hell's the aid'," said Joel Charny, vice president of policy at U.S. advocacy group Refugees International.

"But you do want to be responsible. You want to invest that money appropriately."

That is no small task, considering the spread of countries hit by the tsunami -- Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Bangladesh, the Seychelles and Somalia.

"Our challenge now is not in financing but in reallocating funds from overfunded relief projects to underfunded reconstruction programs," Jan Egeland, the U.N. relief coordinator, told Reuters.

"Getting all local, national and international actors to agree on a coherent development effort is going to be even harder than meeting the emergency needs."

'PLANNING TAKES TIME'

The United States, which has pledged the most to the tsunami effort, has so far committed $366 million or 43 percent of its $857 million promise of specific tsunami-related aid, according to Reuters AlertNet research.

That includes $226 million in military assistance.

The calculations of the value of promised aid take into account grants, military support, debt relief and the cost of concessionary loans.

The U.S. pledge was only set in stone last week, after months of wrangling over an $82 billion emergency spending bill that included extra funds for military operations in Iraq.

Mark Ward, a senior official at the U.S. Agency for International Development, said Washington would announce a string of aid commitments in coming weeks, including final plans for a $245 million highway project in Indonesia's Aceh province.

"If Congress had moved faster, we probably wouldn't have spent it any faster," he said, citing the need for transparency and accountability and proper project assessments.

Washington has already signed memorandums of understanding with recipient countries on several projects including the Aceh highway, but the funds have not yet been committed officially.

Australia, Germany and the Netherlands have all allocated less than 20 percent of their respective pledges of $739 million, $643 million and $309 million.

Australia's pledge includes up to $389 million in interest- free loans to Indonesia that would cost the Australians an estimated $350 million if taken out in full. The Canberra government said none of the loans had yet been granted.

Other donors were much quicker to set their spending plans.

QUICK WORK

Japan, keen to carve out a global aid leadership role to match its economic might, disbursed all $500 million of its initial pledge within days of making it, then threw in an extra $40 million in grants on top of $11 million in military support.

The Asian Development Bank, the European Commission and Norway have pinned down more than 95 percent of their pledges, allocating $655 million, $583 million and $173 million respectively.

"We've earmarked funds so the governments concerned know where they stand," said Emma Udwin, EC spokeswoman for external relations. "But there hasn't been some unseemly rush into programming our tsunami assistance. We held back until needs assessments had been carried out."

Britain has allocated 70 percent of a $465 million pledge that includes funds for humanitarian assistance, reconstruction, debt relief and tax forgiveness on private donations.

Canada has budgeted 37 percent of its multi-year pledge of $341 million.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050518/ts_nm/tsunami_donors_dc

Tsunami: Killer Waves
Friday, December 8, 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET



Killer waves. That sounds like good news to a surfer. But a tsunami brings killer waves that can appear suddenly and without warning, crashing ashore with devastating force and sometimes measuring a hundred feet (30 meters) or more.

Tsunamis are one of nature’s least understood forces, yet they threaten coastlines around the world. Usually created by undersea earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, these freak waves can race across entire oceans at more than 500 miles (805 kilometers) an hour and swallow cities whole, leaving thousands dead. Japan, Hawaii, and the U.S. Northwest have, throughout history, been struck by killer waves.

The U.S. government established the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center with headquarters in Honolulu. Equipped with satellite technology, seismic sensors, and a vast network of wave monitors, the warning center detects quakes that may cause a tsunami. But warning systems and evacuation procedures are only effective if people trust them.

EXPLORER joins scientists as they study this elemental killer. Their work is critical, not only to prepare and protect us but also, hopefully, to better predict nature’s fury.

http://images.search.yahoo.com/

Tsunami: examples, effects, explanatory graphics



Tsunami (a Japanese word meaning harbor wave) are gravity waves generated by large disturbances of the sea floor caused by volcanic eruptions, landslides or earthquakes. Shallow earthquakes along dip slip faults are more likely to be sources of tsunami than those along strike slip faults. In deep water tsunami travel at approximately 0.2 km/sec as compared to 5-10 km/sec for P waves and S waves. Thus, approaching tsunami can be detected by sea floor pressure gauges which measure the height of the water column above the gauge. Tsunami warning systems consist of networks of such gauges connected to a control center. A scale of magnitude for tsunami, similar to the Richter Magnitude scale for earthquakes, is based on logarithm of wave height corrected for distance from the source. The first motion (up-crest or down-trough) can be used to determine direction of sea floor displacement in the source area.

Tsunami Relief:
"World Vision is one of the first to keep their promise,"
says Sri Lankan official

>> Watch three videos from the tsunami zone


Summary | How can I help?

World Vision is helping children recover by providing Child Friendly Spaces, school supplies and other assistance.

Summary

Galle district, Sri Lanka — "Many organizations made big promises of immediate shelter for the thousands of people left displaced in the Galle district soon after the tsuanmi tragedy. But World Vision is one of the first to keep their promise," said Kusum Piyaratne, a local government administrative officer.

More than 100 families left homeless by the tsunami have moved from tents into transitional shelters built by World Vision. The shelters are giving families privacy and protecting them from monsoon rains. World Vision is working to provide permanent homes.

Galle is just a snapshot of World Vision's relief efforts in the tsunami zone. World Vision has helped more than 1 million people in the Indian Ocean region with shelter, food, economic recovery and other urgent needs.

World Vision will stay with the people to provide long-term assistance, bringing to bear more than 40 years of experience in South Asia.







How can I help?
"This will be a marathon, not a sprint," said World Vision President Rich Stearns. We will stay to help the people. Enough funds have come in to support the work in the immediate future. But there are others ways you can help right now ...

> Please pray for the survivors as they rebuild their lives.

> Sponsor a child. So many other children in Asia face a daily tidal wave of poverty.

http://www.worldvision.org/worldvision/comms2.nsf/stable/erdm_indianoceanquake_istore?Open&campaign=1285171&cmp=KNC-1285171&source=goto&keyword={keyword}&OVRAW=tsunami&OVKEY=tsunami&OVMTC=standard

Former US President Visits Tsunami Survivors in India

By Anjana Pasricha, New Delhi
27 May 2005


Former President Bill Clinton has visited Southern India, one region devastated by the tsunami that hit Indian Ocean countries in December. The visit is intended to focus world attention on rehabilitation for millions of survivors.


Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, center, reacts as he interacts with children at a temporary shelter for tsunami affected people in Nagappattinam, India, Friday, May 27, 2005
Former President Clinton made an aerial survey Friday of coastline ravaged by tsunami waves in Nagapattinam district in the southern Tamil Nadu state. He later met tsunami survivors, including young children, and fishermen and heard tales of how they are coping with the tragedy that hit them five months ago.

A moved Mr. Clinton praised the once thriving fishing community picking up their lives, and finding alternate livelihoods. He said he wanted to help people build better facilities and a more diversified economy.

He also met women entrepreneurs who have begun making handicrafts such as candles and incense sticks after the waves destroyed the fishing boats from which their families earned a living. The former U.S. president promised to try to create a better demand for their products.


"It maybe that in this case because so much is being done on schedule to do these other things, that may be the place where we can help the most, try to help the people market a lot of their products," said Mr. Clinton.

Nagapattinam district was the worst affected by the tsunami in India. The giant waves killed 6,000 people, and destroyed the homes or livelihoods of more than two million people.


The district head of Nagapattinam district, S. Radhakrishnan says Mr. Clinton's visit will boost rehabilitation efforts in the region. "From our side it was a very big morale booster that a person of his stature coming and encouraging us in tsunami relief," he said.

Mr. Clinton has come to the region as the U.N. special envoy for post-tsunami reconstruction. The visit is part of efforts to keep global attention on recovery operations in different countries hit by the disaster. From India he goes on to Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Indonesia.

The United Nations says the visit aims at championing a new kind of recovery that will help put the affected communities on a safe and sound development path.

The tsunami killed more than 16,000 people in India and more than 250,000 around the Indian Ocean region.

http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-05-27-voa42.cfm

Source: United States Department of State

Date: 26 May 2005

Save U.S. offers to rebuild Indonesian highway damaged by tsunami


Presidents Bush, Yudhoyono also discuss military training, trade, energy

The United States has offered to rebuild the Banda Aceh-Meulaboh highway in Indonesia -- a 240-kilometer road with more than 110 bridges that serves as a lifeline for much of the west coast of Aceh province -- and has set aside $245 million for the effort, according to a joint statement released May 25 after a meeting between President Bush and Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Including the money earmarked for the highway reconstruction, Indonesia will receive $400 million of the total $857 million set aside by the U.S. government for earthquake and tsunami relief and reconstruction, the statement says.

During their meeting, Bush and Yudhoyono pledged to develop a Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation Action Plan to increase Indonesia's capacity to respond to disasters of all kind, the statement says.

The two presidents also welcomed Indonesia's resumed participation in the International Military Education and Training (IMET) program as an important step toward normal military relations between their countries.

Regarding bilateral trade, the United States and Indonesia welcomed the resumption of Trade and Investment Council (TIC) talks under the U.S.-Indonesia Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) after a five-year hiatus.

The two leaders also announced the resumption of bilateral energy consultations, after an eight-year hiatus, with the first round starting on May 26 in Washington.

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/EGUA-6CSMWB?OpenDocument&rc=3&emid=TS-2004-000147-LKA