Tsunami

The tsunami disaster in the Indian Ocean region in December 2004 resulted in some 300,000 deaths across the region, many more injured and 1.6 million people displaced, with Indonesia and Sri Lanka the worst affected countries. The disaster has also had longer-term economic effects in terms of the damage to roads and other infrastructure, as well as to people's livelihoods dependent on tourism, farming and fishing. This NAO report assesses the Government's response to the disaster, focusing on the extent to which the Department for International Development (DFID) met its commitment to provide humanitarian assistance to the victims of the tsunami in the six months immediately following the event. It finds that the DFID's initial response was both rapid and impressive, with the first cargo of relief supplies airlifted to the affected area within 24 hours. However, the DFID needs to strengthen its financial monitoring to establish how much of the £50 million paid in grants to multilateral agencies and non-governmental organisations actually reached the victims of the disaster, and how much remains in bank accounts waiting to be spent.