All Finns were evacuated by Sunday
Ten evacuation flights and one hospital flight were made in a week, transporting more than 2,600 Finns and citizens of neighbouring countries. Crisis operations now continue in Asia, Vanhanen stated. In Thailand the search for missing persons and identification of the dead will continue, and preparations are being made to repatriate the bodies of those who lost their lives, which may still take some time. Owing to the risk of epidemics, the prime minister appealed to Finns not to travel any longer to the area as private persons in search of missing loved ones.
During the press conference Prime Minister Vanhanen thanked all private citizens, authorities and representatives of organisations who had taken part in rescue operations and crisis work for their commendable efforts both in Asia and at home. Seamless cooperation between various bodies, among other things, enabled Finland to be one of the first countries to complete the evacuation of its citizens. Vanhanen also expressed his particular gratitude to the citizens and authorities of Thailand and Sri Lanka, whose actions saved the lives of Finns.
Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja reported that there are now 186 people on the missing persons’ list, and that the list is not likely to change. There is no longer any reason to hope for miracle rescues. According to crisis workers returning from Phuket, Thailand, there isn’t a single unconscious patient in the hospitals and clinics in the Phuket area whose name or citizenship isn’t known. Some of the victims will never be found, for the tsunami currents have carried the bodies far out to sea. The search and checking of information, however, will be continued by the Finnish Embassy and other Finnish bodies in Thailand.
The United Nations is launching the largest relief operation in Asia in its history, said Paula Lehtomäki, Minister of Foreign Trade and Development. Immediate humanitarian aid may be needed for months, while widespread reconstruction will take years, perhaps even a decade, Lehtomäki estimated. The European Union’s ministers for development cooperation will meet next week to consider the coordination of assistance, and international donor countries and organisations will meet next week in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Prime Minister Vanhanen said that evacuation assistance has been offered to Sweden and Norway, but that so far neither country has needed transport assistance. A flying hospital unique even on a global scale, which was constructed within a Finnair plane, has been placed at the disposal of European nations. Vanhanen said that answers are expected in the next few days.
According to Foreign Minister Tuomioja, in assessing crisis operations, attention should be paid to cooperation between different countries and its development, as well as to development of the use of the Internet. It should be possible to spread the right information at the right time via the Internet. Unfortunately, it is just as easy to spread inaccurate information, Tuomioja pointed out.
Difficulties in the flow of information
started already at the sites of catastrophe
In Finland and other Nordic countries, the authorities have been criticised for being slow to provide information. In the assessment of Kalle Löövi, Head of International Aid at the Finnish Red Cross, collapse of data communications links, e.g. in Thailand and Sri Lanka slowed down relief operations by about 24 hours compared against the ideal situation. Use of short text messages in place of telephone calls would be one way of relieving pressure on the network.
Foreign Minister Tuomioja emphasised that once information about the extent of the catastrophe had reached Finnish authorities, operations were begun without cause for reproach. I don’t think that any other country acted faster, Tuomioja said.
The initial overloading of the Foreign Ministry’s crisis centre telephone lines wasn’t caused by people’s shortcomings but by deficiencies in technical equipment, for which preparation under normal circumstances is difficult. Within a time span of less than a week, the Foreign Ministry received over 65,000 calls, whereas following the terrorist attacks of September 11, for instance, some 3,000 calls were received. The problems were resolved very soon at the start of the week, however, and everyone who called the Foreign Ministry got through, Hannu Himanen, Under-Secretary of State, explained.