India, Japan, US to provide tsunami warnings
 

BY MANJULA Fernando

INDIA, Japan and USA have assured Sri Lanka with timely and prompt tsunami warning transmissions until the proposed permanent warning system is set up in the Indian Ocean region by end 2006.

Science and Technology Minister Prof. Tissa Vitharana said the three countries pledged their assistance at the recently concluded second international meeting for the 'Development of a tsunami warning and mitigation system for the Indian ocean region' in Mauritius.

"We will receive two deep sea buoys to observe changes in sea levels off the Sri Lankan coast and monitor a tsunami threat after a major earthquake under the sea," the Minister said.

He had pointed out at the meeting that repeated 'false' tsunami warnings like in March would wary coastal dwellers.

The high level meeting attended by 22 Indian Ocean rim countries was organised by the UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) from April 14 to 16.

At the meeting IOC pledged support for the IOR countries to set up effective and durable national mechanisms to receive and disseminate warnings around the clock and a damage mitigation system by July 2005.

Belgium, China, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Russia, UK and the USA and 24 international organisations including UNDP, UNESCAP and World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) were also represented at the meeting.

The delegates endorsed the Mauritius declaration and recommended that the IOC should establish an Inter-governmental coordination group to govern the Indian Ocean tsunami warning system. The first meeting of this group will be scheduled later this year.

The meeting recognised there were two seismic sources of tsunamis in the Indian Ocean region, close to Indonesian islands and near Iran.

Until such time the tsunami warning system is put in place, it was agreed that Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Australia should develop their national capability to detect, analyse and provide timely warnings to all the countries threatened by the Indonesian seismic zone while the Makran source near Iran should be covered by India, Iran and Pakistan.

A delegation comprising Environment and Natural Resources Minister A.H.M. Fowzie, Met Department DG P. Dharmaratne, Geological Survey and Mines Bureau Director Sarath Weerawarnakula, NARA Chairman K. Perera, National Science Foundation Chairman Prof. Sirimali Fernando and Foreign Ministry Assistant Director Asela Weerakoon attended this meeting. The delegation was led by Prof. Vitharana.

The first meeting on a draft plan for the Indian Ocean tsunami warning and mitigation system was held in Paris from March 3 to 8.