People must engage in tsunami early warning
Source: Agencies |
December 26, 2009, Saturday
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FIVE years on from the Indian Ocean tsunami, the region has its own early warning system but experts say the new technology will not save lives unless local communities are more involved in planning how to respond.
The 230,000 people killed in Africa and Asia by the 2004 tsunami received no formal warning of the approaching waves.
Since then, millions of dollars have gone into building a vast network of seismic and tsunami data centers, setting up sea and coastal instruments and warning towers.
But studies show that the closer the warning gets to those it is designed to help, the more it fades out, and more needs to be done to connect the technology to the people.
"The weakest link remains at the interface between the early warning system and the public, and in ensuring there's enough preparedness at the local level to react appropriately," said Bhupinder Tomar, senior officer at the International Federation for the Red Cross in Geneva.
In terms of technology, the region has made great strides since December 26, 2004, and is much better prepared, experts say.
Warning centers in Japan and Hawaii receive seismological and tidal data and send out alerts to national agencies in Indian Ocean countries. These agencies then warn the population, via SMS, radio, television, watch towers and loud speakers.
By 2010, regional centers in Australia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand are set to take over primary responsibility from Hawaii and Japan for issuing the warnings.
Many relief workers believe the system's design is too top-down and that local communities should be the starting point, not the end point, in any early warning network.
Local people should be the "first mile" in early warning, rather than the "last mile" as they are often called, the workers say.
"You need to start with the people and move outwards," said Ilan Kelman, a senior research fellow at the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research in Oslo.
The 230,000 people killed in Africa and Asia by the 2004 tsunami received no formal warning of the approaching waves.
Since then, millions of dollars have gone into building a vast network of seismic and tsunami data centers, setting up sea and coastal instruments and warning towers.
But studies show that the closer the warning gets to those it is designed to help, the more it fades out, and more needs to be done to connect the technology to the people.
"The weakest link remains at the interface between the early warning system and the public, and in ensuring there's enough preparedness at the local level to react appropriately," said Bhupinder Tomar, senior officer at the International Federation for the Red Cross in Geneva.
In terms of technology, the region has made great strides since December 26, 2004, and is much better prepared, experts say.
Warning centers in Japan and Hawaii receive seismological and tidal data and send out alerts to national agencies in Indian Ocean countries. These agencies then warn the population, via SMS, radio, television, watch towers and loud speakers.
By 2010, regional centers in Australia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand are set to take over primary responsibility from Hawaii and Japan for issuing the warnings.
Many relief workers believe the system's design is too top-down and that local communities should be the starting point, not the end point, in any early warning network.
Local people should be the "first mile" in early warning, rather than the "last mile" as they are often called, the workers say.
"You need to start with the people and move outwards," said Ilan Kelman, a senior research fellow at the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research in Oslo.
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