South Asia Emergency

Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami

About UMCOR Response News.

Through unprecedented donations totaling $32.4 million for tsunami relief and recovery, UMCOR is funding work in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Somalia, Thailand, and India. UMCOR workers are supplying new nets and boats, beginning construction of new homes, cleaning wells polluted by saltwater that flooded inland in the December 26, 2004, tsunami that caused catastrophic loss of life and damage to countries on all sides of the Indian Ocean.

Please give to Advance #274305 and designate "South Asia Emergency" on the memo line of your check. Give through your local United Methodist church or mail contributions to: UMCOR, 475 Riverside Dr., Room 330, New York, NY 10115. Call 1-800-554-8583 to make a credit card donation or donate online on a secure server. One hundred percent of your gift goes to relief and recovery efforts. United Methodists' generous giving to the One Great Hour of Sharing, part of their ongoing contribution to mission around the world, supplements the cost of Advance gifts. UMCOR also needs donations of health kits, layettes, and Medicine Boxes for this response. Get details... For hymns, reflections, and other helpful material, see "Church Resources" below.

Photo: United Methodist Bishop Joel Martinez (left) and the Rev. Paul Dirdak, head of the United Methodist Committee on Relief, visit with children at a camp in Bateilik, Indonesia for people displaced by the December 26 tsunami. UMCOR's partner, The Methodist Church of Indonesia, is helping support programs at the facility. Mike DuBose/UMNS, January 13, 2005.

Onsite and Partner News

• Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami.
• A Year Later, UMCOR in Indonesia, UMCOR-NGO, Jan. 5, 2006
• UMCOR Directs Tsunami Funds to Chennai, Andaman. UMCOR, Oct. 12, 2005
• Ongoing Tsunami Response News.
• UMCOR Report to Donors, May 2005: UMCOR Slates Long-Term Aid for Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and Somalia.
• UMCOR Explores New Options for Tsunami Relief in India, UMCOR, May 11, 2005.
• Tsunami Recovery in Indonesia Reveals Resilient Human Spirit, UMCOR, May 11, 2005.
• United Methodist Tsunami Response Exceeds $32 Million: Long-term Aid Slated for Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Somalia, UMCOR, April 12, 2005.
• UMCOR Hotline, April 12, 2005.
• UMCOR Joins Relief Efforts for Indonesia New Quake (Nias Island) , UMCOR, April 4, 2005.
• UMCOR Hotline, March 29, 2005.
• Methodists to Assist Fishing Societies in Sri Lanka, UMNS, March 18, 2005.
• UMCOR Hotline, March 15, 2005.
• UMCOR Hotline, February 22, 2005.
• UMCOR Hotline, February 15, 2005.
• UMCOR Hotline, February 8, 2005.
• South Asia Emergency: Audio Interviews of Team That Visited Indonesia.
• UMCOR Readies Start-up Operations in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, UMNS, February 2, 2005.
• Church Offers Opportunities to Help Children Affected by Tsunami, UMNS, February 1, 2005.
• UMCOR Hotline, February 1, 2005.
• UMCOR Receives $6 million for Tsunami Relief, but Need Continues, UMNS, January 27, 2005.
• UMCOR Hotline, January 25, 2005.
• Annual Conferences, Local Church Respond to Needs in Indonesia, UMNS, January 24, 2005.
• Indonesia: Reconstruction, and Regulation (4 minutes, Real Audio), Marketplace, American Public Media
  Guy Hovey, UMCOR's regional director for Europe and Asia, is interviewed for this story.
• United Methodist Giving to Tsunami Relief Exceeds Four Million Dollars, GBGM, January 19, 2005.
• UMCOR Hotline, January 18, 2005.
• United Methodists Forge Ties with Indonesian Church for Recovery Work, UMNS, January 16, 2005.
• Staying the Course in "Mega-Disaster" Rehabilitation, UMCOR, January 14, 2005.
• Methodists Provide Aid in Hard-hit Indonesian Province, UMNS January 14, 2005.
• Poverty Drove up Tsunami Fatalities, GBGM Top Executive Says, UMNS January 14, 2005.
• Indonesian City of Medan Provides Aid for Injured, Homeless (includes Rumah Sakit Methodist Hospital), UMNS January 14, 2005.
• Be Careful in Online Giving to Tsunami Relief, GBGM, January 12, 2005.
• UMCOR Sets Stage for Long-term Tsunami Recovery, UMCOR, January 11, 2005.
• UMCOR Hotline, January 11, 2005.
• United Methodists' Contributions Reach $2 Million, GBGM, January 10, 2005.
• United Methodist Delegation to Take Concern and Medicine to Tsunami Ravaged Area of Indonesia, GBGM, January 7, 2004.
• UMCOR Depot Serves as Hub for Aid to Tsunami-stricken Areas, UMNS, January 7, 2005.
• UMCOR Hotline, January 7, 2005.
• UMCOR Provides $750,000 in Relief to Tsunami Stricken Region, UMCOR, January 6, 2005.
• UMCOR to Consider Additional Services in Tsunami Disaster, UMCOR, January 6, 2005.
• Faith Coalition Helps Sri Lankans in Struggle to Recovery, UMNS, January 6, 2005.
• Sri Lanka Churches Worried about Looting in Tsunami-hit Areas, ENI, January 4, 2005.
• Standing in the Rubble of Sri Lanka: Reflections of a United Methodist Missionary, Paul Jeffrey, January 5, 2005.
• UMCOR Hotline, January 4, 2005.
• United Methodists Tap Ingenuity, Compassion to Raise Tsunami Relief Funds, UMNS, January 3, 2005.
• UMCOR Assists Medical Relief in Remote Regions of India, UMCOR, December 31, 2004.
• Online Giving to UMCOR Boosts Aid for Asian Tsunami Relief, UMNS, December 31, 2004.
• Cash Donations Most Effective Compassion in Wake of Disaster, UMCOR, December 31, 2004.
• UMCOR Plays Pivotal Role in Tsunami Relief Effort, UMNS, December 29, 2004.
• UMCOR Hotline, December 28, 2004.
• United Methodist Relief Agency Issues Emergency Appeal In Wake of Earthquake and Tidal Waves in Southeast Asia, GBGM, December 27, 2004.
• Ongoing News.
• ACT News, Action by Churches Together.
• South Asia Emergency: Earthquake/Tsunami, Ongoing news and resources page, General Board of Global Ministries, United Methodist Church.
• Tsunami Relief News, United Methodist News Service.

Archives

• Floods in India 2004.
• UMCOR Hotline, November 23, 2004.
• UMCOR Hotline, August 3, 2004.
• UMCOR Hotline, June 8, 2004.
• South Asia Floods Archives, 2001-2003.
• 2001 Earthquakes (Gujarat)
• UMCOR Hotline, February 16, 2001.
• UMCOR Hotline, February 9, 2001.
• Memphis Volunteers Experience India Quake First-hand, UMNS, February 7, 2001.
• Volunteers to India Accomplish Goals Despite Earthquake, UMNS, February 7, 2001.
• UMCOR Hotline, February 2, 2001.
• UMCOR Hotline, January 31, 2001.
• UMCOR Assists with India Earthquake, UMNS, January 29, 2001.
• UMCOR Hotline, January 26, 2001
  UMCOR's initial response to the earthquake in India.

Offsite News

• Asia Tsunami Disaster Yahoo! Full Coverage
• Relief Web, United Nations, India Floods 2004
• Relief Web, United Nations, India Earthquake 2001
  ReliefWeb is a project of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
• South Asia Tsunamis, Alertnet (Reuters).

Worship Resources

• Asian Tsunami Recovery: Church Bulletin Insert (download online and print).
• Asian Tsunami Emergency Response: UMCOR Poster (download online and print).
• Letter from the Church in Sri Lanka.
• New Year's Message 2005: A Prayer from a Heart in Pain, R. Randy Day.
• O God, that Great Tsunami a hymn by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette.
• Standing in the Rubble of Sri Lanka: Reflections of a United Methodist Missionary, Paul Jeffrey, January 5, 2005.
• Stories: Church and Community Groups Support UMCOR's Response to Tsunami.
• Tsunami Disaster Resources, General Board of Discipleship.
• Two Hymns After a Tsunami, Andrew Pratt.
• United Methodist Church Tsunami Ad/Poster
  On Monday, January 3, 2005, The United Methodist Church sent a message of hope, prayer and action to the world through a full-page USA Today. Put the ad up in your fellowship hall, narthex or other appropriate places. [view ad - get the PDF].
• Words of Grief and Prayers from Bishop Martinez, President of GBGM, About the Tsunami Disaster.

Maps, Photos, Background

• Factsheet: How Does Tsunami Relief Fit Together? Reuters Alertnet.
• Maps.
• Flooded Areas of Bangladesh, India, and Nepal 2004, ReliefWeb.
• Map of Gujarat Earthquake from USAID
• Map of Gujarat Earthquake, http://www.mapsofindia.com
  A set of three maps which zoom in.
• World Wide Earthquake Locator, University of Edinburgh
• Photographs.
• December 26, 2004 Tsunami, Damage and Relief Efforts.
• 2001 Earthquake: Damage and Relief Efforts, India and Pakistan (may be reproduced with credit).