NAF-Tsunami-Summary

AFTER THE TSUNAMI – HARNESSING AUSTRALIAN EXPERTISE FOR RECOVERY
Canberra, 31 March 2005

On 26 December 2004, there was a magnitude 9.3 earthquake in the Indian Ocean off Sumatra. This resulted in a massive tsunami, which is a wave train, or series of waves, generated in a body of water by an impulsive disturbance that vertically displaces the water-column. The Boxing Day tsunami (as it has become known)

caused the catastrophic loss of life or more than 300,000 people and major damage to infrastructure, property and the environment of many coastal and island nations of the Indian Ocean – principally Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, India, Africa and the Maldives. It has affected the potential livelihoods of many of these coastal States, particularly those that were based on local fisheries or agriculture. There has also been a concomitant loss of capacity, with the loss of knowledge and skills across many areas such as education, health, and other community service industries. Although responses to the earthquake were registered at many tidal gauges along various coastlines, there was minimal impact upon Australia.

In response to this large-scale international disaster, the National Academies Forum (NAF) held a timely one-day symposium at the Shine Dome on 31 March. Entitled After the Tsunami – Harnessing Australian Expertise for Recovery, the event attracted a wide range of delegates from academia, research, government, industry and the community. The aim of the symposium was to provide a cross-disciplinary approach to the science, technology, social science and humanities aspects of disaster in all the phases of preparedness, recovery and rehabilitation. Following a series of ‘expert’ presentations to set the scene, delegates formed into eight different focus breakout-groups to undertake the interactive brain-storming component of the day. The groups reported back to the symposium delegates and these results and the ensuring discussions led to the outcomes and recommendations of this report.

This summary report is designed as a contextual overview to the proceedings of the one day symposium, After the Tsunami – Harnessing Australian Expertise for Recovery, held by the National Academies Forum (NAF). In the context of disaster prevention, recovery and rehabilitation this report provides guidance on some universal aspects that would underpin an effective and positive way forward. Importantly the symposium arrived at a strategic and consensus outcome from the eight focus groups – ie. the seven recommendations for a universal way forward and how these can best be supported by the social sciences, humanities, science, engineering and technology (the enabling fields of endeavour encompassed by the four learned Academies that form NAF). The symposium concluded that by comparison with other countries, Australia is well-placed to offer assistance in many areas of expertise, due to our local knowledge of servicing and supporting tropical and remote community conditions, and our historical associations with the broader region. The serious situation of the tsunami provides a unique (if unwelcome) opportunity for a reassessment to achieve improved disaster and rehabilitation management and the more strategic and sustainable approach of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) across the region, as well as perhaps the opportunity to plan for the mitigation of potential impacts of global climate change. A recommendations matrix is provided below – and it is hoped that these outcomes will form a considered source of information for further policy development and implementation in this important area.

There are three main components to ‘warning’: issuing a tsunami forecast; disseminating the tsunami warning/forecast to coastal communities; ensuring the public are aware of what action needs to be taken. There are also a number of steps involved in going from an earthquake to a tsunami impact forecast, and each requires significant scientific and modelling expertise (which Australia has). False warnings can be a problem, as they may lead to people ignoring the warnings – although these can be minimised through a systems approach. Ensuring that the warning and relevant tsunami forecast is received by all relevant coastal communities is a vital part of a tsunami early warning system (TEWS). In Australia there exists a sophisticated communication infrastructure, which is used to issue warnings of severe weather and storms to all sectors involved in emergency management. Australia has significant expertise in the appropriateness of different message dissemination techniques for different types of communities, which might be of value to other Indian Ocean countries.

As tsunami are infrequent events, despite the current very high level of public awareness in all Indian Ocean countries, long-term public awareness programs are an essential component of a TEWS. The most at risk are high density coastal settlements and isolated coastal communities. Often such communities have low levels of technology. Local tsunami, where the tsunami travel time is less than 30-60 minutes from the source earthquake (eg. the 1998 Aitape tsunami in PNG), pose a different problem. Any education program needs to incorporate basic tsunami information, the difference between local and regional tsunami, what community preparedness is needed and what to do when a tsunami warning is received. Preparedness involves identifying the level of risk and implementing a risk mitigation strategy. Risk mitigation can take a wide range of activities and will depend on each community’s specific situation. Australia’s substantial skills in emergency management and risk assessment and mitigation could be of considerable value to other Indian Ocean countries.

Case study: Warning and preparedness

Education in action: This was widely reported in the weeks following the tsunami of December 26 and this version is from the Association of American Geographers Newsletter. In one of the more hopeful tales from the recent tsunami disaster, a young British girl credited school geography lessons with her ability to recognize the impending tsunami and warn her family and other beachgoers in time to avoid the onslaught of the waves. The Associated Press reported in a story on January 1, 2005, that ten-year-old Tilly Smith from Surrey in England, was vacationing with her family on Maikhao beach in Phuket, Thailand, when the tide suddenly went out. Remembering a recent lesson on earthquakes and tsunamis from her geography teacher, Andrew Kearney, at Oxshott’s Danes Hill Prep School, Tilly warned her mother about the danger. Her parents informed other beachgoers and staff at their hotel, which was quickly evacuated. The wave crashed a few minutes later, but no one on the beach was killed or seriously injured.

Case study: Warning and preparedness

In the wake of the Boxing Day Indian Ocean tsunami tragedy, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) is joining forces with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (UNESCO-IOC), the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction and other key agencies to develop a tsunami early warning system in the Indian Ocean and other regions at risk. UNESCO-IOC has coordinated the development of the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific (TWSP) since 1968, which has proved to be highly effective. It provides end-to-end capabilities for data collection and the development and dissemination of early warnings at national level. WMO’s Global Telecommunication System (GTS) interconnects the world’s National Meteorological and Hydrological Services and facilitates the timely and reliable exchange of warning messages and related information. It is already used by the TWSP and WMO is taking action to ensure that it will be fully operational for tsunami and seismic applications in vulnerable areas.