Counting the Cost: Rebuilding Lives and Property in India after the tsunami

Joint Needs Assessment Puts Preliminary Needs at US$1.2 billion

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Preliminary Damage and Needs Assessment Prepared by: Asian Development Bank  The United Nations The World Bank

  This man lives in the fishing town of Chinnangudi, Nagapattinam District, Tamil Nadu. More than 200,000 fishing families were affected by the tsunami in India.

BACKGROUND
The assessment was done at the request of the Government of India. The Asian Development Bank, the United Nations and the World Bank put together a joint team which undertook an assessment of the socioeconomic and environmental impact in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory (UT) of Pondicherry. As advised by the Government, the joint assessment mission did not include an evaluation of the impact and losses sustained in the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. 

The tsunami waves struck the mainland with a height of three to 10 meters and penetrated as much as three kilometers inland, affecting approximately 2,260 kilometers of coastline.

  The tsunami came as far as three kilometers inland - hurting fresh water supplies. Some farms won't recover for three years.

LOST LIVES – REBUILDING LIVELIHOODS
Some families may never recover from losing loved ones in the disaster – nearly 11,000 people died, more than four-fifths of them in the state of Tamil Nadu.  In all the tsunami-affected areas, more women and children died than men. Special attention needs to be paid to the shelter, livelihood, social security and legal requirements of vulnerable groups like orphaned and separated children, widows and female-headed households, single parents, the disabled and the elderly.  Socially marginalized groups like the scheduled castes and the poor will also need special care.

COUNTING THE COST – REBUILDING FOR A BETTER FUTURE
Overall rehabilitation and reconstruction needs are estimated at $1.2 billion, requiring financing over the short and medium term.  The estimates take into account that damaged assets need to be replaced with new ones, not only of equal value, but with upgrades to services and infrastructure in order to reduce the previous vulnerability inherent in the affected areas.

ANTICIPATING, AND PREPARING FOR, RISK
While a tsunami is a rare occurrence (the last one hit India in 1945), the southeast coast of the mainland sees more than its share of cyclones, droughts, and flooding.  As communities are rebuilt, special emphasis must be placed on anticipating and preparing for risk.  This means reconstructing things like roads and irrigation systems to better withstand the cyclone/drought cycle, as well as showing individual communities how to better prepare for emergencies, as well as communicate before, during and after a disaster.

SECTOR BY SECTOR REPORTS

  Children will need extra attention, especially those that became orphans after the disaster.

ENVIRONMENT
There is a significant amount of debris and rubble requiring disposal, possibly as much as 500,000 metric tons (initial estimate). There is also the potential for more rubble and debris once the disposal of damaged housing (estimated at about 140,000 units), fishing vessels (over 50,000 boats destroyed or damaged), and other damaged infrastructure is accounted for.  
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FISCAL IMPACT
Though devastating to the families who lost their livelihoods, the tsunami will have no impact on the revenues of the state, as those worst hit by the disaster – fishermen, small entrepreneurs, vendors and agriculturists – belong to the informal sector. 
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HOUSING
More than 150,000 houses have been fully or partially damaged. Of these, nearly 80 percent of the families belong to fishing communities, and 70% of them lived in kachcha (temporary and lightweight) structures.
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HEALTH
More people will depend on government hospitals as they have no way to pay for private care.  That means there is a need to renovate the sub-district hospitals (Sirkali and Tharangampadi hospitals in Nagapattinam; Cuddalore, Chidambaram and Parangipettai hospitals in Cuddalore; and Kanniyakumari and Kollachal hospitals in Kanniyakumari) and upgrade existing primary health centers.  Additionally, HIV prevalence in the tsunami-affected states is considered by the National AIDS Control Program (NACO) as being among the highest in India. AIDS is already the second largest killer of Indian adults, second only to tuberculosis.
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AGRICULTURE AND LIVESTOCK
Seawater penetrated farmlands as far as three kilometers inland. Affected farmers will not be able to grow crops effectively for the next two to three years until seasonal monsoon rains naturally flush out the salts.  Damage is mainly confined to the destruction of standing crops like paddy, groundnut, coconut, cashew, mango, banana, ragi (millet) and vegetables.
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FISHERIES
The sudden elimination of a large operational fleet is rare in the fishing industry. But the disaster presents an opportunity to redesign the capture fisheries industry in a better and more sustainable way – and, in fact, to address the concerns raised by the 10th Five Year Plan. This applies mainly to Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, which are the worst affected. 
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LIVELIHOODS
It is estimated that 645,000 families are affected. Of this total, about one-third are directly linked to fisheries, about one-fourth to micro-enterprises, and the remaining are wage earners with seasonal employment or are engaged in intermittent activities. 
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RURAL AND MUNICIPAL INFRASTRUCTURE
Basic services such as electricity and water supply were restored within a few days, albeit on a makeshift basis. It is commendable that in spite of the huge loss of human life, coupled with extensive inundation of water supply sources and loss of livestock, there has been, to date, no apparent serious outbreak of water borne or communicable diseases.
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TRANSPORTATION
In the event of a future disaster warning, appropriate evacuation paths are required, particularly near ports and fishing harbors. Detailed analysis is necessary to design shortest paths for people and residents in these areas.
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COASTAL PROTECTION
The immediate focus should be on restoration of damaged infrastructure for protection against coastal hazards such as cyclones and subsequent storm surges and river floods. Especially in Nagapattinam district, serious damage has been reported at river and drain banks, and these need to be restored immediately.
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HAZARD RISK MANAGEMENT
The tsunami was a rare but high impact phenomenon which has also exposed the vulnerability of coastal populations to other natural hazards. The recovery and reconstruction program is an opportunity to rebuild at higher standards of safety.  Disaster risk emanates not only from natural hazards but also from a range of underlying factors – physical, social, economic and cultural – that contribute to people’s vulnerability.
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