US embassy cable - 05COLOMBO65

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 COLOMBO 000065 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AIDAC 
 
STATE ALSO PASS TO USAID 
STATE FOR TSUNAMI TASK FORCE 1 
USAID/W FOR A/AID ANDREW NATSIOS, JBRAUSE 
DCHA/OFDA GGOTTLIEB, MMARX, RTHAYER, BDEEMER 
AID/W FOR DCHA/OFDA 
TSUNAMI RESPONSE MANAGEMENT TEAM 
 
SIPDIS 
DCHA/FFP FOR LAUREN LANDIS 
DCHA BUREAU FOR ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR ROGER WINTER 
ANE DEPUTY ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR MARK WARD 
BANGKOK FOR OFDA SENIOR REGIONAL ADVISOR TOM DOLAN 
KATHMANDU FOR OFDA REGIONAL ADVISOR WILLIAM BERGER 
GENEVA FOR USAID KYLOH 
ROME PASS FODAG 
NSC FOR MELINE 
CDR USPACOM FO J3/J4/POLAD 
BRUSSELS FOR USEC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID, AEMR, PREL, PGOV, CE, MV, Tsunami, Maldives 
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA - EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMIS: 
USAID/DART SITREP #4 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  As of January 7, according to the Center for 
National Operations (CNO), the earthquake and tsunamis 
killed 30,718 people in Sri Lanka.  On January 7, U.S. 
Secretary of State Colin Powell and USAID 
 
SIPDIS 
Administrator Andrew Natsios, along with the U.S. 
Ambassador and USAID/Colombo Health and Humanitarian 
Affairs Officer (HHAO), visited Galle in southern Sri 
Lanka.  The USAID/Disaster Assistance Response Team 
(DART) maintains close cooperation with the U.S. 
military to coordinate relief flights and provide air 
support to those non-governmental organizations (NGOs) 
that request assistance with the transport of relief 
supplies.  Safe waste disposal remains an issue in 
internally displaced person (IDP) camps.  The 
USAID/DART continues to work with the U.N. World 
Health Organization (WHO) to strengthen the sentinel 
surveillance system in Sri Lanka.  The USAID/DART is 
working with local partners to integrate psycho-social 
issues into tsunami relief efforts.   End summary. 
 
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Death Tolls 
---------------------------- 
 
2.  The CNO, which is responsible for the overall 
coordination of the relief effort in Sri Lanka, 
reports that as of January 7 at 1700 hours local time, 
the earthquake and tsunamis killed 30,718 people, 
injured 14,573 residents, displaced 515,234 persons, 
completely damaged 91,749 houses, and partially 
damaged 19,932 houses.  Currently there are 4,939 
persons missing.  According to the CNO, there are 592 
camps housing displaced persons. 
 
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Visit of Secretary of State Powell and USAID 
Administrator Natsios 
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3.  On January 7, U.S. Secretary of State Powell, 
USAID Administrator Natsios, and the U.S. Ambassador 
visited Galle in southern Sri Lanka.  The USAID/HHAO 
arranged the visit and led the tour of the affected 
area.  The group visited St. Aloysius College in 
Galle, which was previously a school for 1500 boys and 
girls and is now serving as a camp for IDPs.  At 
present, the college is housing 160 families whose 
homes were completely destroyed by the earthquake. 
 
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Coordination with the U.S. Military 
------------------------------------ 
 
4.  On January 7, the USAID/DART Military Liaison 
Officers (MLO) coordinated 29 flights with the U.S. 
Marine Corps (USMC) that carried 2,000 water 
containers, 2 metric tons (MT) of plastic sheeting, 2 
MT of hygiene kits, 2 MT of water tablets, and 16 
passengers.  One USMC medical team was also deployed 
to Jaffna teaching hospital. 
 
5.  The MLOs also established a coordination interface 
with the USMC Combined Support Force and Combined 
Support Groups, led by Brigadier General Panter.  A 
USAID/DART MLO will serve as a liaison and will be 
located in the Operations Cell of the Combined Support 
Group. 
 
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NGO Coordination 
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6.  On January 7, the USAID/DART and the USAID/Office 
of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) Director 
met with NGOs in an initial effort to develop 
coordination and standardization regarding upcoming 
water and sanitation and cash-for-work activities. 
During this meeting, the USAID/OFDA Director stressed 
that the U.S. military was eager to provide logistical 
support to assist in relief activities and urged NGOs 
to take advantage of this support.  The USAID/OFDA 
Director also raised the issue of psycho-social 
support as an important activity and stressed that 
programming should focus upon protection issues and 
the issue of child trafficking.  The group also 
discussed the issue of cash-for-work, in particular 
daily wages. 
 
7.  At a meeting of the Consortium of Humanitarian 
Agencies (CHA), the USAID/DART Water and Sanitation 
Officer (WSO) advised humanitarian agencies that the 
U.S. military would be able to assist with the 
transport of goods from Colombo to other districts, 
and coordination for these activities will occur 
through the USAID/DART. 
 
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Donor Coordination 
------------------------ 
 
8.  On January 7, the USAID/DART attended a 
coordination meeting chaired by the U.N. High 
Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR) that included the 
United Kingdom's Department for International 
Development (DFID), Canadian International Development 
Agency (CIDA), the European Community Humanitarian 
Office (ECHO), and the U.N. Development Program 
(UNDP). The group discussed the issue of transitional 
housing and the efforts made by the Government of Sri 
Lanka (GOSL) to ensure standardization of shelter for 
victims, a timeframe for providing shelter, and 
coverage issues.  More information and a final 
decision on transitional housing are forthcoming. 
 
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Water and Sanitation 
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9.  On January 7, the USAID/DART WSO attended a water 
and sanitation meeting and reported that most of the 
districts have their own coordinating systems, and the 
water boards are engaged in relief activities.  The 
U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) is currently the lead 
U.N. agency in the water and sanitation sector. 
 
10.  According to the USAID/DART WSO, hygiene 
education was discussed, and camp managers are 
encouraged to promote hygiene education.  The 
USAID/DART WSO reported that the Ministry of Urban 
Development and Water Supply and the Ministry of 
Health (MOH) must coordinate and promote the same 
message, and a workgroup was formed, including NGOs, 
UNICEF, and the MOH, to develop a promotional message. 
Promotional materials were also provided to all 
USAID/OFDA NGO partners working in the areas of health 
education and hygiene promotion. 
 
11.  Safe waste disposal has become an issue in camps, 
and waste management and solid waste removal must be 
factored into activities.  USAID/OFDA implementing 
partners have been funded to rehabilitate wells and 
water systems, and there is a cash-for-work program 
for the cleaning of debris. 
 
12.  A World Bank assessment team will be arriving on 
January 8 to assess the damage caused by the 
earthquake and tsunamis.  UNICEF is concerned that 
smaller needs will not be met and will send officials 
to accompany the assessment team. 
 
13.  On January 7, the USAID/DART WSO attended a 
relief operations meeting at the CHA.  During the 
meeting, concerns were expressed regarding the 
discrepancies in the numbers of dead and displaced 
persons between NGOs and official GOSL numbers.  No 
conclusion was reached regarding this issue. 
 
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Health 
------------------- 
 
14.  On January 8, the USAID/DART Team Leader and 
USAID/DART WSO met with two WHO representatives to 
discuss supporting and strengthening the existing 
communicable disease sentinel surveillance system that 
exists in Sri Lanka.  The WHO representatives 
expressed their satisfaction with WHO's long and 
fruitful collaboration with USAID/OFDA in the area of 
sentinel surveillances systems starting with the 
Orissa Super Cyclone in October 1999.  The WHO 
representatives stated that while the sentinel 
surveillance system was initiated to monitor emergency 
phases, the systems have continued to affect the long- 
term success of the health system in Gujarat.  The 
USAID/DART will continue to work with WHO and 
collaborate and coordinate as the surveillance system 
is structured in Sri Lanka.  The USAID/DART team will 
also assist WHO with additional technical expertise 
and will share air assets for WHO's monitoring trips. 
 
15.  According to the CNO, specific health needs for 
camps will be presented in the next few days.  The 
biggest concern is sanitation and the prevention of 
communicable diseases.  The USAID/DART is coordinating 
with NGO partners and funding projects to address 
sanitation needs in Trincomalee, Mullaittiv, Jaffna, 
and Ampara. 
 
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Protection 
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16.  USAID/OFDA is working with local partners to 
implement an informal meeting to discuss psycho-social 
relief issues and human trafficking response 
approaches.  The meeting will discuss simple, 
practical approaches to integrate these issues into 
on-going efforts and discuss who is doing what, 
outstanding needs, and mechanisms for working 
together.  [Note.  This meeting took place on January 
9, and more information will be forthcoming.  End 
Note.] 
 
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Security 
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17.  The issue of security was discussed at the CHA, 
and law and order remains an issue of potential 
concern in the areas that were affected by the 
earthquake and tsunamis.  A task force has been formed 
to address the issue of security.  Landmines are also 
a concern, and UNICEF is preparing a map with areas 
that contain landmines.  UNICEF reports that there 
have been no instances of injuries or death from 
unintentional detonations of landmines. 
 
LUNSTEAD