An earthquake of magnitude 6.7 shook central Japan hours ago at 9:42 a.m. local time. Television footage from the quake zone showed buildings shaking violently. A tsunami warning was immediately issued along the west coast of the main island of Honshu.
Perhaps the most important part of the tsunami early warning system is how to get the information to people who are in immediate danger.
First off, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ordered government agencies to confirm damage or injuries resulting from the quake. Nippon Airways suspended all flights between Tokyo’s Haneda airport and Noto airport in Ishikawa.
West Japan Railway and East Japan Railway’s high-speed Joetsu Shinkansen between Tokyo and Niigata were suspended for inspection.
Japan sits atop the Eurasian, Pacific, Philippine and North American tectonic plates and is one of the world’s most earthquake-prone countries. The quake was felt 360 kilometers (225 miles) away in Tokyo.
‘THE’ tsunami and the aftermath
When the Indian Ocean tsunami struck in December 2004, the only warning most people in the region had was the sight of a giant wave heading towards them. Unlike the Pacific, the Indian Ocean did not have a system to alert residents of coastal areas that a tsunami was imminent.
Since then, most of the 27 nations bordering the Indian Ocean have been setting up individual programmes for issuing tsunami alerts to their own people.
Tsunami protection ranges from the hi-tech to the simple. Indonesia plans to spend $125m on setting up its own tsunami detection system. India, Australia, Malaysia and Singapore are forging ahead with developing sophisticated warning capabilities. India has also set up an alert centre which is monitoring data from seismographs and 11 tide gauges.
Thailand has opened a disaster warning centre which currently receives data from Hawaii and Japan. Alerts can be sent in minutes to national and local governments and the media. Thailand is also installing a network of 76 siren towers along part of its coastline.
The UN is helping countries with other long-term measures including teaching tsunami awareness in schools, training decision-makers and broadcasters, and making sure information is available in all local languages.
The most recent meeting of the UN’s Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System group concentrated on identifying which locations are most at risk of flooding and to which areas it would be safe to evacuate people in the event of an emergency.
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I’m so glad they’ve taken measure to be proactive. When I lived there in the late 80’s and 1990….they were clueless. I will always remember bucking down and preparing for major typhoons. NOT a fun time in life.
It’s just about time they got proactive… cause tomorrow might be just a bit too late!
I remember reading about a certain community/village or island that — as its people calimed — was spared by the tsunami of December 2004 because they worshipped the ’sea God’ regularly.
Faith is important. But, as they say, ‘faith without works is dead.’ Its time to have faith and take measures to protect yourself.
I can imagine how it might have been for you preparing for an unannounced major catastrophe.
Thanks for your comment, blessed1.