Library damage resulting from the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

Last updated
An aerial view of the coastal city of Meulaboh, Indonesia, after the tsunami. The public library in Meulaboh was destroyed. Meulaboh.jpg
An aerial view of the coastal city of Meulaboh, Indonesia, after the tsunami. The public library in Meulaboh was destroyed.

Library damage resulting from the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake has been reported in six Asian countries. On December 26, the massive 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake struck off the northwest coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The resulting tsunamis killed more than 180,000 people. In addition to the loss of human lives, cultural institutions were destroyed in several Asian nations. Libraries on the eastern coast of Sri Lanka and the northern province of Aceh on Sumatra were most severely affected by the disaster.

Contents

India

2004 Indian Ocean
earthquake and tsunami
2004 Indonesia Tsunami edit.gif
Countries affected
Humanitarian response
Military operations
Related topics

Damage to libraries in India has not been well documented. Water damage was reported at Madras University Library in Chennai. [1] The Asian Development Bank reports extensive damage to schools in the Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. A government assessment found that 252 schools in Tamil Nadu need complete reconstruction, 19 need major repairs and 49 need minor repairs. [2]

In the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, 78 teachers are listed as killed or missing. Further, 25 percent of primary schools, 33 percent of upper primary schools, and 31 percent of senior secondary schools were seriously damaged, indicating that school libraries in the region also suffered damage. [3]

Indonesia

The Sumatran province of Aceh was severely damaged by the earthquake and resulting tsunami. An estimated 167,736 Indonesians were killed and 25% of Achenese lost their source of livelihood. [4] Banda Aceh, Aceh's capital, was the closest major city to the earthquake's epicenter, and many of its major libraries suffered extensive damage. [5]

The Aceh Provincial Library (BPD) was inundated with three meters of water. Twenty three staff members were killed, including the library's director, Bachtiar Azis, who is listed as missing along with his family. In addition to loss of life, the BPD suffered physical damage and a near total loss of its collection. Concrete and steel fences surrounding the two-story building were mostly destroyed, however, the building itself remained standing. All library materials housed on the first floor were swept away by the waves and the floor was covered in 30 cm-thick mud. These lost materials comprise most of its children's, young adult and adult collections. The water did not reach the second floor, but looting resulted in the loss of most materials and equipment. A collection of books received under legal deposit and housed on the second floor was left undisturbed and survived the disaster and looting intact. [6] Despite these losses, the BPD reopened to the public in May 2005. [7] As of August 2005, repairs were still being made to the building, the library lacked computers for its warintek (information technology section), and most areas of the library needed furnishing and collection replacement.

Of Aceh's eight public libraries, two were destroyed. These libraries were located in the hard-hit cities of Meulaboh and Sigli. [8]

Mobile library units, or perpustakaan keliling, are used to serve rural areas of Aceh. Days before the earthquake and tsunami, the BPD had received two newly built mobile library units from the National Library of Indonesia. Both of these were destroyed along with the rest of the mobile libraries parked on the BPD's carport. In July 2005, the National Library donated two replacement mobile units, however the new BPD director noted that further units were needed to adequately serve outlying regions of the province. [6] [8]

The Aceh Documentation and Information Center, known for its collection of rare books and manuscripts chronicling the heritage of Aceh, was destroyed. Only half of the building remained standing, and the entire collection was swept away. A team from the National Library of Indonesia visiting in January 2005 was able to salvage only three books and one sheet of the genealogy of the Muslim kings of Aceh. These were taken to Jakarta for restoration. [6]

The Provincial Archives Agency lost 80 percent of the photographs in its collection. [9] The Secretariat Office of the Aceh Province lost 160 boxes of records. [9]

The Aceh branch of the National Land Register Agency was inundated with water. Roughly 629 boxes of materials certifying individual land ownership in the province were damaged. Due to the efforts of a team of conservators from Japan and archivists from the National Archives in Jakarta, many of these land register documents were preserved. [10]

Damage to school libraries has not been well documented. The Indonesia National Library reports that SMA 1, a high school in Banda Aceh, was not damaged by flood waters as it is located on the second floor, however, did experience some earthquake damage. Overall, 2,364 teachers and staff members were killed and 2,240 schools were destroyed on Sumatra and its outlying islands. [11]

The Central Library at the Ar-Raniri Institute for Islamic Studies, a public Islamic University in Banda Aceh, lost its information servers due to theft and seawater damage. [12]

Baiturrahman Grand Mosque Library in Banda Aceh lost its entire collection. Due to the mosque's central location and importance to the community, a concerted effort was made to clear and repair this complex of buildings immediately after the tsunami. As of August 2005 the library had reopened with 1,200 books in its collection. [6] The library of the Agricultural Information Institute of Banda Aceh was inundated with water from the tsunami but its physical structure remained intact. [6] [13]

The Library and Museum of the Ali Hasymy Educational Foundation survived intact as the tsunami did not reach this area of Banda Aceh. [6]

Malaysia

According to a Malaysian professor of library science, damage to libraries was minimal in Malaysia. [14]

Maldives

All of the 199 inhabited islands comprising the Maldives atolls were affected by the tsunami. [15] The Maldives Library Association was not able to survey all public libraries across the atoll, however, a representative indicated some libraries were destroyed. [16]

Forty-six percent of schools in the Maldives were damaged, and nine schools were destroyed. [15]

Thailand

Damage to libraries in Thailand has not been well documented. The Ministry of Education has reported that five schools were destroyed and 51 schools were damaged. [17]

Sri Lanka

More than 35,000 Sri Lankans were killed and 516,000 people were displaced as a result of the tsunami. [18] Roughly 60 percent of the coastal area of Sri Lanka was severely affected by the tsunami. Libraries across the country were damaged, and it is estimated that 1.2 million volumes of books and other reading materials were destroyed in the disaster. Out of the 950 public libraries in Sri Lanka, 55 libraries were affected and 28 were destroyed. [19] Several libraries were used as refuge centres or hospitals in the aftermath of the tsunami, and surviving furniture and collections suffered as a result.

One estimate of damage to school libraries in Sri Lanka indicates that of the 9,790 schools in the country, 182 schools were directly affected by the tsunami and an additional 282 schools were damaged because of their use as refugee camps after the tsunami. [19] While not all of these schools had a full-fledged library, most had a book closet or other collection of materials. At least 165 school libraries were damaged by the tsunami. [20] Compounding the damage, many schools had large collection of textbooks on hand for distribution to students at the beginning of the school year in January. Damage reports range from furniture damage to lost collections to complete destruction of the physical building.

Sri Lankan government departments lost public records to the tsunami. In the Southern province, all electoral registers were destroyed, along with 600,000 land deeds from the Department of the Surveyor General. [21]

Sixty-eight libraries affiliated with religious institutions and at least three museums were damaged by the tsunami. [22] Many of these libraries were attached to Buddhist temples and contained valuable collections of palm leaf manuscripts and documents relating to Ayurveda, the Indian medical tradition adopted in ancient Sri Lanka. [19]

The National Maritime Museum in Galle lost 90 percent of its collection, mostly artifacts salvaged from underwater wrecks and archaeology sites. The museum also lost all of its computers and other technical equipment. [23] The collection housed in the Martin Wickramasinghe Folk Museum of Koggala survived relatively unscathed, however the children's library attached to the museum was severely damaged along with most of the museum's furniture. The Maritime Archaeology Unit of the Central Cultural Fund was also severely damaged, resulting in the loss of artifacts from an 18th-century Dutch shipwreck that were eventually to be donated to a museum. [24]

In the weeks following the disaster, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions cooperated with UNESCO, the Sri Lanka Library Association, the National Library and Documentation Center of Sri Lanka and other organizations to create the Sri Lanka Disaster Management Committee for Libraries, Information Services and Archives (SL DMC-LISA). The committee worked to secure funding for temporary libraries and computer equipment and began reviewing architectural plans for rebuilding libraries. Further initiatives were developed to encourage "twinning" or pairing of Sri Lankan libraries with donors. [25]

In addition to working with the disaster committee, the Sri Lanka Library Association targeted five libraries for rebuilding with the intent of creating model institutions. As of 2006, three of these libraries had re-opened, while progress on the other two was delayed due to political instability in the region. [26]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sumatra</span> Island in western Indonesia

Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi.2), including adjacent islands such as the Simeulue, Nias, Mentawai, Enggano, Riau Islands, Bangka Belitung and Krakatoa archipelago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aceh</span> Province of Indonesia

Aceh, officially the Province of Aceh, is the westernmost province of Indonesia. It is located on the northern end of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capital and largest city. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west, Strait of Malacca to the northeast, as well bordering the province of North Sumatra to the east, its sole land border, and shares maritime borders with Malaysia and Thailand to the east, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India to the north. Granted a special autonomous status, Aceh is a religiously conservative territory and the only Indonesian province practicing Sharia law officially. There are ten indigenous ethnic groups in this region, the largest being the Acehnese people, accounting for approximately 70% of the region's population of about 5.5 million people in mid-2023. Its area is comparable to Croatia or Togo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banda Aceh</span> City and capital of Aceh, Indonesia

Banda Aceh is the capital and largest city in the province of Aceh, Indonesia. It is located on the island of Sumatra and has an elevation of 35 meters. The city covers an area of 61.36 square kilometers (23.69 sq mi) and had a population of 223,446 people at the 2010 Census, rising to 252,899 at the 2020 Census. The official estimate as at mid 2023 was 261,969.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami</span> Earthquake and subsequent tsunami in the Indian Ocean

On 26 December 2004, at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7), a major earthquake with a magnitude of 9.2–9.3 Mw struck with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The undersea megathrust earthquake, known by the scientific community as the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, was caused by a rupture along the fault between the Burma plate and the Indian plate, and reached a Mercalli intensity up to IX in some areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Countries affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami</span>

The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami occurred on Sunday, December 26, 2004. The earthquake itself, with a moment magnitude of around 9.1-9.3, devastated Aceh Province, Indonesia, while the tsunami affected countries all around the Indian Ocean. Nations which were affected are listed below in alphabetical order. For detailed information about each country affected by the earthquake and tsunami, see their individual articles. Countries with a smaller number of casualties, as well as those that lost citizens who were travelling abroad, are listed further on in the article.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simeulue Regency</span> Regency in Sumatra, Indonesia

Simeulue Regency is a regency in the Aceh special region of Indonesia. It occupies the whole island of Simeulue, 150 km off the west coast of Sumatra, which with its many small offshore islands covers a land area of 1,838.1 square kilometres. It had a population of 80,674 at the 2010 census and 92,865 at the 2020 census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 97,118.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Effect of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake on Indonesia</span>

Indonesia was the first country to be seriously affected by the earthquake and tsunami created by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake on 26 December 2004, swamping the northern and western coastal areas of Sumatra, and the smaller outlying islands off Sumatra. Nearly all the casualties and damage took place within the province of Aceh. The time of arrival of the tsunami was between 15 and 30 minutes after the deadly earthquake. According to the country's National Disaster Relief Coordination Agency, around 130,000 people were dead and 37,063 were missing. In addition, the UN estimated that 655,000 people were homeless and sheltering in scattered refugee camps across the province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Effect of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake on Sri Lanka</span>

Sri Lanka was one of the countries struck by the tsunami resulting from the Indian Ocean earthquake on December 26, 2004. On January 3, 2005, Sri Lankan authorities reported 30,000+ confirmed deaths.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Garron</span> United Kingdom relief operation after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami

Operation Garron is the codename that the United Kingdom assigned to its military relief operation in the aftermath of the devastating tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2005 Nias–Simeulue earthquake</span> 2005 earthquake in Sumatra, Indonesia

The 2005 Nias–Simeulue earthquake occurred on 28 March off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia in the subduction zone of the Sunda megathrust. At least 915 people were killed, mostly on the island of Nias. It was the third most powerful earthquake since 1965 in Indonesia with a magnitude of 8.6 that caused a relatively small tsunami. Damage ranged from hundreds of buildings being destroyed in Nias to widespread power outages throughout the island of Sumatra. Following the mainshock, eight major aftershocks occurred ranging from 5.5 to 6.0 magnitudes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baiturrahman Grand Mosque</span> Mosque in Banda Aceh, Aceh, Indonesia

Baiturrahman Grand Mosque is a mosque located in Banda Aceh, Aceh, Indonesia. The Baiturrahman Grand Mosque is a symbol of religion, culture, spirit, strength, struggle, and nationalism of the Acehnese people. The mosque is a landmark in Banda Aceh and has survived the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.

Robert James "Bob" McKerrow, a native of New Zealand, is a humanitarian, mountaineer, polar traveller, writer and poet. He currently works as Country Coordinator for the Swiss Red Cross in the Philippines working on the Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) operation. When the Indian Ocean tsunami struck on 26 December 2004, McKerrow worked in India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia, coordinating Red Cross programmes for people affected by the tsunami for an eight-year period.

Lhoknga is a town within the district of the same name, in Aceh Besar Regency, Aceh Special Region, Indonesia, located on the western side of the island of Sumatra, 13 km southwest of Banda Aceh. It was completely flattened and destroyed by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, where its population dwindled from 7,500 to 400. Tsunami runups following eyewitness accounts of waves were recorded being 35 m in height, Such high and fast waves arising from the epicentre by megathrusts were later found to be due to splay faults, secondary faults arising due to cracking of the sea floor to jut upwards in seconds, causing waves' speed and height to increase.

The 2012 Indian Ocean earthquakes were magnitude 8.6 and 8.2 Mw  undersea earthquakes that struck near the Indonesian province of Aceh on 11 April at 15:38 local time. Initially, authorities feared that the initial earthquake would cause a tsunami and warnings were issued across the Indian Ocean; however, these warnings were subsequently cancelled. These were unusually strong intraplate earthquakes and the largest strike-slip earthquake ever recorded.

On 2 July 2013, an earthquake struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra on 2 July with a moment magnitude of 6.1 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VI (Strong). The strike-slip earthquake killed at least 43 people and injured more than 2,500 others in the province of Aceh where approximately 4,300 homes were damaged or destroyed.

Mercy Relief is a Non-Governmental humanitarian organization based in Singapore. It was established in 2001 by Perdaus, a Malay-Muslim organization and became the first Muslim organisation in Singapore with a disaster humanitarian relief wing. The organization was officially launched on 12 May 2001 by Mr Abdullah Tarmugi, Minister For Community Development and Sports and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Aceh earthquake</span> Earthquake in Sumatra, Indonesia

The 2016 Aceh earthquake struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra with a Mw of 6.5 in Aceh province on 7 December 2016, at 05:03 WIB. The shock was reported to be at a depth of 13 km, categorized as a strong, shallow earthquake. The epicentre was located near the village of Reuleut in Pidie Jaya Regency, 164 km (102 mi) southeast of the province's capital, Banda Aceh. 104 people died in the quake, with at least 1,000 people injured. It was the deadliest earthquake in Aceh since the 2005 Nias–Simeulue earthquake and the deadliest in Sumatra since the 2010 Mentawai earthquake and tsunami.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baiturrahim Mosque</span> Mosque in Aceh, Indonesia

Baiturrahim Mosque is a mosque located in the Meuraksa sub-district of Ulee Lheue, Banda Aceh, Aceh, Indonesia. As a legacy of the sultan of Aceh in the 17th century, it is one of the historical mosques in Indonesia. Previously, the mosque was named Jami Ulee Lheu Mosque. In 1873, when the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque was burned by the Dutch, all the worshipers held a Friday prayer at Ulee Lheue. Since then, the name of the mosque has been Baiturrahim Mosque.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2004 Alor earthquake</span> Earthquake in Indonesia

The 2004 Alor earthquake occurred on the island of Alor at 21:26:41 UTC on 11 November. Alor is an island located in Indonesia, the largest island of the Alor Archipelago with almost 16,800 residents. The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.5, on the moment magnitude scale, and an epicenter on Alor at a depth of 10 km (6.2 mi). It was recorded on 301 stations. The epicenter of the earthquake was located 1,600 km (990 mi) east of the capital of Jakarta. Hundreds of homes and much infrastructure was damaged with 23 deaths and thousands of casualties.

Building Back Better, or more frequently termed Build Back Better (BBB), is a strategy aimed at reducing the risk to the people of nations and communities in the wake of future disasters and shocks. It is a conceptual strategy that has continued to evolve since its origination in May 2005. However, what continues is the overall goal of enabling countries and communities to be stronger and more resilient following a disaster by reducing vulnerability to future disasters. Building resilience entails addressing physical, social, environmental, and economic vulnerabilities and shocks.

References

  1. ↑ American Library Association. (2005). South Asian libraries hit hard by tsunami. American Libraries. Archived 2005-09-19 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved October 28, 2006
  2. ↑ "Asian Development Bank, United Nations and World Bank. (2005, March 8). India post tsunami recovery program: Preliminary Damage and Needs Assessment.". Archived from the original on 2015-01-06. Retrieved 2015-01-06.
  3. ↑ UNICEF. Children eager to return to schools in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Retrieved December 5, 2007, from http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index_25059.html (Archived June 7, 2011, at the Wayback Machine )
  4. ↑ UN Office of the Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery. Human toll. Retrieved October 28, 2006, from http://www.tsunamispecialenvoy.org/country/humantoll.asp (Archived July 3, 2007, at the Wayback Machine )
  5. ↑ International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA). (2005, March 29) Retrieved October 18, 2006
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 ALA | Tsunami-Report from Indonesia ( Archived June 5, 2011, at the Wayback Machine )
  7. ↑ McKenzie, Amelia. Books for Aceh project. Gateways. Retrieved December 5, 2007, from "Books for Aceh Project – GATEWAYS – National Library of Australia". Archived from the original on March 14, 2012. Retrieved 2011-12-26. ()
  8. 1 2 Baba, Zawiyah, Hasbullah Atan, Rohani Rustam, and Abdul Hamid Abdul Rahman. (2005). Report of Librarians' Association of Malaysia (PPM) Iqra' Mission to Aceh, North Sumatra, Indonesia, 2–5 August 2005. Alexandria,17(3):167–175.
  9. 1 2 Utomo, Djoko. Recovering from the tsunami: The consequences for record keeping. [ dead link ]
  10. ↑ Sakamoto, Isamu. (2005). Disaster from great earthquake off Sumatra and subsequent tsunamis including damage to cultural heritage. International Preservation News, 36:16–19.
  11. ↑ UN Office of the Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery. Indonesia. Retrieved October 28, 2006, from http://www.tsunamispecialenvoy.org/country/indonesia.asp (Archived March 14, 2007, at the Wayback Machine )
  12. ↑ Sakamoto, Isamu. (2005, December 2005). One step forward-relief work for damaged documents at Aceh, Indonesia. Retrieved October 28, 2006, from "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on February 20, 2012. Retrieved 2011-12-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) ()
  13. ↑ Libraries in Jeopardy from the Aceh Tsunami ( Archived February 5, 2012, at the Wayback Machine )
  14. ↑ Whelan, Debra Lau. (2005). Libraries in tsunami's path need aid. School Library Journal. Available from "Library Journal". Archived from the original on February 4, 2012. Retrieved 2011-12-26. ()
  15. 1 2 UNESCO | Education – The Maldives was the only country where the effects of the tsunami were felt across the entire country rather than in certain parts or regions/atolls. 82 people are reported dead and 26 are missing ( Archived March 24, 2012, at the Wayback Machine )
  16. ↑ "Destruction of Maldives Libraries". ALA. 2004-12-26. Retrieved 2012-12-24.
  17. ↑ Asian Disaster Preparedness Center. The economic impact of the 26 December 2004 earthquake & Indian Ocean tsunami in Thailand. Retrieved October 18, 2006, from "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 29, 2011. Retrieved 2011-12-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) ()
  18. ↑ UN Office of the Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery. Sri Lanka. Retrieved October 28, 2006, from http://www.tsunamispecialenvoy.org/country/srilanka.asp
  19. 1 2 3 "Amarasiri, Upali. (2005). "Tsunami affected libraries in Sri Lanka: Rebuilding process and challenges."" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-12-24.
  20. ↑ Premila Gamage and Maria Cotera. (2005). Rising from the rubble: The Sri Lanka Library Association rehabilitation project. Impact:50-52.
  21. ↑ Amarasiri, Upali. (2005). Rising from the wreckage: Development of tsunami-affected libraries in Sri Lanka. IFLA News, 31(4):307–314.
  22. ↑ Premila Gemage and Maria Cotera. (2005). Rising from the rubble: The Sri Lanka Library Association rehabilitation project. Impact:50-52.
  23. ↑ International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA). (2005, January 27). Libraries completely missing: Tsunami and Sri Lanka's East Coast. Retrieved October 18, 2006, from "Tsunami and Sri Lanka's East Coast". Archived from the original on February 5, 2017. Retrieved 2006-11-02. ()
  24. ↑ Gamage, Premila. (2005). Tsunami devastates Sri Lankan libraries. International Leads, 19(1):1–2.
  25. ↑ Ashling, Jim. (2005). Support for libraries in tsunami aftermath. International Report:24-25.
  26. ↑ Sri Lanka Library Association – Annual Report 2005-2006 (Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine )
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.