Mines Bureau wants four short period network systems to monitor
tremors
Lakshmi DE SILVA
The Geological and Mines Bureau has requested the External Resources
Department and donor agencies like JICA and the Russian government to
install four short period network systems to monitor local earth tremors
like Wednesday's since the monitor at Pallekele was a Broad Band station
to monitor the whole region, Director Dr. Kithsiri Dissanayaka said
yesterday. Though there were four short period networks installed in
four universities in 2004 funded by JICA, they were not in proper
working condition. "They were installed at Rajarata, Peradeniya, Ruhuna
and the Eastern universities but we need at least four short period
networks to monitor local earth tremors," he said.
"At least Rs. 110 million is needed to instal such networks and if we
get the funds we could instal them in two to three weeks," Dr.
Dissanayaka said.
"Though the Pallekele station had recorded the tremor as less than
four on the Richter scale, if we had the short period networks we could
have monitored the local tremors more accurately," he said.
"It was like measuring a 10 milimetre with a footruler when we
monitor it with the broad brand station," he noted. A Disaster
Management Center officer told the Daily News that they have conducted
training sessions for facing floods, tsunami and hurricanes in schools
and in Divisional Secretariat areas prone to such disasters. "But
phenomena like earth tremors were unpredictable and the only thing the
people could do was to go out of buildings at such times and bend down
with their hands held on their heads." |