Tsunami report, aggiornamento

Quello che segue è un aggiornamento della situazione nel sud est asiatico, in fondo ancora tutti i link utili. Riportiamo anche le testimonianze dirette come ci sono pervenute direttamente dalle zone colpite, alcune in lingua originale.

SRI LANKA
da Worldsurfaris
Sri Lanka is a country that is in a bad way; all west and east coast villages and tourist accommodation are wiped out. We are very relieved to have finally had communication from Sumi of Sri Lanka Surf tours to advise he is safe (see email from Sumi below). The rebuild of Sri Lanka, I believe will take at least 12 months if not more. The positive aspect is that the wonderful Sri Lankan people were so strong and brave when it came to helping surfers and in turn we will offer our full support to them. World Surfaris did not have any clients in Sri Lanka at the time however two English surfers actually surfing when the wave hit and survived to tell the story!
All World Surfaris surf trips to Sri Lanka are all cancelled until further notice. We shall be the first back I guarantee this.
At this point no other World Surfaris tours have been cancelled due to the quake or tsunami and all are planned to operate as scheduled for the forthcoming Indonesian and Maldives surf season commencing in February, with the possible exception of Hinako’s Hideaway resort at Asu. To be advised.

HI,
Thank you for chkng wz us!! I was unable to contact you guys because of this bad incident!! But we are safe but we lost some of our properties!! All the Hotels & restaurants, bars has been destroyed!! but we surf guys started a program to clean the area & put up the things sooner. Arugam Bay also severely affected because of this. So we need to our friends assistance to get our people’s life back to normal & start tourism soon.
If any anybody likes to help this program they can use
Bank Account : Ocean Tide Surf Shop
No, 438 , Galle Road Wewala HIkkaduwa.
Bank : Bank Of Ceylon HIkkaduwa Branch
Bank Account No: 000 289 51
Thank you,
Sumi.

da Atolltravel
The east and south coasts of Sri Lanka were hardest hit by the Tsunami. Arugam Bay, on the east coast, was severely damaged and apparently has suffered many casualties. Tragically the owner of Stardust guesthouse, Per Goodman has also died having been swept away by the surge. His wife Merete is okay and 14 guests were rescued.
Along the south coast, Tangalle, Dickwella, Midigama, Marissa and Galle also experienced severe damage and many casualties. The guesthouses we book being Easy Beach at Ahangama and Villa Gaetano at Midigama are still standing although the ground floors are quite badly damaged. Oystein and Ninni and the staff of Easy Beach are all okay and so are Gamini, family and staff of Villa Gaetano.
Hikkaduwa was also flooded but not as badly damaged as the coast to the south.

MALDIVE E PHUKET
da Shaun Levings / Worldsurfaris
“The Maldives being a small republic of only 250,000 people was heavily hit at 9.15am on 26 Dec and consequently approx. 100 lives have been lost and over 11,000 people are now homeless. The worst hit areas were the non-touristic inner atolls including Meemu and Thaa. It is remarkable the death toll was not much higher as some village islands with populations of up to 4,000 people were totally flattened by the tidal surges. With the highest point above sea-level being not much more than 1 metre, these islands stood very little chance of survival. The locals in these areas have now been re-located to other islands whilst the rebuilding of theirs occurs. The Maldivian people have been incredible in their teamwork and efficiency to assist those ravaged by the Tsunami. Fortunately having no roads/highways that might be blocked by trees/buildings etc. access to the islands is purely by sea and very easy to bring provisions etc.
The majority of the touristic regions of the Maldives have been very lucky and only approx 10% of the resorts have had significant damage.
As of 18 Jan 2005, approx 8 resorts in the North and South Male’ atolls are currently closed for repair including Kandooma, Dhonveli spa, Sonevagili, Four Seasons & Club Med. On Friday 14 Jan, I visited 4 resorts in the Nth Male’ atoll including Lohifushi Resort. Lohifushi Resort sustained considerable damage to it’s eastern side and currently all superior rooms are out of action until further notice.
Shaun met with all safari boat operators (Handhu, Haveyli & Gaaviya) and no damage what-soever was incurred to these boats and they will be ready for 2005 charters. Haveyli was used to ferry over 150 injured residents from Muhli island in Meemu to Male’.
The Maldives tourism industry is now suffering severely as a result of the Tsunami. This should be the busiest time of the year for European divers and general tourists, however due to mainly to media reports, most passengers have cancelled their future trips for travel in Jan/Feb. As a result the resorts that are open are running on approx 20% or less occupancy (usually 100% at this time) and the many charter boats for live-aboard dive charters are sitting empty in Male’ harbour.
The economy will suffer horrendously if this situation continues for much longer. Many Maldivian staff have been put on leave without pay until further notice and many of these are from inner atoll islands that have been destroyed. Their families rely on them to work and send money home to feed, clothe and school the family.
In most touristic zones you would not even know a natural disaster had occurred and it is still the same tropical paradise as pre-tsunami with pristine white sandy beaches and turquoise lagoons.
What the Maldives needs is for tourists to return ASAP so the economy does not fall into recession/depression. One thing is for certain that due to a reduced no. of rooms (65 less than 2004) being available at Lohifushi Resort for the bulk of 2005 surfing season is that there will not be as many surfers in the water in the Maldives in 2005.
I also visited Phuket on Sun 16 Jan and took the owners of Mentawais boats, Mangalui Ndulu, Freedom, Katika and Saranya to lunch. Matt from Mangalui and Jono from Freedom have amazing tales of survival and are lucky to be alive. Patong in Phuket was heavily hit and re-building is underway. The beaches are pristine and I swam at Patong beach after lunch on Sunday with Matt from Mangalui. The Thai people are hurting badly and also need tourists to return ASAP to inject monies into the local economy.
All vessels are fine and from all reports the Mentawai Is. Telos and Hinako Is. have not been affected by the Tsunami. All 2005 charters in Sumatra will operate as scheduled. There have been some cancellations by a few paranoid people for several boats in March/April 2005 and as a result some spaces are available on these dates.

MALDIVE
“Cari Amici / Gentili Ospiti,
non abbiamo parole nel ringraziarVi per le innumerevoli e toccanti e-mail ricevute, nelle quali esprimete la Vs. solidarietà e oltre. Infatti alcuni ospiti avrebbero anche voluto raccogliere dei fondi, se necessario.
Credo personalmente che sarà una Vs. futura presenza a ridonare il sorriso ai Maldiviani.
Il maremoto che ha cosi’ duramente colpito il sud est asiatico e’ stato clemente con le Maldive.
Grazie alla loro conformazione, gli atolli maldiviani hanno delle robustissime barriere coralline esterne, le quali hanno ammortizzato l’onda d’urto. Questo garantisce anche per il futuro.
Purtroppo qualche bimbo maldiviano, giocando nella laguna, é stato sorpreso dall’inusuale alta marea, di circa 1 metro. La stessa sorte é toccata a qualche pescatore, trovandosi quella mattina al largo degli atolli, in oceano aperto, su piccole barche, mentre nessun turista ha subito danni gravi.
Gli effetti sulle strutture, i danni alle barche ed all’ambiente sono stati marginali e nella maggior parte dei casi ripristinabili in poco tempo.
Le nostre imbarcazioni charter, il loro equipaggio e le loro famiglie, hanno superato completamente indenni questo straordinario evento.
I membri delle staff hanno subito solamente alcuni piccoli danni (ma per loro sempre grossi) tipo: allagamento della propria abitazione con la perdita del motore del frigorifero ecc.
Il danno più grande per loro é che l’acqua salata ha inquinato i pozzi dell’acqua piovana, bene prezioso per i maldiviani.
La barriera si riprendera’ come ha gia’ fatto in passato, anche remoto. Mentre i reefs interni degli atolli, non hanno subito alcuna conseguenza.
Per risollevare il morale della popolazione maldiviana (l’80 % degli introiti alle Maldives é dovuto al turismo), la cosa migliore sarebbe di andare alle Maldives: loro saranno lietissimi di accogliervi e mostrarvi il meglio delle Maldive come sempre. Solo in questo modo sentiranno vicina la Vs. presenza, che consentirà loro un futuro e il mantenimento delle proprie famiglie.
Rinnoviamo i ns. ringraziamenti e nella speranza di avervi ancora ospiti graditi, l’occasione ci é gradita per distintamente salutarVi.
Abdul Hameed Hussain / Gioacchino.”

MENTAWAI
“Wasup Bro!? Everything is sweet in PAdang and the Mentawais.
We were lucky to escape any of the damage tho just to our north got trashed as you have seen on tv. We have been sending lots of the surf boats from Padang to help out with equipment and teams of doctors etc…
Everything else in Sumatra is cool.
Ok bro- hope things are smooth at your end.
Catch ya later, Tom”

From Surf aid international:
see http://www.surfaidinternational.org/index.html
Surf Aid International would like to express our deepest condolences and heartfelt wishes to all those affected by this tragedy.
Initial reports have stated that the Mentawai Islands were not directly impacted by the full brunt of the tsunami that hit other areas throughout Southeast Asia. Activity in the Mentawais is reportedly normal. News from Padang is equally optimistic with no reports of damaging tides or extreme tidal influences affecting the city or local harbours.
Many are wondering how to get involved and how to help.

HOW CAN I HELP?
https://www.redcross.org/donate/donation-form.asp
Please give generously in this time of extreme need.
 
Humanitarian Organizations Working in the Disaster Region
The most efficient and effective way to help those affected by a disaster overseas is to make a monetary donation to a humanitarian organization that is implementing relief programs in the affected region.
There are a few different ways to go about identifying such organizations:
• USAID may have a list on its website. Check USAID’s home page to see if the particular disaster is listed in the “FEATURES” section. If it is, click on the link, and then look for the “How Can I Help?” box.
• InterAction, an association of non-profit humanitarian organizations, may have a list of responding members on its website. Check InterAction Members Respond: How You Can Help to see if the particular disaster is listed.
• (OCHA)The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs maintains a website called ReliefWeb, which is a repository of information, listed by disaster, submitted by responding humanitarian organizations. Monetary Donations
Monetary donations are the most effective form of assistance because they allow humanitarian organizations to purchase (often within the affected region itself) the exact type and quantity of items needed by those affected by the crisis.
Volunteering
Volunteer opportunities in disaster settings are extremely rare, and are usually limited to people with prior disaster experience and technical skills (such as health, engineering, etc). To register your skills and experience for a possible volunteer opportunity, go to the Centre for International Disaster Information’s registration page.
For other relief organizations see: http://www.google.com/tsunami_relief.html

Link utili:
www.medicisenzafrontiere.it
www.emergency.it
www.savethechildren.it
www.surfaidinternational.org
https://www.redcross.org/donate/donation-form.asp
http://www.tsunami.org/faq.htm
http://www.mentawai.com/aceh.html

Croce rossa italiana
http://www.cri.it/pages/get?type=news&sec=ATT&cat=ATNEW&n=3

FOTO:
http://www.surfersvillage.com/news.asp?Id_news=15298
http://www.surfersvillage.com/news.asp?Id_news=15279

Per conoscere le aree a rischio:
http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/