Food , water and shelter are the first priorities for immediate disaster response. Clean water and medical treatment must be provided as soon as possible to avoid the spread of disease. These primary relief efforts are already well underway in the areas affected by the recent tsunami.
Landscape Architects and other design professionals can perhaps be most useful in the transition from rapid responses to long-term solutions. Funding is more easily available for emergency relief than for permanent rebuilding efforts. Resources can be maximized if early humanitarian responses are implemented with a vision of how communities will be reconstructed in the longer-term. Temporary provisions for food, water and shelter remain essential, but can be designed with the transition to permanence in mind.
See the American Institute of Architects’ description of the Three Stages of Disaster Relief – emergency, relief, and recovery -- and The Architect's Role in Disaster Response http://www.aia.org/liv_disaster_arch
Shelters