Mearch Maps
IDP migration
| tsunami shelters
| tsunami housing
| disaster preparedness
| flood awareness
| education
| health
| water and sanitation
| water quality
| city maps
| who-what-where
| individual mapping requests
| map archive
DOWNLOAD maps directly:
idp
; shelter
; housing
; disaster
; flood
; schools
; hospitals
; town maps
; www
; watsan
DOWNLOAD maps directly:
idp ; shelter ; housing ; disaster ; flood ; schools ; hospitals ; town maps ; www ; watsan
Conflict IDPs
Increasing violence in Sri Lanka has forced thousands of people to leave their houses. People tend to move
just several kilometers, but others move to family all over Sri Lanka. Initially, we mapped internally displaced
people (IDP) migration patterns by collecting data in the field. When this became impossible, we started using
figures retrieved from "Kachcheri" (municipality) and divisional secretariats. Monday's figures are collected
at nine, and mapped out before ten, when the IDP coordination task force starts. See maps.
Tsunami shelter
Mapping the construction of temporary shelters for tsunami victims, is one our earliest mapping projects. In the beginning, Batticaloa District was far behind in the progress of putting up shelters, compared to other districts. Every two weeks Mearch published the latest figures on detailed maps of the coastal areas. This way it was possible to point out the most delayed sites. We still map the shelter sites every twelve weeks, for care and maintenance, coordination of water and sanitation, flood preparedness, and awareness that there are still people living in shelters. See maps.
Tsunami housing
In our first overview maps of the construction of houses for tsunami victims, you would find that only three houses were
completed. The most recent maps show integrated figures of government relocation sites, construction on private land, both donor driven
or financed by money that is received through the government of Sri Lanka, the so called "installments". The table shows the
different installments already paid. First installment for the foundation, second for the walls, third for the roof, fourth for
finalising. In reality it is not that simple, as material prices have increased enourmeously by increased demand. See maps.
Disaster Preparedness
In case of a disaster, both natural (hurricane, tsunami, earthquake) or man made (civil war), it is expected that people will seek
refugee in certain areas, and certain buildings. After the tsunami most people fled to schools, mosques and churches. Mearch has
re-visited most of these sites and assessed most critical facilities such as drinking water, capacity and accessibility of the sites.
The maps will be updated to have vital information ready "in case of". See maps.
Flood Awareness
After a succesful flood awareness campaign in 2005, updated flooding information is published weeks before the monsoon is expected to start. The maps provide an overview of focal points for the different divisions of the district. Additional information is given such as the weakest locations in infrastructure, and critical flood prone areas. This year, using satellite pictures, the lowest areas have been pointed, all to help organisations to assess whether they can expect flooding in the area they work in. Additional presentation are published to make actors aware of flooding, to understand the geographical circumstances that make the flooding of the East Coast so much different from rainfall on the West Coast of Sri Lanka. A case study is published showing how communities organise their own flood preparedness measures. Our advice, be aware of local systems to cope with flooding. Focus on the weakest groups, such as people living in shelter sites, or IDP tent camps. See maps.
Education
Sri Lanka has a dense network of schools. Many of the NGOs are focussing at the school children and school system. At a certain moment we had
visited most of the schools for our disaster preparedness mapping. Together with information from the major school-oriented NGOs the
publication of a detailed school overview for Batticaloa District was made. The school maps have found their way through government departments,
and a wide range of iNGOs, NGOs. See maps.
Health
A dense network of hospitals, ministry of health offices, and dispensaries is mapped out by Mearch to help organisations to localize
the nearest place where vulnerable beneficiaries can be treated in case of an emergency. Some of this information is used in other
maps as well, as information can be critical in case of an emergency. See maps.
City maps
Having over fifty different NGOs working in Batticaloa, a town map providing an overview of who was working (or living) where
could help people in localising where to go. Additionally, for security purpose, knowing where people live or work can be vital information
in case of a sudden evacuation. A second town map is published: Valaichchenai, the second largest residential area of the district.
Maps are updated frequently. See maps.
Who, what, where
One of the most complex mapping projects of Mearch is the "who-what-where" in remote areas of Batticaloa. Complex because there is a huge amount of information, to be collected from a range of sources, such as divisional secretariats, large NGOs, municipality, and field visits. Since August, field visits are almost impossible to make, as violence prohibits us to go and visits most sites, it also delayed a lot of the programmes we are actually mapping, making it the new map of "who-is still doing-what-where" an even bigger challenge. Our overview maps will be linked to existing information about the poverty level of the different areas to help indicating the necessity of developmental aid. See maps.
Water and Sanitation (watsan)
Information about water and sanitation (watsan) facilities can be essential to assess vulnerability of shelter sites, or IDP tent camps. In 2005 Mearch has mapped out the watsan of shelter sites along the coast. Later, watsan information was an essential element in the disaster preparedness mapping project. See maps.
Water Quality
In collaboration with the Italian Red Cross a estimated 250 wells along the coast have been tested for electro conductivity / salinity. The maps show that salinity levels in tsunami affected areas are still relatively high. Other areas seem to have recovered and it is to be expected that the monsoon season will flush out more of the salt, bringing the well water closer to its original status. Some areas had saline water before the tsunami, as people tend to live just metres away from the coast line. See maps.
Individual Requests
It is possible for your organisation to hand in an individual mapping request. Mearch has mapped programme overviews, evacuation and
security information to help organisations in their planning, reporting and visibility. Feel free to send your request by email, or visit our
office in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka. Furthermore, Mearch is a helpdesk for questions related to data-collection, setting up questionnaires,
or assist with knowledge of geographical information systems (GIS) whenever possible. See maps.
Map Archive
Most of our maps are frequently being updated. We believe that providing updated information is a crucial ingredient of coordinative
support of relief and development programmes. In most cases the out-dated maps will still be downloadable through our webpage, enabling
you to see back a historical situation, or assess the speed in which relief and development is provided, or to discover certain patterns
that might provide you that tiny bit of extra insight in the complex processes behind relief, rehabilitation and development. See maps.
[Disclaimer] The geographical information presented here is the result of a collaborative effort of Mearch Development Information (MEARCH) and ZOA Refugee Care (ZOA). We have made efforts to visit each of the sites shown on these maps to ensure accuracy, however, we cannot guarantee that the information is 100% accurate.
