After the tsunami in the Indian Ocean last year there was a lot of effort to install an early warning system—and it’s paying off, with a completion date of 2006. Many people promoted an SMS-based system (which I have problems with) but the system aims to make the message available in as many different ways as possible.
“We can broadcast to all TV and radio stations in Thailand,” said Col Anutat Bunnag, deputy executive director of Thailand’s National Disaster Warning Centre. “Every station will switch from normal programmes to warning centre programmes, and we can send text messages to all mobile phones.”
However most nations are relying on a low-tech network warning system since many communities on the coast are remote…and the system proved effective after the March earthquake.
Of course, a tsunami such as the one last year is a 100-year event, so the big question is whether the system can be kept up until the next wave. Of course, there are plenty of other disasters it could warn about… (by the way, the last I heard the clean-up was going well, but it’s a long term effort. So if you were one of the generous people who donated several months ago, it would be great to dig out another few dollars and send it to the charity of your choice).
Related stories:
—Firms to pitch emergency alert solution in U.S.
—UN announces global disaster alert system
—Mobile content used to help tsunami victims