Something to ponder about its effects
on the world economy
'Costliest' natural disaster
Millions face hazardous future, says UN emergency relief
coordinator
Tuesday December 28, 2004
UNITED NATIONS The earthquake and tidal wave that raced from
South-east Asia to East Africa on Sunday shattered millions of
lives and may be the costliest natural disaster in history with a
price tag reaching billions of dollars, the UN emergency relief
coordinator said yesterday.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed, injured or are
missing, hundreds of thousands have lost everything, and millions
face a hazardous future because of polluted drinking water, a lack
of sanitation and no health services, Undersecretary-General Jan
Egeland told a news conference.
The UN humanitarian chief, who is also in charge of emergency
relief, said an enormous relief effort was on its way to countries
affected by the earthquake and the wall of water it spawned. He
urged people everywhere to be especially generous at the holiday
season and open their wallets to help the millions who have lost
everything, saying many of the richest countries were "far too
stingy" in helping the poorest.
While the tidal wave was not the biggest in recorded history, Mr
Egeland said, "the effects may be the biggest ever because many
more people live in exposed areas than ever before" as a result of
the population explosion in the last 50 years in countries around
the Indian Ocean.
In order of magnitude, he said, the hardest-hit countries are
Indonesia which was closest to the epicentre of the earthquake, Sri
Lanka, Thailand, India, the Maldives where one-third of the islands
have reportedly disappeared under water, Malaysia, Myanmar and
Bangladesh. East African countries along the Indian Ocean have also
been affected, he said.
The International Red Cross reported 23,700 deaths and said it was
concerned that waterborne diseases like malaria and cholera could
add to the toll.
The United Nations knew of 16,000 confirmed deaths but Mr Egeland
said the toll "must be bigger", citing communities with 10,000 to
20,000 people that have not been heard from, including areas of
Sumatra, Indonesia, closest to the earthquake's epicentre.
"We may only know the full effects of this tremendous emergency in
weeks from now," Mr Egeland said, stressing that "more and more
disasters" are being uncovered as rescue officials reach new
places.
The unfolding disaster may be the costliest in history, probably
"many billions of dollars", he said.
Hurricane Mitch in 1998 "is probably the most comparable disaster"
because it affected millions of poor people in Central America, Mr
Egeland said. "The cost of that was estimated by the World Bank to
be US$5 billion. I am confident, unfortunately, that this will be
bigger."
"We cannot fathom the loss," he said. "Most of those who have lost
their livelihoods were poor people with very little reserves of any
kind."
Two dozen UN disaster experts are heading to the affected countries
and have already arrived in Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
UN relief officials met in Geneva yesterday with senior officials
from the Red Cross and non-government organisations to coordinate
emergency international assistance, Mr Egeland said.
"A lot of aircraft are being loaded. Some are already airborne and
going to hardest-hit countries like Sri Lanka ... Many search and
rescue teams are on the way," he said. "I estimate that there will
be hundreds of relief aircraft from two dozen countries within the
next 48 hours, just from indications we have."
What has been done so far by the countries themselves civil
defence, military, police, social workers, local authorities, the
Red Cross and non-government organisations to help victims has
"been clearly remarkable", Mr Egeland said.
He stressed that national disaster relief efforts "are much, much
better organised than they were just a few years ago". But he said
there was no warning system in the Indian Ocean for tidal
waves.
Local and national efforts must now be coordinated with the
international response, with one government ministry in charge and
incoming aid flights coordinated to avoid unsolicited aid and give
priority to desperately needed items including water and sanitation
equipment.
Mr Egeland complained that none of the world's richest countries
gives 1 per cent of its gross national product to international
assistance. Many give just 0.1 per cent or 0.2 per cent, he
said.
"We were more generous when we were less rich," he said. "And it is
beyond me why we are so stingy, really."
Fifty-two nations contributed to help victims of last year's
earthquake in Bam in south-eastern Iran and he expressed hope that
Asian and Gulf nations with growing economies would join the global
response to the latest disaster. AP