D-TRAC was originally created by volunteers, assisting with the coordination and distribution of aid. The Disaster Tracking Recovery Assistance Center was established in September 2005 after the Boxing Day Tsunami devastated the Andaman Coastline in Southern Thailand. D-TRAC grew and at its peak was staffed with 25 national and international aid workers working on a variety of research projects in all 6 Tsunami-affected provinces. The projects involved working with orphans, providing trainings, conducting water and sanitation needs assessments and compiling an inventory of tsunami warning systems.

D-TRAC’s work

The IDRL program addressed how legal frameworks at the international, regional and national levels, could best address the operational challenges in international disaster relief operations carried out by States, international organizations, NGOs, military forces and private companies. The research for the paper "Legal issues from the international response to the tsunami in Thailand" was completed by D-TRAC in July 2006 and released.

D-TRAC was awarded a grant under the US IOTWS Small Grants Program to carry out research into tsunami warning system implementation and understanding in the six tsunami-affected provinces of Thailand. The aim of D-TRAC’s contribution to the program was to identify gaps in The Last Mile of Thailand’s tsunami warning system through extensive surveys of sub-districts affected by the December 26th, 2004 tsunami. D-TRAC produced provincial reports.

D-TRAC GIS Mapping services:

GIS mapping can be used to map the locations of aid, complete damage assessments and establish population density, enabling aid organizations to improve the coordination and distribution of aid. D-TRAC created GIS maps to sight the exact location of tsunami warning towers to measure their reach and assist in the USAID IOTWS ‘Last mile communications inventory’ project.

D-TRAC conducted a three month, five province wide water and sanitation needs assessment commissioned by the American Red Cross. In this assessment, D-TRAC’s Research Team visited government offices, NGOs and communities throughout 19 tsunami-affected districts in Ranong, Phuket, Krabi, Trang and Satun Provinces to identify villages, schools and health centers that were in need of water and sanitation assistance.

Water and Sanitation Needs Assessment documents by province

Working with the Thai Social Department of Human Securities (SDHS), UNICEF, and other local partners, ChildTRAC (then known as C-TRAC) , the child rights and protection department of D-TRAC, traced located and screened each child orphaned by the December 2004 tsunami and visited almost each child and/or caregiver in person to determine the circumstances surrounding their placement and well-being.