Observations on Tsunami impacts - Krishna Vatsa

"The Tsunami showed that while risks can be analysed and understood, and its dimensions could be assessed, there are certain unknowables inherent in risks." - Krishna Vatsa,  Bureau of Crises Prevention and Recovery-UNDP, Bangkok, Thailand

A few observations are in order:

• An earthquake which would have its epicentre close to Indonesia affected a country as far as Somalia, which is 7,500 kilometres away and kill hundreds of people there was far beyond any risk assessment could probably suggest. While risks can be analysed and understood, and its dimensions could be assessed, there are certain unknowable’s inherent in risks. The Indian Ocean tsunami was an event which showed the finiteness and limitations of risk science.
• Though the Tsunami affected eight countries directly, the toll of deaths that it exacted included almost 50 countries, with Germany and Sweden most heavily affected by more than 500 deaths due to tourists. It was probably much higher than their annual human losses that they would expect in all the disasters in a given year within their national territory. It shows how risk events can be transmitted so widely in an interconnected world, and the countries even with a higher level of affluence and resources cannot insulate themselves from hazards and their consequences in a totally different part of the world.
• The Indian Ocean Tsunami led to the biggest ever mobilization of humanitarian assistance. It showed how the world rallied to the supported of the affected. It also raised the demand for greater accountability and transparency in the way these resources are spent. The scale of humanitarian and recovery assistance led to development of some very important monitoring tools such as Development Assistance Database (DAD) and Tsunami Recovery Impact Assessment and Monitoring System (TRIAMS). The Tsunami Evaluation Coalition (TEC) was a major initiative in evaluating the effectiveness of humanitarian assistance and recovery. The accountability requirements that started with Tsunami are likely to become stronger and more stringent.  
• The Indian Ocean Tsunami also accelerated the revamp of global humanitarian architecture. In 2005, the global cluster system started with Inter-Agency Standing Committee (global committee of all important international agencies) in vanguard. It led to setting up of 11 designated global clusters, each of them dealing with different thematic areas. The IASC system started replicating itself at national levels, and soon an outline of world humanitarian system emerged. The cluster system is becoming increasingly institutionalized and universal.
• The most far-reaching development that occurred in the wake of 2004 Tsunami was the emergence of recovery as a distinct stage in disaster management, which needs to be viewed as part of continuum that begins with humanitarian assistance, but evolves over a period of time to connect with development. Countries began more organized effort through specialized institutions, financing mechanisms, and coordination of external assistance for recovery. The concepts of ‘Build Back Better’ and ‘resilience’ echoed through these recovery efforts, and soon ‘recovery’ emerged as a discrete practice area.