Remembering the Tsunami Five Years On, And Creating Solutions for the Future

by Mike Smith · 2009-12-21 13:07:00 UTC
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Five years ago, the second largest earthquake ever recorded, and a subsequent tsunami, hit the Indian Ocean killing more than 220,000 people. The world came together in the days following Christmas in 2004 and rallied to provide $7 billion in aid. Now, the Thomson Reuters Foundation is working to ensure that next time, people can get the information they need.

Last week they launched the Emergency Information Service (EIS), which will provide communication services and training to help those affected by natural disasters. Tim Large has been conducting a test-pilot of the program in Sumatra and explains that communities hit by disasters are not as helpless as the media so often portrays them to be, but need information themselves "to take control of their own recovery." The EIS exists to get information out in the best way possible: whether that's through text messages, leaflets, or megaphones broadcasting the important information.

A documentary produced by Thomson Reuters Foundation and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is a film about resilience and how communities cope when faced with unprecedented disaster (watch the trailer here). It may not be the usual Christmas viewing, but its subtitle underscores its focus: Stories of Hope. It explains that whilst 230,000 died, just as many are still having to cope with the disaster's effects, and "shows the crucial (but often underreported) role that those affected by crises play in their own recovery." Though natural disasters are unpredictable, responses needn't be. By building a strong service network we won't just have to hope — we can act now to ensure not so many die next time, and remember the stories of survivors who continue to fight.

Photo credit: Simminch

Mike Smith
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