On December 26, 2004 a magnitude 9.1 undersea earthquake struck off the coast of the Indonesian triggering a tsunami devastating coastal areas in the region. The tsunami killed at least 225,000 people across a dozen countries, with Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Maldives, and Thailand sustaining massive damage. Early in 2005 EWB-USA received a large grant to help with the reconstruction efforts in these counties, however a condition of the grant was that the projects be managed by professional engineers. At that time EWB was strictly a student focused NGO. In response 5 professional chapters were founded including one in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Professional Chapter’s focus was on providing housing and clean water in 45 coastal village in the Prakasam District of Andhra Pradesh, India. Over the course of several years the Los Angeles Professional Chapter helped developed sustainable housing designs for the area and implement water supply and treatment projects, such as the water station construction shown in these pictures from a 2006 implementation trip.
Engineers Without Borders USA - Los Angeles Professional Chapter 