Lanka geared to face a tsunami

By Dhaneshi YATAWARA

In 1994, South Africa renamed December 26, the Boxing Day as the Day of Goodwill. Around the world, this day comes following the Christmas resembling happiness and giving with a holiday spirit. On 2004, in Sri Lanka this day was expected to be like this, yet unexpectedly ended up in a disaster. It would be the most horrific natural disasters we as a country have encountered in the recent past.

GSMB Chairman Dr. N.P. Wijeyananda

Ironically, the earthquake that triggered the tsunami is recorded to be the most powerful earthquake in 40 years erupted under the Indian Ocean near Sumatra. The angry giant waves crashed ashore in many countries including Sri Lanka killing thousands of people.

Waves as high as six metres crashed in to coastal villages, sweeping away people, cars and even a fully boarded train that was bound downsouth. It killed nearly 30,000 children, women and men, displacing almost 25 million people. This bitter learned lesson made Sri Lanka take a different turn in disaster management. Until recent times, Sri Lanka almost totally depended on global and regional centres for seismic ( earthquake related) and tsunami information and warnings. Yet, today through the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB) the first attempts are to be made to issue local seismic and tsunami bulletins based on seismic information issued by global and regional centres.

Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii, West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Centre in the Pacific Ocean and the Japanese Meteorological Agency are the international tsunami warning centres which Sri Lanka gathers the information. Several regional centres also give the input - namely the Malaysian Meteorological Department, Thai Meteorological Department, Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysical Agency in Indonesia.

The present implementation is to locally re-calculate and analyse the information issued from these centres and evaluate its effect to us. So far, we have taken the regionally issued warnings as it is rather re-calculating. "Recently there was an announcement for evacuation issued to our region on an earthquake that could cause a tsunami and thus Sri Lankan authorities with great effort evacuated the people from the southern coastal line.

Signal

At the end it was found that there was no affect to Sri Lanka but it affected Indonesia. So this gave us a signal that we need a system to re-calculate the regionally issued information according to our facts and see the actual affect on Sri Lanka. This is implementing a system which was not available by then," said Chairman of the GSMB Dr. N.P. Wijeyananda.

Speaking to the 'Sunday Observer' Dr. Wijeyananda said that the system is continuing their exercises in inter department level, being ready to act at any necessary time. "In this system we will issue the predictions as well as suggest the necessary action," he said. This information will be issued to relevant implementing institutes such as the Disaster Management Centres and Meteorological Department etc. The information will be sent to the media as well as it can play a major role in mass communication. "At the moment the information will be through e-mails," Dr. Wijeyananda explained.

Satellite image of tsunami in Kalutara

The 2004 tsunami hitting a coastal city in Japan

According to the geophysicists at the GSMB the international and regionally issued bulletins always highlight that each country should re-analyse the actual effect of their predictions.

The bulletin that will be issued by the GSMB, under the new system will be a recalculation based on the data issued regionally of an earthquake in the sea, thus the suggestive actions will be of three levels - i.e. Wait till the next bulletin with updates, warning and evacuation.

Threat

If the present bulletin issued by international and regional centres do not show any threat to Sri Lanka, the authorities need to wait until the next set of information is updated from those centres.

Sometimes this calculations would indicate only a tsunami warning to Sri Lanka though the regional warning may say evacuation is needed. And evacuation comes as the last option.

"Evacuation is a very complicated process. People are not at equal levels and special attention is needed by those who are old, sick as well as children and costs.

Thus it is essential for us to re-calculate and see the actual situation of the disaster Sri Lanka may face, as the international centres predict," Dr. Wijeyananda said.

This bulletin is issued as an advice to relevant Government agencies. Under the Sri Lankan administration it is only the national and local government agencies that have the authority to make decisions regarding the official state of alert in their area and actions to be taken in response. The most challenging part for the scientists involved in this would be facing the physical changes of nature of the natural disasters. Adapting to the changes would be the challenge of the Government. Believing in the evergreen rule that nature is far superior and powerful than the human earth dweller, would be the key safety fact we all should adhere to.