Putting back the pieces five years after tsunami

Nearly five years after the Indian Ocean tsunami killed more than 230,000 people and destroyed entire communities, hundreds of thousands of families have been rehoused, life has returned to normal and communities are more prepared for future disasters. The enormous scale and scope of the operation has meant that thousands now live in stronger homes supported by a more sustainable economic and social foundation. The more than 9.0 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami, which hit 12 countries from Southeast Asia to East Africa in December 2004, caused more than $8 billion in damages and affected nearly 5 million people. Flying over the Indonesian island, Banda Aceh in January 2005, former US Secretary of State Colin Powell said the city looked like it had "just been hit by a nuclear weapon. Completely flattened."

The disaster led to the largest relief and recovery operation undertaken by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in living memory. More than £2billion was raised, 70 per cent of which came from the general public. And today, five years later, almost 5 million people affected have been helped. Involving people at the community-level has been at the heart of recovery efforts in tsunami-affected countries. Men, women and children in more than 580 communities and schools have been trained to know what to do if another disaster happens. Local volunteer disaster teams have mapped the hazards their communities face, have been trained in emergency first aid and have carried out mock disaster response drills.

Salawati is among those who have put their lives back together. Days after the tsunami, she and her family were living in tents pitched on the rubble of their Banda Aceh homes. Two of her three children died in the tsunami. Her surviving son had recurring nightmares that another giant wave would come and wipe out the family.  The United Nations rebuilt their homes and Salawati was sent to Jakarta for food industry training. Now she makes a shredded fish product that Indonesians mix with their rice. "I have a big dream of exporting throughout Indonesia, even abroad," she told Reuters news agency. But even though the islands have been rebuilt, for some, the emotional wreckage remains.  The tsunami killed a disproportionate number of women, few of whom could swim."No job. No women, no cry," said Andi Rahman, 30. "You know that Bob Marley song? The aid groups helped build houses, and the government has given job training, but no one is bringing in women to aid us," he added, with a smile.

By Hayley Jarvis for SOS Children