Asian quake relief appeal uk

More than three quarters of a million households benefitted from DEC funds across seven countries, with the majority of the money being spent in Sri Lanka, Indonesia and India. The greatest percentage of money from the total response was used to rebuild homes destroyed by the tsunami. Due to the scale of destruction, the DEC decided the funds should be spent over three years rather than 18 months in order to secure lives in the short term and to rebuild communities and livelihoods in the longer. Aid agencies more prepared for humanitarian crises of smaller proportions faced unchartered territory in dealing with a disaster on such a scale and involving not just reconstruction but wholesale construction - normally the province of governments or the private sector.

A tsunami was triggered by a powerful earthquake in Sulawesi, Indonesia, at the end of September, leaving a trail of destruction. Those who survived had their lives ripped apart. Six-metre-high waves flattened whole coastal towns, wiping out thousands of homes and schools. With homes, water supplies and vital infrastructure shattered, thousands of families were exposed to the elements, left without clean water and put at heightened risk of disease. Thanks to your incredible generosity, in those critical first few days we gained access to Sulawesi and reached almost 6, people with life-saving support.

British aid agencies have launched a joint fund raising appeal for survivors of the deadly Indonesian earthquake and tsunami, as supplies begin to arrive on the ground. Rescuers are still struggling to reach some communities devastated by the disaster almost a week on. A team of six UK humanitarian experts left London for Sulawesi earlier this week, and are now helping to coordinate the humanitarian response on the ground.

The relief efforts for survivors of the south Asia earthquake were being hampered today by heavy rainfall. Emergency workers were already being slowed down by blocked roads, power cuts and communication breakdowns. Authorities in the disaster area - which has its epicentre in Pakistani Kashmir - are facing growing anger at the slowness of the response to the quake, which is feared to have killed more than 40, people.