On the morning of December 26, 2004, an earthquake registering 9.0 on the Richter scale struck off the western coast of north Sumatra, triggering massive waves that devastated coastal regions throughout the Indian Ocean rim. Official figures put the number of dead, missing, and displaced in the Indian Ocean region at more than 175,000, nearly 50,000, and more than 1.7 million, respectively.1 Indonesia's Aceh Province was the most affected region because of both its proximity to the earthquake epicenter and its large coastal population, with widespread destruction extending along more than 1000 km of coastline. Indonesia suffered the greatest mortality with government estimates totaling 129,775 deaths, 38,786 missing, and 504,518 tsunami-displaced individuals in Aceh Province approximately 1 year after the tsunami.2

The cover photo, taken 2 months after the tsunami, shows a severely affected residential neighborhood in Banda Aceh. The level of devastation and loss was incomprehensible, and the response by both the local and international communities was unprecedented. Donations poured in from around the world and the availability of these private unrestricted funds enabled nongovermental organizations to rapidly establish innovative humanitarian assistance programs such as the cash grants program. As part of the response, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health undertook surveys of the population displaced by the tsunami, and our team estimated a 23% mortality rate in Banda Aceh.Reference Doocy, Abdur and Moodie3 The School of Public Health worked with the nongovernmental organization Mercy Corps to evaluate and document outcomes of humanitarian assistance programs.

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