Proper tsunami warning system could have prevented chaos - Experts

Monday night's stampede and chaos in coastal areas in the wake of the tsunami threat following the massive earthquake off Sumatra islands could have been prevented if there had been an elaborate tsunami warning system for the Indian Ocean.

Peradeniya University Geological Department Head Prof. Kapila Dahanayake said: "If there was a system like in the Pacific ocean where they gauge water levels with hundreds of satellite connected sensors in the deep sea and with floating buoys, an accurate reading of a tsunami could have been issued."

"This is a good wake-up call for Sri Lanka. It shows the urgent need for a proper tsunami warning system," he added.

The tsunami warning issued by the US Geological Survey following the 8.7 magnitude earthquake in Banda Aceh region, at 11.09 pm (Indonesia time) sent hundreds of residents in the coastal stretch fleeing for life. Sri Lanka picked up the warning widely covered in the International media and an evacuation alert was issued in minutes.

However, he said this was a good exercise for Sri Lankans to gauge the response of the administrative structure and the preparedness of people to deal with such a situation in the absence of an effective warning system.

Prof. Dahanayake said there was no system to measure water levels in the Indian Ocean. "Thus, making an accurate warning on whether the earthquake has actually triggered a killer wave is not possible. The tsunami is not visible in the deep sea. This was why a pre-warning had to be issued."

Monday's earthquake which recorded 8.7 points on the Richter scale possessed all attributes that could have triggered a killer wave - the magnitude was more than 7.5 on the richter scale and the depth was 30 kilometres (less than 100 kilometres) below the sea bed.

He said the motions of the quake would have been the reason for the absence of a tsunami. An earthquake must create vertical motions to trigger a tsunami. The December 26 earthquake recorded 9.2 on the Richter scale. It originated from an epicentre 10 kilometres below the seabed.

Discussions are on to set up an early warning system in the Indian Ocean with Sri Lanka and India actively taking part in the negotiations.

France, Japan and several other countries have extended their support to set up this system following the Boxing Day tsunami that killed more than 300,000 in 11 countries in the Indian Ocean rim.

The Met Department and Geological Survey and Mines Bureau officials attended a meeting held in Paris recently in this regard.

Khalid