FACTBOX-Indonesia's tsunami early warning system

FACTBOX-Indonesia's tsunami early warning system

Indonesia has drawn up plans for an early warning system in the
wake of the massive tsunami that killed up to 160,000 people in
Aceh on Dec. 26. Following are some facts on Indonesia's plan,
according to documents from the Ministry of Research and
Technology, which is overseeing the project:

AIM

Establish a tsunami early warning system covering almost all
of Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago with 17,000
islands, to provide alerts within five minutes.

TIMEFRAME
INITIAL STAGE (2005-2006)
* First priority is to set up system so it can serve areas along
Sumatra island that are prone to tsunamis, such as Aceh.
LATER STAGE (2006-2010)
* Have system across country operational.

COSTS
* Initial estimates for equipment are US$120 million.

HOW WILL THIS BE DONE?
* Set up earthquake and sea-level monitoring devices near points
prone to tsunamis. This will include the use of:
* 22 deep ocean assessment and reporting of tsunami (DART) buoys
with sea floor-bottom pressure sensors.
* 120 tide gauges with digital tidal recording.
* 160 seismographs placed across in 10 regions.
* 500 accelerographs, which measure ground motion.
* Indonesia will need vessels to deploy and maintain the devices
and conduct surveys for selecting sites and producing data for
tsunami modeling.
* This arrangement will be supported by Global Positioning System
units.

SPREADING THE WORD
* A national disaster tsunami center, manned round-the-clock in
Jakarta, after concluding a quake above magnitude 7 could spark a
tsunami, will issue warnings to police stations, government
offices, mosques, churches, post offices, cellular operators,
television and radio stations.

CURRENT CAPABILITIES
* 58 seismographs that can only warn of earthquakes within 20-30
minutes. Most units cannot provide real-time information.
* 9 accelerographs.
* 12 buoys that can only monitor general sea environment.
* 60 tide gauges; 25 are digital and 35 analog.

EDUCATION
* Educate residents on evacuation methods/routes through flyer
campaigns, talkshows, messages in movies and television soap
operas, in the school curriculum and general media. After
formulating proper evacuation methods, drills and simulations
will be conducted.

WHO'S IN CHARGE?
* Create a 24-hour agency, the National Center for Disaster
Mitigation, with headquarters in Jakarta and centers in 10
regions. This agency will draw expertise and resources from a
dozen governmental bodies.

INTERNATIONAL HELP?
* Germany only country to provide concrete assistance, allocating
45 million euros (US$57 million) for equipment and technical
training.
* Norway plans to upgrade 12 sea-watch buoys.
* Japan and China plan to fund seismographs.
* Australia and France have said they would help.

Source: Reuters