Ship Lays Tsunami Warning System In Indian Ocean

[george]

Ship lays tsunami warning system in Indian Ocean

HAMBURG: -- A German research ship began the construction of a tsunami early-warning system in the Indian Ocean similar to the US-backed system that monitors the Pacific Ocean.

Germany is paying the 45-million-euro (2.16 billion baht) bill for the system of marine instruments that can detect monster waves caused by seabed earthquakes like that of last Dec 26.

Many of the 270,000 people killed last year might have been saved if they been warned in time to flee to high ground, but the Indian Ocean had no early-warning system at all.

The ship, the Sonne, cast off from the port of Jakarta, and was headed through the Sunda Strait to the waters off the northern Sumatra city of Banda Aceh where last year's tsunami began, German Science Ministry officials said.

The main items on the Sonne were huge yellow-painted steel buoys equipped to monitor the water and seabed and flash news of changes to authorities. The German system uses seismometers and global positioning system (GPS) satellites to detect tremors.

Code-named Tsunami Early Warning System (TEWS), it has been refined to avoid false alarms from quakes that do not cause tsunamis.

German and Indonesian scientists are to take two weeks to to install the buoys and sensors off Sumatra using 6,000 metres of mooring cable.

Unesco's oceanographic commission is coordinating the project around the Indian Ocean. It is set to be complete by mid-2008.

--DPA 2005-11-15

[mijan24]

Ship lays tsunami warning system in Indian Ocean

Many of the 270,000 people killed last year might have been saved if they been warned in time to flee to high ground, but the Indian Ocean had no early-warning system at all.

--DPA 2005-11-15

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

There is no disrespect for the Tsunami Victims intended but I find this claim to be incredible when one thinks of the remoteness of many of the areas that were devastated (not just Thailand remember) Couple this with where would people in some areas that were devastated have fled to? I am an optimist I suppose and history says % of a repeat are slim - The $$$$ would have been better placed (not pocketed) getting people back to to normal. There are still thousands of missing & misplaced persons but because there are what some consider to be more sensational events the newshounds have moved on.

We have how many land recording stations? and certainly they can tell you x value on the richter scale, but how many - earthquakes do they prevent or assist people to flee from? by providing early warning - unfortunately its nature "Katrina" is a perfect example look at all the early warning tracking 24hours a day on Fox etc and still look at the loss of life and property.

My thoughts go out to those who lost someone in the Tsunami but I just fail to see what good these buoys bobbing around in the ocean can do in your quest get your lives back to "normal" if that is at all possible.

With respect Mijan24

One question for TV members is how times has the US-backed system that monitors the Pacific Ocean warned us of an impending Tsunami ??

Edited November 18, 2005 by mijan24