Children in the Aftermath of the Tsunami: Evidence from Indonesia

Elizabeth Frankenberg, Duke University
Ava Cas, Duke University

Humanitarian crises, whether natural or manmade, have potentially devastating impacts for children. The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was one of the most destructive disasters in human history. In this paper we investigate the consequences of the tsunami for children in two provinces in Indonesia: Aceh, which bore the brunt of the damage, and neighboring North Sumatra, which suffered far less. We consider the loss of parents and children’s subsequent living arrangements, as well as education and health outcomes for children in both the heavy damage zone and the less damaged areas as a function of characteristics of the children, their parents and their communities. We analyze a unique data set collected as part of the Study of the Tsunami Aftermath and Recovery, a multiwave longitudinal study that draws on a subset of respondents to the 2004 National Socioeconomic Survey.