Technology for safety
Three more
seismological stations are to be set up to provide earthquake
and tsunami alerts to the public. They are to be sited at
Mahakanadarawa in Anuradhapura, Hakmana in the South and the
other at the premises of the Geological Surveys and Mines
Bureau. With the one already there in Pallekele it is assumed
that the country will now have an adequate warning system to
cope with any impending disaster.
Sri Lanka being relatively free of major natural diasters,
our people tended to relax. It was this lack of preparedness
that took the country completely unawares when the cataclysmic
boxing day tsunami lashed our shores with all its fury four
years ago. Since then we have developed a keen survival instinct
so much so that we go into a wild panic even at a vague mention
of a tsunami in some distant land.
It is reported that the new seismology stations are equipped
with the most sensitive apparatus to pick up vibrations of a
Tsunami so that the populace could be alerted a good two hours
before the killer waves could hit our shores.
Time enough one would assume for the people to relocate to
safety zones. Of course with the communication revolution one
would think that warnings of a tsunami would reach the
population in any event. But it is the time factor that is
paramount. Hence the importance of an early warning system that
is being installed allowing that degree of extra time to
evacuate.
Two weeks ago there were warnings of an undersea explosion in
some Pacific Island in the days ahead that could trigger a
tsunami and there were media reports of a tsunami drill to be
given to the public. But no Tsunami materialized and it was
obvious that it was a false alarm.
Hence the need for the new stations to convey precise
information instead of causing all round panic. We saw how a
false alarm a few months after the first tsunami led to chaos
with people running helter skelter to safety and thieves and
burglars having a field day.
Measures therefore should be taken to prevent such
situations. Only definite warnings should be conveyed to the
public so that pandemonium could be avoided.
Now that the public will be given a reasonably sufficient
time to evacuate to safety locations it would be ideal if the
Diaster Management Ministry earmark designated locations where
the people could seek refuge.
In the earlier experience the people simply fled to schools,
temples and churches carrying whatever belongings they could lay
their hands on so that they could get as further away from the
sea as possible.
But a designated area would make it easier for the Government
to better organize relief measures and also restore a semblance
of normality which otherwise would be an arduous task where the
people are scattered in a wider area. Such arrangements are seen
in countries such as China and Japan where earthquakes occur
frequently.
Sri Lanka has been fortunate in being less disaster prone
compared to certain other countries but it is good to be in a
state of preparedness.
The change in geological patterns triggered by other
environmental upheavals today can now place hitherto safe
countries too vulnerable to disasters.
Hence the setting up these facilities is most timely and
would equip Sri Lanka also to cope with any eventuality. Now
that we have advanced technology allowing us to plan ahead of
major disasters, the GSMB should also try to evolve a system to
warn people of local disasters such as floods and earthslips so
that the public would receive adequate warning time to evacuate.
For these mini diasters occur frequently most often taking a
heavy toll of human lives. This is a process adopted in most
countries vulnerable to natural disasters. Here too the people
living in the earthslip prone areas would be given adequate time
to evacuate to safety by sufficient warning.
The Geological Surveys and Mines Bureau which had been
performing a silent service to the public should expand its
horizons and play a more pro active role to help the country
ward off disasters in the shifting sands of the geological
formation brought about by factors such as climate change. |