SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 23, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Give2Asia has released the Aceh+10 Report reflecting the lessons learned almost a decade after the infamous 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami in the Indian Ocean, one of Asia's deadliest disasters to date. The report, which was commissioned in the aftermath of the tsunami, includes interviews with representatives from four Indonesia-based disaster recovery organizations in the devastated Aceh province in Sumatra, Indonesia.
The Boxing Day Tsunami, which occurred December 26, 2004, was the result of a magnitude-9.1 earthquake off the coast of the Indonesian archipelago's westernmost island. Minutes after the earthquake, a tsunami towering nearly 100 feet tall bore down on Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province, causing $9.9 billion in damage and a significant loss of lives. While the disaster claimed the lives of 230,000 people throughout South and Southeast Asia, as many as 170,000 Acehnese lost their lives that day.
As the situation unfolded, the Aceh government opened up affected areas to international aid agencies, flooding the region with almost $14 billion in recovery aid. Ten years later, Give2Asia revisited the disaster recovery programs it funded, analyzing how effectively these funds were used and the lasting unintended consequences this massive influx of international aid had on the region.
To read the report or to learn more, please visit www.give2asia.org/aceh-10
ABOUT GIVE2ASIA
Give2Asia was established in 2001 to facilitate charitable giving from the United States to Asia and was designed as a philanthropic service to encourage and facilitate private giving to Asia in any legitimate charitable field. Operating in 25 countries, Give2Asia has supported Asia-based organizations in fields that range from improving access to quality education to post-disaster rehabilitation.
ABOUT GIVE2ASIA DISASTER RESPONSE
Give2Asia has responded to nearly 40 natural disasters in the Asia Pacific region during the past 10 years. Its strategy is to support recovery by partnering with local groups based within affected communities and to engage in multi-year programs to support rebuilding, economic recovery, psychosocial programs and other needs that may arise following a disaster. As part of its commitment to its donors, Give2Asia provides reports to its donors that detail how every dollar was spent.
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