Urgent need for reconstruction and rehabilitation in Maldives
27 January 2005
Colonel Linton Graham of Jamaica, who was sent by the Commonwealth Secretary-General to assess disaster relief needs in Maldives, has said that there is an urgent need for assistance in reconstruction and rehabilitation following the tsunami disaster which struck the island state on 26 December 2004.
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| "The infrastructure of Maldives was severely damaged." |
"We need health personnel and experts in the construction industry to help rebuild Maldives," stated Colonel Graham. "The country needs civil and structural engineers, geologists and other professionals to look at what can be done. The fisheries and tourism industries have been severely affected. Maldives is heavily reliant on these two industries for its economy."
Colonel Graham, who was in Maldives for a two-week mission from 6 to 20 January 2005, explained: "The situation in Maldives was very devastating and it was not as localised as on islands in other countries affected by the tsunami, where work and life can still carry on in unaffected places. In Maldives, it was nationwide. There are 20 atolls and 200 inhabited islands all damaged.
"The islands in the centre of the archipelago bore the brunt of the tsunami. People were evacuated to other less affected islands. Fourteen islands are now uninhabited following the tsunami, with nine of them totally uninhabitable."
Colonel Graham, who has experience in disaster relief in Jamaica, said the infrastructure of Maldives was severely damaged. Water supply was seriously affected, while telephone and power lines were destroyed. He recommended the development of a disaster risk management strategy to reduce Maldives' vulnerability and the impact of risk on the national economy.
CNIS - the Commonwealth News and Information Service Issue 219 26 January 2005
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