Tsunami: Magnitude of Terror

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TsunamiMagnitude of Terror

• Future Measures

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Contents

• Tsunami Warning System
• Government Policies
• Suggested Precautions

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Future Measures

• Tsunami Warning System

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Tsunami Warning System

• DefinitionA tsunami warning system is a system
  to detect tsunamis and issue warnings to prevent
  loss of life. It consists of two equally
  important components a network of sensors to
  detect tsunamis and a communications
  infrastructure to issue timely alarms to permit
  evacuation of coastal areas.
• Importance of Tsunami Warning System
• A tsunami warning system such as that in the
  Pacific Ocean can help save lives.
• When the earthquake struck off Sumatra, a
  monitoring system could have predicted the
  possibility of an ongoing tsunami caused by the
  quake by measuring underwater sea currents.
• Such a system can then inform the relevant
  governments in the area around the Indian Ocean,
  and they can then warn their people to evacuate
  costal.

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Tsunami Warning System

• Global Earth Observation System of Systems
• The GEOSS was proposed by the G-8 in 2003 with
  the US initiating the process in an effort to
  build a global observation system. Currently, the
  GEOSS consists of 54 participating contries.
• ON 14th January 2005, the United States (USA)
  National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration
  (NOAA), announced that it will expand the Global
  Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS),
  which is an effort by the international community
  to develop an integrated Earth Observation
  System.
• NOAA plans to deploy 32 high-tech Deep-ocean
  Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami (DART) buoys
  by middle of 2007. The expansion of the system
  will provide the US with the ability to predict
  tsunami arrival times and activate response
  within minutes along the US coasts.
• Hopefully, the system can help in reducing
  potential dangers and loss of lives in future.

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Proposed System in the Indian Ocean

• Headed by the United Nations, a tsunami warning
  system will by set up by the middle of 2006, as
  agreed upon during the governmental World
  Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe, Japan,
  on 20 January 2005.
• The 30 million dollars system is expected to take
  12 to 18 months to implement and costs even more
  to maintain.
• Most of the money is expected to come from donor
  countries as it is a joint effort by the
  international community.
• In actual fact, seismologists knew almost
  immediately about the earthquake off Indonesia
  which triggered the tsunami.
• However, there was no way of relaying the
  information to people in the region.
• Hence, a warning system will allow a more
  coordinated response to an earthquake (such as
  contact information) and this includes prediction
  of tsunami arrival times.

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Future Measures

• Government Policies

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ASEAN

• On January 6th 2005, an emergency ASEAN
  (Association of South-East Asian Nationa) tsunami
  summit was held in Jakarta, Indonesia.
• During the summit, there was a declaration by
  ASEAN members to unite together to strengthen
  relief efforts.
• As rescue efforts and relief coordination are
  especially crucial in the aftermath of the
  crisis.
• During the meeting, certain procedures were
  discussed to mitigate and reduce the extent of
  damage should such an incident occur again.
• They decided that the aid of the military and
  civilians could be enlisted as they would be
  invaluable.
• The military is disciplined and well-trained,
  whereas the local civilians could offer
  assistance and aid very quickly, given their
  proximity to the disaster.

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ASEAN

• Some of the proposals raised during the summit
  include the establishment of a Regional Tsunami
  Early Warning Center on the Indian Ocean and the
  Southeast Asia regional and raising the level of
  education and public awareness on tsunami in
  Asia, starting from schools, so that the public
  would remain calm during future incidents and
  lesser damage would be dealt as a whole.
• They also agreed on the sharing and transfer of
  technology and information in building and
  managing a tsunami warning system and damage
  control.
• An ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance Centre was also
  proposed and is part of the ASEAN Security
  Community Plan of Action.
• In addition, an ASEAN Disaster Information
  Sharing and Communication Network was also
  suggested to facilitate the transmission of
  information more quickly during times of
  emergency, which could save many lives.

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ASEAN

• On January 6th 2005, an emergency ASEAN
  (Association of South-East Asian Nationa) tsunami
  summit was held in Jakarta, Indonesia.
• During the summit, there was a declaration by
  ASEAN members to unite together to strengthen
  relief efforts. As rescue efforts and relief
  coordination are especially crucial in the
  aftermath of the crisis.
• The utilization of military and civilian
  personnel in disaster relief operation and an
  ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance Centre, as provided
  for in the ASEAN Security Community Plan of
  Action.

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ASEAN

• ASEAN Disaster Information Sharing and
  Communication Network, as provided for in the
  ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community component of the
  Vientiane Action Programme.
• A regional instrument on disaster management and
  emergency response.
• During the meeting, certain procedures were
  discussed to mitigate and reduce the extent of
  damage should such an incident occur again.
• They decided that the aid of the military and
  civilians could be enlisted as they would be
  invaluable.
• The military is disciplined and well-trained,
  whereas the local civilians could offer
  assistance and aid very quickly, given their
  proximity to the disaster.
• An ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance Centre was also
  proposed and is part of the ASEAN Security
  Community Plan of Action. In addition, an ASEAN
  Disaster Information Sharing and Communication
  Network was also suggested to facilitate the
  transmission of information more quickly during
  times of emergency, which could save many lives.

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European Union

• The European Union(EU) Commission has already
  agreed on donating 2 million to finance the first
  phase of the proposed Tsunami early warning
  system, which will service the Indian Ocean and
  improve the safety of the people living there. In
  addition, the EU Commission has also provided
  350,000 in preparation for the UN Conference
  mentioned above.
• It also expressed its eagerness in providing
  assistance in international efforts to develop
  tsunami warning systems.
• Its Commission services is also thinking of
  aiding in the setting up of an Indian Ocean
  Geo-physical hazards competence centre, which
  would co-ordinate the implementation of a tsunami
  early warning system in the area and deal with
  the transferring and sharing of technologies.

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United Nations

• The UN Conference on disaster reduction in Kobe
  (18 - 22 January 2005) set aside 2 sessions that
  touched on the Tsunami aftermath and came up with
  a blueprint for a Tsunami early warning system
  and discussed how the many nations involved in
  its building and operation should co-ordinate and
  cooperate effectively to reduce time and cost.
• The system is to be built for the Indian Ocean,
  which experiences earthquakes, though very much
  less frequently than other regions such as the
  Pacific.
• It called for assistance and aid from the more
  fortunate countries to help prevent such
  incidents and build a better tomorrow.

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European Union

• In addition, the European Union's Joint Research
  Centre or JRC is also trying to increase the
  capability of its earthquake detection system
  (Global Disaster Alert System) and expand it to
  cover tsunamis too.
• A tsunami crisis information service with maps
  and satellite images has also been proposed to
  support and provide first hand information to
  organisations and groups so that better aid can
  be proffered during times of emergency.
• The JRC has also looked into the relevance and
  need for the EU to be developing more efficient
  procedures to utilize space technologies and
  expertise for crisis management and early warning
  systems.

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References
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References

• "U.S. ANNOUNCES PLAN FOR AN IMPROVED TSUNAMI
  DETECTION AND WARNING SYSTEM" . NOAA . Online .
  Avaliable http//www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories200
  5/s2369.htm 8 February 2005
• "The Tsunami Warning System" . "Earth and Space
  Sciences at University of Washington" . Online
  . Available http//www.geophys.washington.edu/tsu
  nami/general/warning/warning.html 8 February
  2005
• "Tsunami Warning System" . "Wikipedia - The Free
  Encyclopedia" . Online . http//en.wikipedia.org
  /wiki/Tsunami_warning_system 8 February 2005
• "New Scientist Breaking News - Indian Ocean
  tsunami warning system by mid-2006" . Online .
  http//www.newscientist.com/article.ns?iddn6905
  20 February 2005
• "Tsunami early warning ânext yearâ" . "BBC
  News" . Online . http//news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/sout
  h_asia/4168917.stm 20 February 2005
• "Chinese Premier to attend ASEAN tsunami summit".
  Online . Available http//www.newkerala.com/new
  s-daily/news/features.php?actionfullnewsid53876
  13 February 2005
• "Tsunami ASEAN news watch" . "ASEAN" . Online
  . Available http//tsunami.aseansec.org/index.php
  ?OPNEWSNEWS110532623 13 February 2005
• "Indian Ocean Tsunami - The EU Response
  Fisheries" . Online. Available
  http//europa.eu.int/comm/world/tsunami/early_warn
  ing.htm