GIS Response to Indian Ocean Tsunami

January 6, 2005
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GIS RESPONSE TO INDONESIAN TSUNAMI

The nature of our "horizontal technology" requires us to participate in planning for, response to, and mitigation of disasters, both man-made and natural.We have been tracking websites offering spatial information and mapping resources related to the tsunami disaster.Here are several we have found.Please do not hesitate to contact us with additional resources you are aware of, as we would like to maintain this list.

Want to Help? - Here Is a List of Relief Organizations Working in the Disaster Area
USAID -- HOW YOU CAN DONATE.
If you are in a position to assist monetarily and have not already done so, click the link for a listing of more than 70 non-profit agencies working to provide assistance to people affected by the earthquake and tsunamis.You may donate money to them by mail, phone, or through their web sites, which are linked below.This link will take you to USAID's page describing how you can help.

WHO WE ARE: USAID is the U.S.government agency responsible for economic and humanitarian assistance around the world.As a U.S. Federal government agency, we do not accept donations.However, we do work together with many of the organizations below to provide U.S. taxpayer assistance to the victims of the earthquake/tsunami.You may contribute to any of the relief agencies below, all of whom are also working with contributions from the general public.
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Mapping Technology Helps Direct Tsunami Aid Efforts
NPR - All Things Considered (Audio) -- It's hard to know how many people are affected when disasters like a tsunami strike remote areas. But a new approach to population mapping called LandScan is improving the ability of relief agencies to estimate how many people need help.... More

INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES

UN Coordinates Relief to Survivors
United Nations -- "Perhaps one of the most devastating natural disasters ever;" affecting at least seven countries, killing tens of thousands of people and jeopardizing millions more.Jan Egeland, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator...More

Click here to look at the UN's map of the situation.

South Asia Earthquake and Tsunami Map - Affected Zones
ReliefWeb -- Earthquake and Tsunami - Situation map #4 - Massive earthquake (M9.0) struck west coast of Indonesia's northern Sumatra island on 26 Dec 2005.Second earthquake (M7.3) occurred in nearby Nicobar Islands region (India).Quakes triggered tsunamis which may have killed as many as 150,000 people (UN DSG - 31 Dec 2004).

AFFECTED COUNTRIES India 7,330 reported deaths, 5,900 missing in Nicobar Islands, 1,035 villages affected.(SITREP 7) Indonesia 80,248 reported deaths, 1,541 missing; more than 100,000 people living in camps/temporary shelters.Maldives One third of population severely affected (reliant on relief assistance for food, water); 12,200 people registered as homeless, 8,500 (of 12,000) evacuated to other islands. Sri Lanka 28,551 reported deaths, 889,175 displaced; 82,320 houses destroyed; 12 of 25 districts severely affected.Worstaffected districts: Jaffna, Mullativu, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Ampara, Hambantota, Matara, Galle.Thailand 4,798 reported deaths, 6,384 missing.Significantly higher death toll (estimates up to 11,000) now being cited.Seychelles Extensive infrastructural devastation on coastline areas in south and west of Mahe island, as well as Praslin and La Digue islands.Flooding in capital (Victoria); severe damage to commercial/fishing ports.
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UNOSAT Provides Satellite Imagery
UNOSAT -- UNOSAT is a UNITAR project by UNOPS.UNOSAT is hosted at the European Organization for Partical Physics (CERN).It is funded by the European Space Agency, the Centre Nacional pour les Etudes Spatiales of France (CNES) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France ...More

US GOVERNMENT RESPONSE

Geospatial One-Stop Portal Resources
ESRI is creating an Indian Ocean Disaster sub-channel on the Geospatial One-Stop portal to make a variety of resources available to anyone who needs them.These resources include many types of geographic data, map services, information about GIS projects in the region, lists of volunteers, and more...More

USAID Disaster Assistance South and Southeast Asia Earthquake and Tsunamis
USAID -- The USAID/DART in Sri Lanka, in coordination with OCHA, has completed damage assessments of the Galle and Hambantota districts.In both districts, the USAID/DART reported that although locally organized distribution efforts are meeting the immediate needs of the affected population, sufficient sanitation facilities and shelter materials are the highest priorities, followed by the provision of water containers, household items, and mosquito nets...More

NOAA - National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program - Center for Tsunami Inundation Mapping Efforts
Washington DC - NOAA -- Indonesian Tsunami Information -- Model estimates, media contacts, and associated links regarding the 26 Dec 2004 Indonesian Tsunami are available from NOAA News.The media contact regarding this event is: Jana Goldman 301-713-2483.Inquiries about the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program can refer to chairman Jeff LaDouce...More

In addition, view the NOAA animation of the tsunami (QuickTime)...

U.S.Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program Website
USGS -- Information on worldwide earthquake activity, earthquake science, and earthquake hazard reduction ...More

INTERNATIONAL GOVERNMENT AID RESPONSE

Indian Natural Hazard Map tracked Tsunami seven years ago
India News: Kolkata -- The possible epicentre of the killer Tsunami and the probable path that the waves would take had been precisely tracked on the Indian Natural Hazard Map seven years ago.Director of the National Atlas and Thematic Mapping Organisation (NATMO) Dr G N Saha told PTI here today that the map, made by NATMO in the late nineties, had shown the possible epicentre in Indonesia and Tsunami waves travelling to hit the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as well as the southern Indian coast."Though this was no prediction of any sort, it just showed theoretically what would happen if an earthquake ... More

Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunamis
Washington DC - USAID -- On January 3, President George W.Bush announced a nationwide charitable giving effort.Former Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton will lead the fundraising drive, which will ask American citizens to contribute directly to reliable charities already providing assistance to the affected populations.U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, Florida Governor Jeb Bush, and USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios arrived in the region on January 3.On January 4, the delegation will meet with U.S.military and Thai government officials before traveling to Phuket.The same day, the delegation will travel to Jakarta and possibly Northern Sumatra.On January 6, Secretary Powell will attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Conference, an emergency summit to improve coordination and work to overcome logistical constraints to the humanitarian response.Following the conference, the U.S.delegation plans to travel to Sri Lanka....More

US MILITARY RESPONSE

NGA Assisting U.S.Agencies in Tsunami Disaster Assessment
NGA -- The NGA is providing imagery products of the affected areas on a daily basis to: the U.S.Agency for International Development's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA); the U.S.Pacific Command (USPACOM), in whose region the tsunami occurred and to other U.S.government agencies supporting humanitarian relief activities....More

Aerial Views of Sumatra from the Department of Defense
Department of Defense -- ...More

PRIVATE COMPANY RESOURCES

Resources at ESRI's website
ESRI -- Ray Carnes, of ESRI Corporate Technical Marketing, provided information about resources being maintained at ESRI's website.This page offers a collection of links to map and data resources relevant to the recent earthquake, tsunami, and disaster recovery efforts in the Indian Ocean region...More

Data for countries affected by the disaster can be found here.



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