Sri Lanka 2005 Post Tsunami Recovery Program, Preliminary Damage and Needs Assessment

At the request of the Government of Sri Lankan (GOSL), a joint mission comprising of staff from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), and the World Bank initiated a joint assessment of the damage caused by the December 26, 2004 tsunami. The event affected coastal areas of Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, the Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar, Reunion, Seychelles, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and Thailand.
The objectives of the mission were to conduct an initial assessment of the damage caused by the tsunami, in cooperation among the three agencies and in coordination with the Government at the national, provincial, district and local levels, civil society, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), and other stakeholders. In parallel, the team was also asked to assess the preliminary needs of the affected communities in terms of the medium to longer term reconstruction and recovery phases following the relief period. This coastal areas damage and needs assessment should serve as a platform for all development partners interested in contributing to the rehabilitation effort. This assessment process has also been coordinated with the United Nations (UN) agencies and bilateral donor organizations. The team worked closely with and drew heavily upon the work of the “Task Force for Rebuilding the Nation (TAFREN)” and the Department of National Planning of the Ministry of Finance and Planning, which had already produced a first estimate of the damages prior to the arrival of the team. It also benefited from the assessment work undertaken by the Planning and Development Secretariat of the LTTE.