When the Indian Ocean tsunami struck in 2004,
the only warning most people in the region had was the sight of a giant wave
heading towards them.
This
time, however, most of the 27 nations bordering the ocean were better prepared.
An
early warning system put in place in most countries in the region was quick to
transmit information to alert the authorities to a possible tsunami, its
duration and its magnitude.
Within
minutes of yesterday's 8.6-magnitude earthquake off Indonesia's Banda Aceh in
Sumatra, most of the nations had issued warnings urging people to move to
safety away from coastlines, before later cancelling them.
Thailand's
National Disaster Warning Centre, India's Tsunami Warning Centre and Malaysia's
Meteorological Department were quick to take action after Indonesia issued the
first warning.
Bangladesh,
Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Reunion Islands, Kenya, Madagascar and Tanzania soon
followed suit.
"The
early warning system is working well" and there were no reports of
casualties or damage in Aceh and elsewhere, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono said in Jakarta.
Besides
commencing evacuations along the coasts, the authorities in some countries
closed ports, suspended train services and cordoned off beaches. Emergency
services such as rescue teams and hospitals were put on high alert while
constant monitoring of the situation carried on for the next two hours.
Loudspeakers,
sirens, SMSes and radio and TV announcements were used to warn residents to
remain alert and move to higher ground.
The
warnings evoked painful memories of the Dec 26, 2004 tsunami, also caused by an
undersea earthquake off Indonesia that killed around 230,000 people along
coastal regions.
But
they also brought into focus the usefulness of early warning systems which were
put in place within two to three years of that Boxing Day tsunami by most
countries scarred by the tragedy.
Most
systems have pressure sensors in place on the sea floor which measure the
weight of the water above it. The weight varies according to wave height - and
the findings are sent to a buoy on the surface, seismologist Kerry Sieh,
director of the Earth Observatory of Singapore, told The Straits Times.
These
buoys then transmit data to satellites which in turn send the information to
official laboratories. "The whole process takes 20 minutes at the
most," Sieh said.
A
number of buoys already in place in the Indian Ocean sent data to various
laboratories after yesterday's quake.
The
World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said communication systems set up after
the 2004 tsunami appeared to have worked well.
"Our
records indicate that all the national meteorological services in the countries
at risk by this tsunami have received the warnings in under five minutes,"
said Dr Maryam Golnaraghi, the head of WMO's disaster risk reduction programme,
Associated Press reported.
Such
systems can be very useful in averting major disasters in future, said Dr
Mohammad Ismail H, who runs a voluntary Integrated Tsunami Watcher Service site
in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
Yesterday,
his volunteers received hundreds of text messages and phone calls inquiring
about the tsunami.
"This
is one of the most important services for the future," he said.
Rupali
Karekar
The
Straits Times
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