Location of Relief: Batticaloa
Crisis: Earthquake
Date of Relief: February to Apr 2005
Nature of Relief: Food Distribution, Children’s program and Post Traumatic Stress Counseling.
Team member: Michael Teh, Daniel Wee, John, Suan, Steve Loh, Dr Tjan Soon Yin

Background
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake magnitude of 9.1 & 9.3 was an undersea mega thrust earthquake that occurred on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicenter off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake resulted in a tsunami along the coasts of most landmasses bordering the Indian Ocean, killing over 230,000 people in fourteen countries, and inundating coastal communities with waves up to 30 meters (100 feet) high. It was one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history.  Indonesia was the hardest hit, followed by Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.

ACROSS partnered CRS to provide aid to the survivors in Sri Lanka (Batticaloa and Galle).  Food was distributed weekly in Batticaloa and children’s programs (songs, games, coloring, balloon sculpturing, etc) were offered in Galle to help the children recover from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.