It has been a practice at LIRNEasia to write an assessment of the responses to potentially tsunamigenic events in the region. We commented on Nias and Pangandaran. Now that the discussion on the response is starting, here is our take:
Lessons from the Sri Lanka tsunami warnings and evacuation of September 12-13, 2007
The tragedy of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was the absence of any official warning. The September 12th Bengkulu earthquake shows that this is unlikely to be the case in the future. We have seen that the new institutions created since the 2004 tsunami have the will and the capacity to act. What we must guard against now is indifference to warning; of populations that refuse to evacuate in the face of real danger.
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Tags: addressable satellite radio sets, Arugam Bay-Panama coast, Bangladesh, Bengkulu, Colombo, communication systems, Disaster Management Center, earthquake, GSM/CDMA, India Ocean, Indian Ocean, Indonesia, Last Mile, Matara, Met Department, Mile HazInfo, Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights, mobile phones, Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, Panama, Rohan Samarajiva, Sarvodaya, SMS, Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Meteorological Department, taped telephone voice message, Thailand, tsunami.
LIRNEasia and Sarvodaya initiated the Webhamuva program with assistance from the World Bank’s Small Grants Program to give voice to the people whose opinions go unheard in the post-tsunami reconstruction work.
The final report is available here (PDF):
WEBHAMUVA: Report on People’s Consultations on Post Tsunami Relief, Reconstruction and Rehabilitation in Sri Lanka
The findings from the report indicate that people are dissatisfied with the pace of reconstruction and rehabilitation. Most of the tsunami-affected spoken to have yet to recover their normal lives in terms of livelihood, permanent housing and their sense of safety and security. The feeling of helplessness and despair is quite prevalent especially when people do not have the capital or means to engage in sustainable livelihoods. Needs assessment from the donors has not been very effective because…
Colombo, Sri Lanka, 8 November 2005: An addressable satellite radio system for hazard warning was demonstrated to Sir Arthur C. Clarke in Colombo, Sri Lanka this week.
It has been designed by WorldSpace, Inc., in collaboration with Raytheon Corporation of the US, at the request of LIRNEasia, a Sri Lankan research organization.
The satellite radio is the first device to incorporate the Common Alert Protocol (CAP). The radio set can be switched on from the master control, and converted from a conventional radio to a specialized hazard alert system. The equipment was field tested in Sri Lanka, including at several Sarvodaya villages that were affected by the Asian Tsunami of December 2004.
It was apt that the first demonstration of this new technology involved Sir Arthur – who…
Tags: addressable satellite radio system, addressable satellite radio systems, Arthur C. Clarke, Arthur Clark, Canada, Clarke Orbit, Colombo, communications satellites, functional early warning systems, GPS, International Development Research Centre of Canada, Jomo Bellard, Matara, Raytheon Corporation, Rohan Samarajiva, S. Rangarajan, satellite communications, satellite radio, Sri Lanka, The addressable satellite radio system, tsunami, United States, Wilson Baker, WorldSpace Inc..
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