THE INITIAL Indian Ocean System (IOS) is likely to be set up by July 2006 with real time data coming from new seismic tide gauge stations and buoys. The system has been developed with the help of 29 nations.
This was revealed by a noted geophysicist at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-K), Dr RP Singh, who was the only delegate from India to address a three-day ‘Third international conference on early warning Systems’ held at Bonn in Germany from March 27 to March 29.
Dr Singh told the HT that the disclosure about the IOS was made at the conference by former US president and UN Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery, Bill Clinton, who also inaugurated the conference.
At the Conference, Clinton said natural disasters had increased considerably and in 1980, about 147 million people were affected while in 1990 the figure was 211 million people. He said last year, over 97,000 people lost their lives in nearly 150 natural calamities with the largest number of casualties in Kashmir. Similarly in 1998, natural disasters caused loss to the tune of 65.5 billion dollars worldwide.
In 2004, due to tsunami, hurricane Ivan and other disasters, the world suffered a loss of 120 billion and again in 2005 loss was 220 billion dollars, he said.
{{/usCountry}}In 2004, due to tsunami, hurricane Ivan and other disasters, the world suffered a loss of 120 billion and again in 2005 loss was 220 billion dollars, he said.
{{/usCountry}}The IIT professor quoted Clinton as saying that micro insurance should be expanded so that the poor around the world could transfer risk and recover more quickly. The former US president also advised that education and awareness could play a vital role and sometimes the traditional knowledge was as good as science. Citing an example, he said that while the tsunami hit Simeulue Island of Ache, people rushed to the high lands and this traditional knowledge saved the total population of 80,000 leaving only seven dead.
Quoting Clinton, Singh said under the UN project 100,000 new homes had been constructed or were under construction across the tsunami-affected regions. Some 400 permanent schools were under construction, he said.
While addressing the conference, Dr RP Singh said, “Only sophisticated technology would not yield desired results unless we reached real communities and the people. The biggest challenge of an end-to-end warning system is that these warnings should not only reach communities on the coastline but the communities and people know how to react.”
Dr Singh also spoke about the early warning system for earthquake, tsunami, floods, droughts and storms.