Earthquake and Tsunami

Reports

MALDIVES EMERGENCY AUSTRALIAN RELIEF TEAM

Assessment of AlifusheeIsland,  Raa atoll, 5 January 2005

Meeting / discussion with

Mr Adiel, Community health supervisor

Mr Adul Latif, Family health worker

Mr Adam Mahir, Assistant director island office

Site visits to

Island health centre

Sample of houses: 5 houses visited

Situation

2208 inhabitants, (516 households) + 333 evacuees from Kandoloodoo

Mainly staying in houses of friends and relatives: 6 houses with 20 or more, remainder among 22 other houses.

Men, women and children.

Some evacuees may wish to settle on Alifushee, but most wish to settle together on another island.

No damage from wave: wide streets, plenty of trees, large yards.

Assessment

1. Accommodation

House #1: 24 evacuees, 5 families  – 5 < 5 yrs, 1 < 1 yr. All well. 4 rooms. Insufficient mattresses, pillows, sheets. Some of older people sleeping in neighbouring houses. 2 open dug wells; HDPE rainwater tank, 1 week supply remaining at current consumption ; 40 x 1.5l bottled water provided yesterday. No mosquito problems.

1 latrine, pour-flush, septic tank satisfactory.  Kitchen satisfactory.

House #2: 4 inhabitants + 22 evacuees, - 2 < 5yrs, 1 < 1 yr. All well. 4 rooms. Insufficient bedding. Ferro-cement rainwater tank, adequate supply. 36 x 1.5 l bottled water provided yesterday. 2 flush toilets, clean, connected to septic tank. Kitchen greywater + kitchen scraps disposed in open pit. Few mosquitoes, use repellent cream. Open dug well, chlorinated for household uses. Kitchen clean.

House #3 12 inhabitants + 33 evacuees –  8 < 5 yrs, 0 < 1 yr. All well. Insufficient cooking oil. Insufficient bedding – 4 mattresses, 20 pillows. HDPE rainwater tank, 1 month’s supply. 60x 1.5l bottled water provided. One latrine, septic tank, satisfactory – using neighbours’ latrines.

House #4: 4 inhabitants + 26 evacuees – 3< 5 yrs, 2 < 1 yr. All well. Insufficient bedding – 3 mattresses. Ferro-cement rainwater tank. Open well Ok. Latrine satisfactory. Mosquitoes a problem – using repellent.

2. Water supply

Drinking water:

Main source is rainwater:

     10 x 5,000 l public tanks..

     153 individual household tanks, most 2, 500 litres,

Estimated sufficient water held for 1 month’s consumption. Bottled water sent as assistance and distributed among households. Expect some rain over the next few months. If insufficient, will commence using well water for cooking; and then use selected wells for drinking eg Mosque well, which is far from any septic tanks.

Not chlorinating rainwater tanks – community don’t like the taste.

Open dug wells: household wells –generally good water (not brackish). Health centre has arranged with community volunteers to dose 2^nd daily with chlorine.

Adequate chlorine available (1 drum).

3. Sanitation

Individual septic tanks with soakaways. All functioning satisfactorily.

Rarely de-sludge – only when blocked ( < 1 / year).

4. Solid waste management

2 wards each with separate waste disposal site. Individual households dump waste, unsorted. Waste is sorted and combustible waste burnt.

5. Mosquito control:

Mosquitoes are a problem. Said to originate from adjacent uninhabited island, where are fresh water lake accumulates each rainy season. No dengue. Electric coils provided.

6. Nutrition / hygiene / vaccination.

Daily home visits. Have not weighed or vaccinated evacuee children as yet. Vaccination /weight cards of evacuees lost – but will re-issue based on data from regional office. Request for additional vaccine supply already made.

Additional food and infant food – cereals, fruit & veges etc – may be shortage of milk powder.

One diarrhoea in evacuee since evacuation.

Recommendations

1. Drinking water

Provide testing equipment (residual chlorine, coliform indicator test) for open dug wells if required for drinking.

May require supplementary drinking water if rain insufficient.

2. Accommodation

Provide additional bedding (mattresses, pillows etc).

Consider use of mosquito netting in areas of high mosquito prevalence.

3. Health services.

Review requirement for infant feeding supplements based on results of growth monitoring.