Tsunami Disaster Relief - More photographs

[OHALLY]

Low timer available on days off for whatever needs to be done...... 2 weeks at a time ..... not sure if only beeing available for 2 weeks is worthy as i am in Canada but if so i'm game .....

And i second S76HEAVY's comment about beeing available to do whatever i can to help from Canada

[goaround7]

just FYI

Just an update in case of relevance to anyone:

Naturelink's IL 76 leaving between 0000 and 0200 UTC, 040105, out of Jo'burg International for the area.

Was going direct Indonesia (via Diego Garcia) then to Aceh but now may make stop in Sri Lanka to drop heli (Squirrel/s) there. Still bringing on sling equipped 407s for Aceh.

Expect to be there 90-180 days.

[Phoenix Rising]

Thanks again to everyone who is responding. On behalf of Rahmat and Malaysian Helicopter Services a very sincere thank you.

For those that have asked there are two types of helos which MHS have in Indonesia and Thailand. There are currently AS355F2s x 2 in Phuket and the S-61N is heading for Aceh on Tuesday morning.

So if you have time on type of either of these please send a PM to Gabra1 here on Pprune or to the contact email address mentioned before which is:

[email protected]

His cellphone is [phone]

Feel free to text message him if you wish.

Regards

Ned

[kopter]

I have a good friend that is on assignment and working in Phuket, Thailand for News Ltd... (mainly the Telegraph in Australia). He's not a freelance.

I've told him about the Civvy helicopters that are on there way and he's keen to do a story... If those involved can PM me or post details here, I'll pass his details on for you to hook up...

If you feel that it's appropriate for us to "place tickets on ourselves", I'm know our industry will get some very positive exposure from his coverage.

[Mr Toad]

Gabra1
---------

I've emailed and I've sms'ed to no avail; I'm in Malaysia, 7,000 hrs S61 (but not current) and I really want to help.

[Phoenix Rising]

Mr Toad,

I know Rahmat and the guys at MHS have been head down, backside up over the past week and his PM box here keeps getting filled up pretty quickly and he tries his best to download it each day. I know he is going in there soon. Best thing to do is drop him an email at:

[email protected]

List your experience, licence details etc. Since you are there in Malaysia that should make it easier I would say.

Ned

[Brian Dixon]

I regret that I'm not qualified to offer any help, as per this topic.

I just wanted to say how humbling it was reading this thread and to congratulate those of you who are unselfishly offering to do what you can.

Kinda restores the faith.

Stay safe, and thank you.

[Gabra1]

SITREP

The S61N is due to depart Kerteh base for Kuala Lumpur at 0900 tomorrow enroute to Medan and Banda Aceh. They are going armed with tents, sleeping bags, insect repellant, anti-whatever medication, lots of mineral water and instant noodles. Not sure what to expect out there.

Meanwhile, we are going through the list of volunteers. First choice would be those already typed rated and geographically closer to South East Asia. I hope we can get the licence validations and base checks done within the next 2 weeks, in time to replace the first batch of pilots.

Thanks again to all you wonderful people out there. I shall keep you posted and will try to upload some photos the first chance I get.

RH

[mickjoebill]

Gabra 1

A list of info I have collated in respect of Sumatra which may be of interest. EAOA!

Aussies know the area and have a valuable Aeronautical info service for relief work in Sumatra, pass word protected.
http://www.raafais.gov.au/

Medan not physically affected by quake or flood.
US warships stationed off Banda Aceh coast
Aussie ships arrive in a few days with a field hospital and Chinooks.

Banda Aceh was locked down by military to squash insurgents. 500 troops were in BA when wave hit.
No relief was allowed in until 29th as the province was/is under martial law.

Aid is stockpiled at BA airport. But severe lack of means of transporting it to the countryside.

Can't find any info regarding availability of fuel at BA.

Road Journey from Medan to BA normally 12 hours.

Airport elevation was listed by RAAF En Route Suppliment regional in Oct 04 as 65 feet. Apparently there are signs that it is now lower.

As Medan is stretched to the limit there are unconfirmed reports for a military base in Kuala Lumpar is to be used as a hub.

If things get hairy, Phuket is 200 miles away and apart from coastline, is functioning with electricty water ect and hotels looking for business.

The big story is Sumatra. But with few westerners missing in the area it is just not getting the attention of Sri Lanka and Thailand. This quote from Indonesian Vice-President Jusuf Kalla

"Today our estimation is around 30,000-40,000 dead. Aceh's population is about 4.5 million with 300,000 in Banda Aceh," Mr Kalla told diplomats at a meeting.
"Maybe 5 per cent of Banda Aceh's population is dead, or maybe more," he said. (ABC NEWS)

To anyone who has seen the pictures from Banda Aceh a 5% death toll would be a miracle.

best of everything to you

Mickjoebill

Planning maps from UNJLC here
http://www.unjlc.org/content/index.phtml/itemId/5478

Here is an extract from bulletin 1 by UNJLC Air Coordination Cell posted Dec 31st.
http://www.unjlc.org/content/index.phtml/itemId/28424

"Indonesia
For Indonesia, Medan (WIMM) will be the point of entry for relief flights once this is confirmed by the authorities.


On Banda Aceh airport: The runway is in acceptable condition for C 130/AN 12-type of aircraft. The airport is extremely congested: there may be a need to hold for a considerable time or to land elsewhere and refuel.


Planned UN flights were cancelled because of the heavy traffic. Offloading is done manually as there is only one functioning forklift truck. IHP may want to consider bringing own offloading equipment. The Indonesian military and GARUDA also had problems getting flights in. It is not clear what the reason for the congestion is. There seem to be problems in communication.


These issues will be resolved next week, since a strategic pipeline will be brought in by donors. The greater part of the goods will go to Medan (WIMM). This could cause new congestion since there is no reliable onwards transport (ground or air).


Airport coordination is needed locally in WIMM, Jakarta (WIII) and Banda Aceh (WITT).


Priority needs for immediate distribution: instant food and baby food, body bags, water purification equipment, generator sets, medicines, mobile medical clinics, blankets, shrouding cloth, tents, mosquito nets, water buckets, clothes, mattresses, emergency lights, kitchen sets, gloves and masks.


Procedure for delivering humanitarian aid (extract of briefing to diplomatic corps regarding natural disaster in Aceh and North Sumatra dated 29.12.04:


Flight clearance is to be issued by Department of Foreign Affairs in coordination with TNI Head quarters and Department of Transportation.


Flights may be authorised to proceed directlyto WIMM (Medan) or_ WITT (Banda Aceh,). Refuelling could only be made at WIMM because relevant ground handling facilities at WITT are minimal. WITT is capable of handling Hercules, Airbus A300, Boeing 737 and Antonov. Visa will be issued upon arrival in Banda Aceh or Medan. Coordination is necessary with officers from Emergency Centres or liaison officers from the department of ForeignAffairs stationed at the airport."


*********

[RDRickster]

Pheonix,

Can you have PPRuNe or your outfit setup a site for donation that will go DIRECTLY to what you are doing? Helicopters are the only way things are getting done there and it will be a long time before any other infrastructure is up for the task. For those that can't provide manpower, a few bucks from the rest of us will go a long way.

R2

[goaround7]

Powell is an idiot IMHO

Thanks for your support guys but bad news on the Naturelink mission as US Secretary of State decided in his infinite wisdom that because of the scale of the disaster in Indonesia only the US military can handle it and all US civvies will get no funding.

Aside from the fact that they told us 15 minutes after the 8.5 hour loading process had been completed, this monumentally stupid decision is compounded by an apparent attitude from the Indonesian government that as Summatra are a bunch of rebels they don't deserve any help.

We are standing by 48 hours in the hope that sanity prevails as the US military are perhaps the worst tool to apply here and the colossal arrogance to force out experts at the job must be undermined.

In the mean time we are going to raise our own funds - need US$1m in 48 hours - and go anyway. It's a tall order but why not ?

[sycamore]

REFUELLING

The military , US/UK have big rubber` donuts` for fuel farms.Can be rolled on/off Hercs easily. Also possible to refuel directly off a Herc. refuelling panel, if theyve got the kit, otherwise , stick a hose over the fuel jettison outlet pipe(wingtip), and do it by gravity!!!!
Large helos should be used to take stores to large clear areas, then use smaller types to `feed` the more remote sites.
G7; if they don`t want you there, then try and go somewhere else......You should know what politicians are like....just woken up and want all the `kudos`....All the best to all in the endeavour. Syc........

[specialobserver]

Gentlemen

I have just returned from south east asia and would like to add some comments. Dont worry about any diseases in that part of Thailand (current circumstances accepted). Dengue fever is one to watch but so are all the other ones. take your chances and keep up the good work. god bless all of you.

ps. if you get a chance taffy: check out the Black Sheep Pub and tell me if the landlord(Kiwi) is OK. I used to drink in there.

All the very very best and good luck.

Si

[moosp]

I wonder if other Rotorheads share my frustration at seeing this disaster unfold from the point of view of a helicopter pilot and operator.

Within the first hour of the wave, as reports started coming in, I guess most helicopter pilots thought, "they need helicopters there, for rescue and re-supply." When the estimated death toll had reached 4,500 by about midday 26/12 (UTC+7) reports were coming in of villages and towns damaged. Most helicopter pilots probably thought, "they are going to need helicopters there, fast."

Now nine days later the helicopters are finding new villages and small towns that have had no outside help since the wave struck. Where were they in the first 24 to 48 hours?

Well one place was, grounded by the Indonesian military as Aceh is to them the Iraq of Sumatra. A no-go zone for foreigners, even rescue squads. Another place was sitting on the tarmac at Phuket waiting for tasking. Phuket did not have a large need for helicopters as a decent road structure still existed. India still runs the Andamans as a penal colony so prohibits entry. Burma still does not admit that it lost more that a couple of hundred fisherman and a postman. (When you look at a map you can see that they are woefully wrong...) Sri Lanka is not the easiest of places to get to in a hurry in a machine with a range of 400nm.

So for a variety of reasons the countries that needed the unique rescue and support abilites of a helicopter just did not have them in the air, in any useful numbers.

Some years ago I mulled over and did preliminary costings on an idea along the lines of what took off from South Africa in the last few days. A suitably sized cargo aircraft with a few helicopters and support staff on board which could get anywhere on the planet in 24 hours. Call it International Rescue if you are that old and remember the TV program... It does not have to carry much in the way of rescue aid, as that is usually available within 100nm of a disaster area anyway and can be ferried in. Fuel for four days ops is carried in the aircraft (say 10,000kgs.) All you need is a strip to take the fixed wing and you are up and running.

I realise politics stops this today. Some git in the local aviation department says that the machines are not locally registered and then a low life from Excise says you have to pay import duty on them, but these are things that the UN is good at sorting from the top, as long as you give them a year to get the protocol in place.

The UN is too slow to react practically to international disasters. Military units are also too slow. They need political clearance to start, can take ages to get on station and then try to take over the show like the American Navy is doing in Aceh. But commercial helicopter people know that we can be doing good within the first hour if we happen to be there, or in 24 hours if we are allowed to get there. An organisation based on philanthropy plus 5% should be able to keep a quick reaction team on standby and yet still be financially viable.

I know a commercial IL76 and three 407's is not going to save 150,000 lives. But it will save some, give relief to thousands and also demonstrate to a skeptical public that helicopters are Good Things, and good to have around when you need them, like insurance. And if I had been a villager in Aceh I would have been very pleased to see 500kg of water and some cup noodle put down in the market place by a helicopter with "Siemens" or "Nokia" on the bottom. When I got back my livelihood, I would probably buy one...

I have noted some others on the thread in the last few days with similar frustrations. How is it for you? Is an international disaster relief team based on helicopters totally unrealistic, or is there the germ of an idea? (Not mine originally I can assure you.)

[916]

Moosp
Like most of the other guys, I'm sure, I share your frustration.
In fact I have been trying to come up with some kind of solution as to how a rapid helicopter response unit could be financed for quite some time.
As we are aware the cost of machines is one of the first major hurdles to overcome. But what if that big IL76 had a belly full of overhauled surplus Hueys in? They would have cost a quarter (or less) of a 407, have a greater load capacity, be simple and rugged to operate and maintain in the field, and be cheap on parts and service...(just a little thirsty!)
All we need now is someone to buy them...........come on guys, we all earn too much money, we'll just chip in and buy a couple off Uncle Sam, out of December's bonus...................................

[moosp]

I appreciate you idea about old Hueys, and with the places that these machines will need to go, looks are not required. This will not be a White Landcruiser operation, if you get my drift.

One problem of such old equipment is cost of ownership. It is often relatively easy to get capital to start up operations, but getting the running costs can be more difficult, as "donor fatigue" sets in. So it might be better to start off with a machine with low utilisation costs.

Today's Trib on page 7 has an article from the Boston Globe by Craig Cooper who is at Harvard in Public Health. He gets to the same point with, "When a deployment of just 40 navy helicopters requires 6 days, more than 9,000 sailors and $7 billion of military equipment, something, somewhere has gone wrong..."

There must be a better way.

[Brilliant Stuff]

MOOSEP

You hit the nail on the head.
After all that is the whole beauty of helicopter's they are like a swiss army knife just as cheap if you compare what you get for your money.

Whatever type of helicopter you get they all are capable of taking the essentials to the place of need.
You would have thought the UN could get some form of rapid reaction disaster relief force together which has some 20 Helciopter's on a short leash, which it can through in the back of some cargo plane and send it over.
And you can have a pool of pilot's which ar eable to leave at short notice and fly the things.

[goaround7]

...South Africans are coming

Thanks in part to the feedback from you guys regarding the importance of being able to distribute what is piling up on the docks and airports in the area, the SA government has stepped up to fund Naturelink's helicopters to come over.

A cooperative deal has been made with the guys from AirServ and the South African mission will be underway tonight.

[Phoenix Rising]

Here are some pics I shot today while out with MHS's AS355s. We went up north of Khao Lak to do a search for bodies and then picked up a forensic team who had been identifying bodies all day. On the way home stopped in and got some shots of whats left of the hotels along Khao Lak.

[broadreach]

Phoenix,

Thanks for those photos. They bring home in a much more practical way than dramatised news photos do what lies ahead in the way of reconstruction.

Those high and dry fishing boats are probably the last thing to worry about. If there are crews alive to man them they'll be patched up and back at work within a few weeks with zero outside help. Or, should I say, outside help will come in the form of cash to buy their catch for feeding the cashless and hungry survivors.