tsunami

Victims of the earthquake

UN steps up relief operations to quake-ravaged Indonesian islands

30 March 2005
United Nations agencies stepped up relief operations today on the Indonesian islands ravaged by Monday night's earthquake, with a dedicated fleet of aircraft and boats delivering emergency aid and evacuating the critically injured. Water purification, food and logistics are among the current priorities.

UN agencies swing into action with relief missions after Indonesian quake

29 March 2005
United Nations agencies sprang into action today in Indonesia after last night’s undersea earthquake, sending observation helicopters and boats with relief supplies to islands off the coast of Sumatra, where preliminary reports described the situation as serious with many injured and dead and people buried under tons of rubble.
Jan Egeland

UN on alert after new Indian Ocean quake, calls for speeding up early warning

28 March 2005
United Nations offices throughout the area hit by last December's tsunami are on alert after a new earthquake struck the west coast of Indonesia today, and though no tsunamis have been reported this time, the shocks are a wake-up call for the world to speed up an early-warning system for the region, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator said.
UNHCR staff with tsunami victims in Banda Aceh

UN refugee agency ends emergency tsunami relief operations in Indonesia

24 March 2005
The United Nations refugee agency is phasing out its emergency tsunami operations in Indonesia's Aceh province as the Government moves from relief to reconstruction, and expects to end by tomorrow what was an unprecedented programme for a body mandated normally to protect only those fleeing violence or persecution.
Devastated homes on the northern coast of Sri Lanka.

UN tsunami envoy brings words of encouragement to humanitarian workers

23 March 2005
A senior United Nations envoy for reconstruction in countries hit by December's tsunami has wrapped up a two-day visit to Sri Lanka with a message of encouragement for the humanitarian workers toiling day and night on the front lines of the disaster.

Charity rugby international raises nearly $3.35 million for UN tsunami relief

22 March 2005
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has received its largest single donation ever from a sporting event – nearly $3.35 million from a fundraising rugby game between the northern and southern hemispheres held earlier this month at Twickenham, England, to help the victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami.

Black Eyed Peas and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon aid UN tsunami relief

16 March 2005
Following in the footsteps of football players from the United States and an Australian rugby star, will.i.am of the famed US hip-hop group Black Eyed Peas and Malaysian movie star Michelle Yeoh have become the latest celebrities to aid the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in its emergency tsunami relief operations.

Aide to UN envoy for tsunami relief leaves today for devastated region

16 March 2005
Secretary-General Kofi Annan today appointed a top aide of former United States President Bill Clinton, temporarily sidelined as Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery by recent surgery, as deputy envoy to leave immediately for the Indian Ocean countries devastated by last December's disaster to assess the state of the region.
USG Jan Egeland briefs correspondents

UN announces pioneering agreement to accept donated services to augment tsunami relief resources

14 March 2005
As part of its broader effort to boost transparency and accountability and guard against mismanagement and corruption, the United Nations today announced a pioneering agreement with the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for 8,000 hours of pro bono advisory services in the form of loaned professional expertise for tsunami-specific UN projects.

Confidence in rapid tourism recovery in tsunami-hit region ‘rather high’ – UN

10 March 2005
Overall confidence in a rapid tourism recovery in Indian Ocean countries ravaged by December’s tsunami is “rather high,” the United Nations tourism agency reported today, less than two weeks after it called on the world’s media to help avoid a repeat of the slump in Asian tourism from the 2003 SARS health crisis.