Lessons for long-term social recovery following the 2004 tsunami: Community, livelihoods, tourism and housing

Abstract

The Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 galvanized world attention like no other natural disaster before. Unprecedented amounts of aid were given and a record number of international aid agencies were involved in relief and recovery operations. Major reviews of the response to the disaster have suggested that the immediate relief effort was better than expected. However, weaknesses in the longer term recovery work were identified within months of the disaster and yet the same weaknesses were being confirmed four and five years later. Even though many studies have been published on the tsunami disaster there are still many lessons to be learnt, particularly in relation to social recovery as distinct from the restoration of destroyed or damaged infrastructure. This paper presents an overview of the findings of a study that was conducted over a period of four years across five different tsunami-affected local areas of Sri Lanka and southern India. The study focused on lessons to be learnt in relation to rebuilding community, restoring livelihoods, recreating an appropriate tourism industry and providing relevant housing and planned settlements for disaster survivors. The paper argues that ‘build back better’ is possible, but only if ‘asset replacement’ strategies are replaced by integrated physical and social planning to address local needs in culturally appropriate ways. Much of what the authors advocate may seem to be little more than ‘common sense’ and many of our findings echo those of many other post-tsunami evaluations. Yet patient and well-integrated approaches to disaster recovery are all too rare in a world that is experiencing so many natural disasters. Because the 2004 tsunami evoked an unprecedented global response it is important to ensure that the lessons of the recovery effort are clearly learnt and this paper aims to convert research findings into a clear strategy for long-term social recovery.

Keywords:

• community
• developing countries
• recovery
• tsunami

Notes

Note that a 4,000-word profile of each case study area is included as one of the seven research reports that can be accessed at www.rmit.edu.au/globalism/publications/reports.

The Tzu Chi Foundation built a total of around 800 houses out of 2,330 in Hambantota's ‘new town’.

As a condition for being given land for the Istouti village, SLS had to have some houses ready for occupation within two years of the disaster but construction continued for a further two years after that.

The ‘new town’ is the area in which a total of 2,330 houses were built for tsunami survivors in Hambantota.

This refers to a cluster of around 30 houses built by the Hungarian aid agency Hungama.

The researchers were told that many tsunami survivors who fled to Colombo after the disaster did not return to live in the houses they were allocated.