A Japanese proverb says, “A disaster happens when the last one is forgotten.”

Twenty years on, the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 is still etched in our collective memory. It was a poignant and devastating moment that enveloped the entire Asia-Pacific region – and the world – with profound sadness. 

The silent story of global solidarity

Back then, I was among the many first responders to tsunami, which killed over 230,000 people and wreaked havoc in 12 countries. 

What I witnessed learnt while working on that response in Aceh, Indonesia, has stayed with me throughout my professional life. 

Today, I’m still supporting countries to prepare for and respond to disaster with UNDP. Many of the lessons are still being applied to the work we do today. 

Significantly, alongside the tragedy emerged a remarkable story of global solidarity, as the world responded to support affected countries. In total, US$13.5 billion was raised, with around 40 percent coming from individuals, trusts, and private sector donations. It was also one of the most rapid responses in disaster relief history.

A catalyst for regional cooperation

The tsunami spurred Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members to formalize disaster cooperation, leading to the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management. This groundwork was critical for later collaborations, including UNDP’s initiatives to support resilience-building across the Asia-Pacific, and remains so today. 

UNDP, through its country offices in the five most-affected countries – Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and India – responded swiftly to the immediate needs of the governments and communities to save lives and minimize loss and damages.

Strengthening community preparedness

Two decades later, UNDP continues to emphasize tsunami preparedness, especially in schools across high-risk areas. In partnership with Japan, a regional project titled Partnerships for Strengthening School Tsunami Preparedness in the Asia-Pacific Region has trained over 520 schools across 24 countries, involving 210,000 people in drills and preparedness, enhancing the community’s resilience and awareness.

The project involves conducting tsunami evacuation drills, updating school emergency plans, and integrating these plans into national disaster management frameworks.

Managing relief to managing risk

The 2004 tsunami also highlighted the need for laws that facilitate, rather than hinder, aid delivery. Like most of the world at that time, the countries affected had few pre-established rules for managing the incoming humanitarian response.  

Collaborative efforts between UNDP and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) led to reforms in countries like Sri Lanka and Indonesia, which saw the passage of comprehensive disaster management acts. Similar support was provided by UNDP to other countries in their own national processes to promulgate and approve new laws and policies including in Vietnam, the Lao PDR, Timor-Leste, and the Philippines. 

The lessons of the Indian Ocean tsunami inspired these policy reforms. Significantly, these improvements shifted focus from relief to risk reduction, integrating disaster preparedness into national policies.

The “Build Back Better” approach

Just two years after the tsunami on 26 December 2004, there were major achievements on the long road to recovery among the devastated communities. 

Some 150,000 houses had been built, most of the displaced lived in adequate transitional shelters, and large infrastructure projects were underway. Children were quickly back in school, and hundreds of new schools were under construction. Most affected families resumed a livelihood of some kind. In Aceh, the parties to its long-running political conflict achieved an agreement that paved the way for lasting peace. 

The tsunami’s recovery effort underscored the importance of resilience, spurring an approach that we called “Build Back Better”. This emphasizes empowering communities, promoting fairness, and prioritizing risk reduction so communities are better prepared for future disasters. Through this approach, disaster recovery is seen not as a restoration to pre-disaster conditions, but as an opportunity to improve resilience and inclusivity.

Many of us who were in Aceh could not have imagined how the communities and province would recover in the immediate aftermath of the conflict and the tsunami. 

The unprecedented response from the global community made it possible to repair most of the damage and destruction to physical infrastructure, although the healing of trauma from the loss of kin, and suffering during the tsunami and conflict, continue to linger. 

The ambition during Aceh’s recovery unquestionably helped strengthen the region’s human development progress overall. In 2008, the Aceh ranked 29th of 33 provinces in Indonesia on the Human Development Index. By 2023, it had risen to a ranking of 11 among Indonesia’s provinces.

This positive progress for a community that suffered such profound devastation and loss continues to inspire me to this day. I truly believe that the work that we do to help communities better prepare for and cope with disasters, like tsunamis, is transformative. 

As we look back at the past 20 years on this day, Tsunami Awareness Day, I would say that not only can we never forget what happened then, in terms of scale of loss, but that we have learned so much through this tragic experience that we have been able to apply and save countless lives since.