The Tsunami: One Year Later...

22.12.2005 Dear Readers, OneWorld South Asia wishes you Season's Greetings and a fruitful 2006.
The season also brings back painful memories of The Tsunami that hit Asia last year on 26 December. Remember those who are no longer with us and help those who are braving the aftermath.

06.01.2006 A surge in job-seekers sailing to the Andamans for a slice of the post-tsunami aid pie could alter the archipelago's demography and further squeeze its indigenous peoples, experts warn.

05.01.2006 DOWN TO EARTH is holding an exhibition of photographs taken on the eve of the first anniversary of the Tsunami in Asia. These photos are from the worst affected villages from the south Indian regions of Pondicherry and Tamil Nadu.

05.01.2006 Kandya Parwathy and her family live in abject poverty and discomfort in a sprawling camp in northern Sri Lanka. They are refugees, not from the tsunami 12 months back, but from battles years ago in the island's civil war.

27.12.2005 Although the massive volume of aid money helped overcome severe logistical problems immediately after the Indian Ocean tsunami which killed more than 280,000 people, it also contributed to a lack of coordination between smaller, less experienced agencies and the more seasoned charities, thus hampering the long-term recovery effort.

27.12.2005 It may require something close to divine intervention to tide over the post-tsunami habitat problems. Of the 100,000-odd families displaced by the tsunami in south India, over 92% still live in temporary shelters, makeshift tents and public buildings, in rented houses or with relatives. The recent rains have worsened the situation, virtually turning hundreds of tsunami-affected families into a floating population.

27.12.2005 Coastal communities across the Indian Ocean yesterday marked the first anniversary of the Boxing Day tsunami that left 230,000 people dead, with ceremonies of tearful remembrance and hopeful thanksgiving.

26.12.2005 UNICEF has put together a special feature on the first anniversary of the tsunami. The feature covers all the countries that were affected by the tsunami, including east African countries.

26.12.2005 Residents of Nagapattinam, the worst tsunami-affected district in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, paid homage to the 6,065 people who had lost their lives in the tragedy. A minute of silence was also observed in memory of the victims of the tsunami. People took a pledge on the occasion that they would be fully aware of the disaster and create awareness about it in society.

23.12.2005 A year after the devastating tsu-nami of December 26, 2004, India is moving to put in place its very own tsunami-warning system, for which the government insists it will not use overseas help and which will be ready with no time and cost overruns by September 2007.

23.12.2005 It was a frame of a helpless woman: cheek on the wet sand and arms stretched, perhaps asking a question. She is wailing right next to a bloated, lifeless hand. To this day, it remains one of the most starkly emotional images of last year’s tsunami. Indira, the subject of that award-winning photo, today is emaciated and disappointed...

23.12.2005 The Standing Committee on Urban Development in its 12th report has expressed concern that a large number of houses are yet to be constructed for the Tsunami survivors.

23.12.2005 Efforts to create a regional tsunami alert centre for the Indian Ocean are being undermined by a lack of trust and poor planning, say specialists. India, Indonesia and Thailand, the three countries worst affected by last year's tsunami, are among the nations developing their own warning systems after failing to agree on a regional one.

22.12.2005 Chennai-based MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) has worked in the tsunami-hit coastal regions of Tamil Nadu. The MSSRF website has comprehensive information on rehabilitation work and action plans related to the deadly natural disaster. Also see the Tsunami newsletter in PDF.

21.12.2005 Mothers who had lost their families and their children to the tsunami, nearly one year back, are again giving birth and bringing up new families in coastal Tamil Nadu with help from the government and local doctors.

21.12.2005 When the first big wave came in on December 26 last year, H Priyantha thought it was just that — a big wave. Then the sea pulled back. The fisherman from Balapitiya in southern Sri Lanka rushed into the sea to tie his boat — and saw the monster wave coming.

08.12.2005 As the tsunami anniversary comes close, crises caused by natural disasters continue in Pakistan and many other parts of the world. Taking into account the disasters that took place during the year, UNICEF has said that 2005 has been an unprecedented year of emergencies for children, with an extraordinary series of natural disasters, food crises, and conflicts tearing at the fabric of life for tens of millions of people.

08.12.2005 The Guardian newspaper highlights life in pictures from coastal Sri Lanka and India one year after the tsunami. The pictures were taken by photographer Tim Hetherington and will be displayed at an exhibition - Every Time I See the Sea: Life After the Tsunami - all over the UK begining December 9, 2005.