Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning Center:

First meeting concludes in Paris

Since the Indian Ocean tsunami devastated several Asian nations in December 2004, the need for an Early Warning System has been discussed at several international fora. The first high level meeting towards this end was held in the French capital early this month. It was organized by the International Oceanographic Commission (IOC) at the UNESCO headquarters.

The Sri Lankan delegation was led by Prasad Kariyawasam, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The heads of the Met Department, Geological Survey and Mines Bureau, NARA, as well as the Head of the Hydraulics Department of the Moratuwa University, representing the Ministry of Science and Technology, were the other members of the delegation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

The Paris meeting agreed that in the event of a tsunami in the future, warnings should be effectively communicated to the local communities and such advice should be understood at all levels. It was also felt the impact of tsunamis can be substantially reduced through institutional and legislative frameworks as well as community participation. The delegates discussed the importance of safely measures to be followed and how such information could be effectively disseminated to the community at large.

The delegates were of the view a warning system should address all aspects of disaster mitigation. As such it was agreed to set up an Inter-governmental Coordination Group to finalise a blueprint for a multi-hazard tsunami warning system for the Indian Ocean.

The member states were tasked with establishing a National Tsunami Warning Center in each of their countries as an operational contact point, as well as identifying a Disaster Management National Focal Point for increasing public awareness of tsunamis.

Technical committees for early warning monitoring and mitigation of disasters are to be set up under the National Council for Disaster Management headed by President Chandrika Kumaratunga. These committees will be chaired by the Director General, National Disaster Management Centre (NADIMAC). Once set up, the national tsunami warning center would be able to receive, react and disseminate warning information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Until such time national early warning centre is in place, an interim technical committee has been set up under the chairmanship of Director General, Meteorological Department.

This committee will coordinate activities with the IOC and also coordinate international assistance. The interim committee will be the contact point to receive advisory information from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC) and the Japan Meteorological Agency. These two agencies have agreed to provide interim tsunami advisory information to Indian Ocean countries based on existing facilities until adequate warning capabilities are established within the region.