The Indian Ocean Tsunami: 5 Years Later
Assessing the Vulnerability and Resilience of Tsunami Affected Coastal Regions


An international workshop, organized by Resilience Project, will be held from 1st to 3rd of March, 2010 in Singapore.

Date: March 1-3, 2010
Venue:

Victoria room, Hotel Grand Pacific, Singapore
101 Victoria Street, Singapore 188018
Title: The Indian Ocean Tsunami: 5 years later
  Assessing the Vulnerability and Resilience of Tsunami affected Coastal Regions
Participants: Japan: RIHN, Kyoto Univ., Hiroshima Univ.
  India: Tamil Nadu Agri. Univ., IWMI, UNESCO
  Sri Lanka: University of Moratuwa
  Indonesia: TDMRC Syiah Kuala University
  Thailand: Chulalongkorn University
  Singapore: National Univ. of Singapore, Nanyang Tech. Univ.

Objectives:

The Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami on 26 December, 2004 caused massive destruction throughout the coastal region. Nevertheless, early reports showed that some damaged soils and groundwater had recovered to their pre-tsunami states within a year. Other regions, however, especially those inaccessible to relief supplies, are still struggling five years later. Some residents suffer from post-traumatic syndromes or the challenges of new livelihoods.

A social and/or ecological system's ‘resilience’ is its capacity to respond to shocks. As coastal regions in general are vulnerable to large-scale disasters such as tsunami and storms, they are often protected by sea walls and port facilities. Although these facilities are designed to provide buffers against disaster, they do not by themselves create resilient social-ecological systems. If such shock-resistant facilities fail, the damage can be catastrophic and the costs of reconstruction very high. Disaster planning in vulnerable regions therefore should not attempt to resist shocks, but to develop the resilience that allows for flexible responses to challenging conditions.

The purpose of the workshop is as follows:

1) to assess the impact of the 2004 tsunami qualitatively and quantitatively through case studies of the tsunami affected region;
2) to consider the vulnerability and resilience of coastal regions through examination of damages sustained and processes of recovery;
3) to identify key factors affecting recovery and consider how the region’s future resilience to disaster can be enhanced.

Program:

Pre-workshop, 28 Feb. (Sun)    
  17:00   Registration (Sophia room, Level 2 of Hotel Grand Pacific)  
  18:30   Reception (Sun’s Café, Level 1 of Hotel Grand Pacific)  
1st day, 1 Mar (Mon)    
  9:45   Registration  
  10:00   Greeting and welcome address
Dr. Umetsu, RIHN
  SESSION 1 Tsunami affected agriculture and hydrological process in coastal area Chair: Mr. Miyazaki
  10:15   Recovery of Agricultural Field from the 2004 Tsunami in Coastal Area of Tamilnadu, India Dr. Kume, RIHN
  10:45   Impact of the 26-12-04 Tsunami on the Indian Coastal Groudwater: Did we learn from the Disaster? Dr. Neupane, UNESCO
  11:15   Development of a Tsunami Warning System for Thailand Dr. Muangsin, Chulalongkorn Univ.
  11:45   Short Discussion and Summary (15 min)  
 

12:00– 13:30 Lunch (Sun’s Café)

 
  SESSION 2 Building socio-ecological systems after tsunami Chair: Dr. Palanisami
  13:30   Social and ecological consequences of intensive efforts in rebuilding coastal fishery-related livelihoods in Sri Lanka after the 2004 Asian Tsunami Dr. Manatunge, Moratuwa Univ.
  14:00   Resilience of tourist coasts to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami
Dr. Wong, Univ. of Singapore
  14:30   Short Discussion and Summary (15 min)  
 

14:45 – 15:15 Tea Break

 
  SESSION 3 Post tsunami study in Ache, Indonesia Chair: Dr. Manatunge
  15:15   The Role of Houses in the Post-Tsunami Reconstruction in Aceh, Indonesia Dr. Yamamoto, Kyoto Univ.
  15:45   Current Status of Aceh Tsunami Digital Repository Dr. Dirhamsyah, Syiah Kuala Univ.
  16:15   Short discussion and summary (15 min)  
  16:30   Closing  
2nd day, 2 Mar (Tue)    
  SESSION 4 Study on social and people’s recovery from tsunami in India Chair: Dr. Wong
  10:15   Strategies for Technological empowerment of Tsunami affected Rice farmers Dr. Sundaram, Kerala Agri. Univ.
  10:45   Rehabilitation of Tsunami Affected Farmers through Integrated Agricultural Technological Interventions in Andaman Islands Dr. Srivastava, CARI
  11:15   PTSD symptoms and recovery among different sectors of the people exposed to 2004 Tsunami in Tamil Nadu, India Dr. Shanthasheela, TNAU
  11:45   Short Discussion and Summary (15 min)  
 

12:00 – 13:30 Lunch (Sun’s Café)

 
  SESSION 5 Agriculture and household recovery from tsunami in Tamilnadu, India Chair: Dr. Kume
  13:30   Impact of and Recovery from Tsunami 2004- focus on rural households, Tamilnadu, India Dr. Jegadeesan, TNAU
  14:00   Impact of and Recovery from Tsunami 2004 - focus on agricultural productivity and income, Tamilnadu, India Dr. Palanisami, IWMI-TATA
  14:30   Resilience of Tsunami Affected Households in Coastal Region of Tamil Nadu, India Dr. Umetsu and Dr. Lekprichakul, RIHN
  15:00   Short Discussion and Summary  
 

15:15 – 15:45 Tea Break

 
  SESSION 6 Discussion on vulnerability and resilience of tsunami affected areas
Chair: Dr. Umestu and Dr. Kume, RIHN
  15:45   Discussion  
  17:15   Closing Remark Dr. Palanisami, IWMI-TATA
3rd day, 3 Mar (Wed)    
  9:00   Business Meeting for Publication of Tsunami Book  
  10:30-10:45 Tea Break  
  12:00   Adjourn  
  12:00 – 13:30 Lunch (Sun’s Café)  

Contact:

KUME Takashi (Senior Project Researcher, RIHN)
contact
Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN)
zip code: 603-8047 457-4, Motoyama Kamigamo, Kita-ku, Kyoto City, Japan
tel: +81-75-707-2209
fax: +81-75-707-2506

Return to the Resilience Project's homepage