NAF-Tsunami-Summary

AFTER THE TSUNAMI – HARNESSING AUSTRALIAN EXPERTISE FOR RECOVERY
Canberra, 31 March 2005

On 26 December 2004, there was a magnitude 9.3 earthquake in the Indian Ocean off Sumatra. This resulted in a massive tsunami, which is a wave train, or series of waves, generated in a body of water by an impulsive disturbance that vertically displaces the water-column. The Boxing Day tsunami (as it has become known)

caused the catastrophic loss of life or more than 300,000 people and major damage to infrastructure, property and the environment of many coastal and island nations of the Indian Ocean – principally Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, India, Africa and the Maldives. It has affected the potential livelihoods of many of these coastal States, particularly those that were based on local fisheries or agriculture. There has also been a concomitant loss of capacity, with the loss of knowledge and skills across many areas such as education, health, and other community service industries. Although responses to the earthquake were registered at many tidal gauges along various coastlines, there was minimal impact upon Australia.

In response to this large-scale international disaster, the National Academies Forum (NAF) held a timely one-day symposium at the Shine Dome on 31 March. Entitled After the Tsunami – Harnessing Australian Expertise for Recovery, the event attracted a wide range of delegates from academia, research, government, industry and the community. The aim of the symposium was to provide a cross-disciplinary approach to the science, technology, social science and humanities aspects of disaster in all the phases of preparedness, recovery and rehabilitation. Following a series of ‘expert’ presentations to set the scene, delegates formed into eight different focus breakout-groups to undertake the interactive brain-storming component of the day. The groups reported back to the symposium delegates and these results and the ensuring discussions led to the outcomes and recommendations of this report.

This summary report is designed as a contextual overview to the proceedings of the one day symposium, After the Tsunami – Harnessing Australian Expertise for Recovery, held by the National Academies Forum (NAF). In the context of disaster prevention, recovery and rehabilitation this report provides guidance on some universal aspects that would underpin an effective and positive way forward. Importantly the symposium arrived at a strategic and consensus outcome from the eight focus groups – ie. the seven recommendations for a universal way forward and how these can best be supported by the social sciences, humanities, science, engineering and technology (the enabling fields of endeavour encompassed by the four learned Academies that form NAF). The symposium concluded that by comparison with other countries, Australia is well-placed to offer assistance in many areas of expertise, due to our local knowledge of servicing and supporting tropical and remote community conditions, and our historical associations with the broader region. The serious situation of the tsunami provides a unique (if unwelcome) opportunity for a reassessment to achieve improved disaster and rehabilitation management and the more strategic and sustainable approach of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) across the region, as well as perhaps the opportunity to plan for the mitigation of potential impacts of global climate change. A recommendations matrix is provided below – and it is hoped that these outcomes will form a considered source of information for further policy development and implementation in this important area.

There are three main components to ‘warning’: issuing a tsunami forecast; disseminating the tsunami warning/forecast to coastal communities; ensuring the public are aware of what action needs to be taken. There are also a number of steps involved in going from an earthquake to a tsunami impact forecast, and each requires significant scientific and modelling expertise (which Australia has). False warnings can be a problem, as they may lead to people ignoring the warnings – although these can be minimised through a systems approach. Ensuring that the warning and relevant tsunami forecast is received by all relevant coastal communities is a vital part of a tsunami early warning system (TEWS). In Australia there exists a sophisticated communication infrastructure, which is used to issue warnings of severe weather and storms to all sectors involved in emergency management. Australia has significant expertise in the appropriateness of different message dissemination techniques for different types of communities, which might be of value to other Indian Ocean countries.

As tsunami are infrequent events, despite the current very high level of public awareness in all Indian Ocean countries, long-term public awareness programs are an essential component of a TEWS. The most at risk are high density coastal settlements and isolated coastal communities. Often such communities have low levels of technology. Local tsunami, where the tsunami travel time is less than 30-60 minutes from the source earthquake (eg. the 1998 Aitape tsunami in PNG), pose a different problem. Any education program needs to incorporate basic tsunami information, the difference between local and regional tsunami, what community preparedness is needed and what to do when a tsunami warning is received. Preparedness involves identifying the level of risk and implementing a risk mitigation strategy. Risk mitigation can take a wide range of activities and will depend on each community’s specific situation. Australia’s substantial skills in emergency management and risk assessment and mitigation could be of considerable value to other Indian Ocean countries.

Case study: Warning and preparedness

Education in action: This was widely reported in the weeks following the tsunami of December 26 and this version is from the Association of American Geographers Newsletter. In one of the more hopeful tales from the recent tsunami disaster, a young British girl credited school geography lessons with her ability to recognize the impending tsunami and warn her family and other beachgoers in time to avoid the onslaught of the waves. The Associated Press reported in a story on January 1, 2005, that ten-year-old Tilly Smith from Surrey in England, was vacationing with her family on Maikhao beach in Phuket, Thailand, when the tide suddenly went out. Remembering a recent lesson on earthquakes and tsunamis from her geography teacher, Andrew Kearney, at Oxshott’s Danes Hill Prep School, Tilly warned her mother about the danger. Her parents informed other beachgoers and staff at their hotel, which was quickly evacuated. The wave crashed a few minutes later, but no one on the beach was killed or seriously injured.

Case study: Warning and preparedness

In the wake of the Boxing Day Indian Ocean tsunami tragedy, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) is joining forces with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (UNESCO-IOC), the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction and other key agencies to develop a tsunami early warning system in the Indian Ocean and other regions at risk. UNESCO-IOC has coordinated the development of the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific (TWSP) since 1968, which has proved to be highly effective. It provides end-to-end capabilities for data collection and the development and dissemination of early warnings at national level. WMO’s Global Telecommunication System (GTS) interconnects the world’s National Meteorological and Hydrological Services and facilitates the timely and reliable exchange of warning messages and related information. It is already used by the TWSP and WMO is taking action to ensure that it will be fully operational for tsunami and seismic applications in vulnerable areas.

Sustainable reconstruction involves people, places and production – linking of the built, social, cultural and environmental infrastructures; a system also subject to considerable natural variability. A sustainable future relies on enhancing the resilience of the system; many of the Indian Ocean coasts affected by the tsunami had low resilience prior to the event, mainly caused by poverty and environmental damage (eg. coral reefs affected by bleaching or destructive fishing practices, clearing of mangroves, eroded beaches, etc.). Rebuilding should consider building codes and practices and determine if sites should be moved (setback) – notwithstanding the critical dependence upon the coast for livelihood. Similarly, optimal locations for agriculture, aquaculture and silviculture (the science, art and practice of caring for forests with respect to human culture) should be encouraged to foster sustainability. Education and capacity building are also key to future developments as is an integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) approach. Australia has particular strengths in tropical coastal and marine science, ICZM, multiple-use natural resource management (NRM), and building codes and practices – and is well-positioned to make a longer-term commitment to capacity building in the region. GIS represents a powerful tool to assist these goals, however available data is still limited for the broader region (including parts of Australia). A partnership approach, eg. university to university, agency to institution, can be fostered through strengthening existing linkages and networks. In the quest for sustainable reconstruction, it is essential to ensure that local communities are involved in decision making at all stages.

The Boxing Day tsunami had a major impact on the health system of affected countries. In the Aceh province of Indonesia, around 50% of the provincial health centres were seriously damaged or destroyed and over 50% of health care professionals were killed or displaced. Australia’s response tested our health system resources and emergency management protocols, but highlighted the willingness of the Australian health community to assist. Through a partnership with the Government of Indonesia, Australia now has been given the opportunity to extend this assistance into the rehabilitation phase. However, the lack of knowledge about the capacity and capability of Australia’s health workforce to operate in the region is compounded by our diminishing knowledge-base in Asian languages, culture and politics, as well as a loss of knowledge on how to manage tropical diseases and ‘old’ diseases (such as measles and tetanus), especially in a compromised setting as might be expected in any country in the aftermath of a major natural disaster.

In the affected countries, the loss of many of the health professionals and much of the health infrastructure, compounded by the scale of the physical and psychological trauma experienced by the local population was recognised as a major challenge for rebuilding. It was recognised that any rebuilding effort should aim to not just restore the national health infrastructure and human resources, but should do so in a way that empowers the people of the affected countries to materially improve the health and welfare of their population, in a sustainable manner. It was felt that any rehabilitation program should consider the impact on public health (both physical and psychological), as the public health status will in turn impact on the speed and scope of economic and environmental recovery in the region. Priority areas for health systems were considered as: the need to map resources, ie. knowing ourselves and our region; consideration of long-term health impacts and improving resilience; developing Centres of Excellence featuring national exchange of professionals; and improving knowledge and understanding of the region.

Case study: Health systems

Paradise lost: The population around the Sissano Lagoon near Aitape in Papua New Guinea lived in a tropical paradise. They lived on and around a sand bar that protected the lagoon. They fished from the sea and the lagoon and had a vibrant fishing industry. They enjoyed good health, with a low incidence of communicable diseases, brought about by a combination of healthy environmental factors, such as walking in the sand (reducing the likelihood of contracting hook-worm), living by the sea (sea breezes blowing away malaria- and dengue-carrying mosquitoes, and regular bathing in the sea/lagoon (reducing incidence of skin disorders). In July 1998, their tropical paradise was inundated by a tsunami triggered by an undersea earthquake and landslide. This was a one-in-200 year-event that killed 2,200 people and left over 10,000 people homeless. In response to contamination of the lagoon and the threat of future tsunamis, the people were resettled in-land. Settlements were built, including houses, schools and churches. The effect of this was that people started seeing diseases that their previous lifestyle had protected them from (mosquito-borne diseases and skin diseases). There was also family tension because the men had to travel some distance to fish in the ocean, and social unrest because of land-ownership issues.

Devastating natural disasters like the Indian Ocean tsunami destroy not only physical infrastructure and human lives, but also the knowledge upon which communities are based, and on which they depend for their survival and reproduction. As well as formal and codified knowledge, such as that produced and disseminated by education systems, there is also the informal, lived knowledge of traditional communities. In Aceh, for example, the tsunami destroyed many written land titles, and much international assistance has been provided for restoring and rebuilding the formal land documentation system. But in rural areas, including coastal communities, land ownership is often governed by custom and tradition, and many individuals and families do not possess written titles. In these cases, recovering records of land ownership will require intricate knowledge of local language, culture and community structures. Rebuilding communities, or altering land use patterns, without respecting such local knowledge may exacerbate community trauma. In providing assistance for rebuilding societies devastated by natural disasters, Australians need to possess expert knowledge of the countries and communities of our region. Culture and custom is as important for community survival as physical assistance and technical expertise.

Case study: Continuity of knowledge

Medical assistance and language skills: Australia was rightly praised for the rapidity and efficacy of its medical response to the Indian Ocean tsunami. In Aceh, an Australian civilian medical team was on the ground and performing operations within five days of the tsunami. Yet at first no interpreters or persons with local cultural knowledge were included in these teams. Until the arrival of several volunteer interpreters, patients expressed frustration at their inability to communicate directly with medical staff about their injuries and other concerns. The medical team, in turn, had difficulty explaining treatment regimes and ascertaining the nature of injuries. Without the assistance of volunteer interpreters, it is likely misdiagnosis would have occurred several times. Interpreters would also be able to assist medical teams achieve effective triage for determining evacuation versus on-site treatment options.

Case study: Continuity of knowledge

A model for appropriately rebuilding higher education: In Banda Aceh’s main state university, Universitas Syiah Kuala, approximately one hundred lecturers were killed by the tsunami. This is a devastating loss for an institution at the heart of Aceh’s educational and cultural life. A group of Australian universities is considering assisting Aceh’s higher education sector by reviving a former Research Training Centre at the University. The aim would be to make up the higher education sector’s loss of staff by providing ‘hands on’ training for promising graduate students and junior university staff. An Australian academic would cooperate with an Indonesian director, increasing the skills of local academics and experts in situ, in way that is culturally appropriate and driven by their needs. The local training could increase local capacity and prepare promising candidates for higher education overseas. At present, discussions focus on the social sciences, but extending the plan to cover areas in natural sciences, technology, medicine and education would strengthen the local education system’s capacity to contribute directly to reconstruction, and would broaden the range of Australia’s institutional links into the region.

Australia’s current governance structure and policy making framework has supported strong response and relief efforts in the event of natural disasters, stemming from a tradition of military assistance after natural disasters. Under our Constitution, the States and Territories are responsible for emergency management, only calling on Federal assistance when a situation becomes unmanageable, in terms of containing the hazard and associated costs. Our timely military and civilian assistance has rescued many people over many years and provided immediate relief in the wake of natural hazards that have devastated communities. However, the recent Council of Australian Governments’ Review into Natural Disasters (2004) has recognised that more is needed on disaster risk management measures other than just relief and response. In order to support safe and sustainable communities, policy development needs to support mitigation and long-term recovery. This recommendation is aligned with developments in emergency risk management, which often refers to risk management practices as ‘PPRR’ – Prevention (now referred to as Mitigation), Preparation, Response and Recovery. Australia has the capacity to develop risk assessments to assist policy makers reduce the vulnerability of communities, both in Australia and our broader region, to natural disasters. Australia is well placed to employ best practice risk management measures, and should consider risk assessments as an effective and sustainable form of international aid.

In the aftermath of the tsunami, Australia’s research and development sector demonstrated its significant expertise by contributing to disaster relief efforts in a range of ways, specifically in the areas of disaster management, scientific and technical know-how, and socio-cultural, economic and political understandings of the affected areas. However there exist a number of important gaps that limit our capacity to contribute to development and reconstructions efforts in the longer-term. These relate to a lack of:

We currently have a unique opportunity to reflect on and evaluate our national capacity to respond to future disasters and contribute to sustainable development in our region. In evaluating our contributions and gaps, we need to recognise that decisions made now will have long-term effects on both Australia’s R&D capacity as well as reconstruction and other activities in the region.

It was noted that commercial telecommunications providers (eg. Telstra and Eriksson) have mobile telephone capability that could be readily deployed to disaster areas to provide mobile telephone connectivity in the response phase for relief providers. The technology also exists to establish secure or priority mobile phone networks in emergency situations (but independent supplies for recharging may be required). It was also recognised that there would be great benefit from the application and introduction of ‘appropriate’ technology in the rehabilitation phase – with ‘appropriate’ referring to the need to recognise the nature and capability of the society that will use and maintain the technology. Experience has already demonstrated that insertion of high technology equipment into regions that lack the capacity to support and maintain the technology results in it rapidly falling into disuse when the providers leave. It was agreed that rehabilitation should do more than aim to restore the status quo that existed prior to the disaster but rather use the opportunity to move the society forward. Australia’s discriminating expertise is the knowledge of, and demonstrated capability in, the area of servicing and supporting small remote communities (compared with, say, Europe / US). Thus, key areas identified for Australia to focus its attention on regarding ICT are: simple, cheap remote communications (eg. low cost wireless systems); low cost solar energy systems; delivery of distance health and education support.

Despite significant technological expertise in Australia, there are important gaps. There is an urgent need for a national forum involving all relief and rehabilitation agencies to facilitate a ‘whole-of-systems’ approach. In particular, an integrated, national GIS capability would facilitate all phases of response – this would need to be sourced with appropriate data which could be developed from the various nations involved. It is also important that lessons are learnt from the current tsunami response experience, and that these are captured in a consistent format and made widely available. It is also recommended that the programs operating under the National Research Priority – Safe guarding Australia be reviewed to identify any aspects of relevance to natural disaster recovery. The establishment of a high level ASEAN Forum involving regional governments and NGOs to was strongly supported.

The magnitude of the response after the Boxing Day tsunami showed how various communities can harness their capacity for assistance and renewal (eg. scholarly, diasporic, donor, medical, aid, other). Australia can contribute to the understanding of this process (which is not always positive) and shed light on how assistance can be best utilised in ongoing donor/reconstruction efforts. Australians have some knowledge of the communities affected by the tsunami disaster, having been engaged in several long-term projects in the region. Many of these people have relevant language and local area cultural knowledge – which address two of the main barriers to engagement. There are also networks of important Australian university alumni who maintain links with Australian academia. Despite these positives, there are still large gaps in our knowledge and capacity where further investment is needed. It is also important to consider the local ‘perceptions’ of Australians throughout the region (may not always be positive). There is a concerning, diminishing trend in Asian language and cultural studies across the Australian university sector. Other important issues are that the scale from national to provincial needs consideration, as does the accessibility of expertise outside the specific discipline (for example high-level language expertise was not always used). Education and communication are also essential elements. Understanding the response to the Boxing Day tsunami can assist planning and preparedness for future disasters, and there are now unique and unprecedented opportunities for longer-term integrated projects at the community level. The semblance of a ‘white-knight’ mentality in disaster response efforts can be avoided through longer-term investments, commitments and relationships.