The tsunami operation is among the largest logistic manoeuvres in the history of IFRC in terms of territorial coverage, number of staff and volunteers involved, budget, number of programme activities, and the number of National Societies working directly in the affected areas in support of the host National Society, in this case Indonesian Red Cross (PMI).

No single National Red Cross or Red Crescent Society was able to deal with the scale of the tsunami operation on its own. The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement had never been faced with anything like it and did not really have the mechanisms to deal with a disaster of this magnitude at the time. Fortunately, this was recognized by all parties from the outset and this enabled the Red Cross Red Crescent to set up coordination structures that have worked better than anyone could have hoped for.

More information: http://www.ifrc.org/aceh

Find the tsunami operation in Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/rcrcto-in-facebook