THe 2002-2003 El Nino is underway with effects already seen in Indonesia, Ecuador and Peru, and possibly in the failure of the Indian Monsoon. Societal impacts are being compiled from publicly available sources (media reports and international agency documents) and regional contacts for areas with climate anomalies that are typically associated with El Nino events. This talk will present a synthesis of such reports for two regions, Southern Africa and the Maritime continent, both for which dry conditions are likely. We will discuss the forecasts, perception of forecasts, the importance of preceding conditions (both climate and societal), and societal responses (actions taken and not taken) in important sectors of these societies. Comparisons will be drawn where appropriate, and deficiencies in the information sources will be highlighted. This work is a first step in understanding and defining the important elements of a climate impacts database which would be used for long term historical analysis.