The ceremonial inauguration of 'Multi-Hazard and Tsunami Warning System' installed at a strategic point on the beach stretch just in front of the underwater marine sanctuary adjoining the Coral Gardens Hotel, Hikkaduwa coincided with the completion of two year period since the day of tsunami, writes W. T. J. S. Kaviratne, Ambalangoda special corr, Daily News, Ambalangoda, 040107 at http://www.dailynews.lk/.
Forwarded by Budhi Mulyawan 040107.

The people and the Government of the Republic of Korea had provided the funds amounting to 2,000 US dollars and the technical knowhow for the construction of all the three Early Warning Towers having high tech instruments in highly tsunami devastated Hikkaduwa in the Galle district, Kalmunai in Ampara district and Point Pedro in Jaffna district of Sri Lanka.

These early warning towers can beam warning signals within an area of 4 kilometres and possess the remote control facility from a distance of 80 metres from the tower.

Making the keynote address at the public rally held to mark the inauguration ceremony, the Minister of Disaster Management and Human Rights Mahinda Samarasinghe said that first and foremost he had to be extremely grateful to the people and the Government of Republic of Korea, for the gesture of goodwill and solidarity extended towards the people and the Government of Sri Lanka by providing assistance for the post tsunami rehabilitation and reconstruction activities in the affected areas of the country.

The majority of those who gathered here today from Hikkaduwa and the surrounding villages might have undergone the bitter experiences and remember the gravity of the damage caused by tsunami tragedy exactly two years ago on 26th December 2004.

He said, nearly 35,000 people lost their lives and the socio-economic structures of the coastal areas of the country was gravely affected, he said.

On the directive of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, a new ministry in charge of Disaster Management and Human Rights was set up in order to expedite every aspect of the disaster management activities of the country.

A considerable distance on the direction of disaster management had already been traversed but still more activities were left to be completed.

The Minister said, a high powered body to take prompt action during a disaster had already been established.

In addition a Disaster Management Centre having modern equipment functioning 24 hours a day, in all the seven days of the week had also been set up within the premises of the Meteorological Department in the City of Colombo.

Through these early warning towers, information gathered from relevant sources such as the Mines Bureau, the Mahaweli Authority and the Meteorological Department was promptly disseminated on probable disasters to the general public in advance to facilitate the evacuation of such disaster prone areas.

He said, December 26 of every year had been named as the National Day of Disaster Management.

Referring to the progress of the disaster management of Sri Lanka, he said when compared to other tsunami devastated countries in the region, the disaster management activities launched in the country had been commended even by the international community.

As a direct consequence of the vast strides made on the activities of disaster management, with 15 minutes as the minister in charge of the subject he was able to receive information on all the recent climatic changes and earthquakes in the region.

Referring to the tsunami that took place on December 26, 2004 and time gaps of how the earthquake triggered tsunami reached the shores in different parts of the country, he said there was a duration of 1 1/2 hours to take rescue measures if an early warning system was functioning in the country.

He said on his visit to Kalmunai just after tsunami he heard how all the coastal villagers numbering over 3,000 of Akbar Village perished due to tsunami.

He said within the course of the year 2007, similar 200 warning towers would be constructed throughout the country even in the hinterland prone to disaster.

Stressing on the value of Multi-hazard Early Warning Towers he said such devices could benefit the general public on reaching early warning on other natural disasters such as severe droughts, cyclones, earthquakes, landslides, floods and even on man-made disasters.

The information on probable disasters would be disseminated in addition to the mediums of Sinhala, Tamil and English on other foreign languages as well as for the benefit of foreign visitors to the country.

He said Early Warning Towers erected in tourist resorts such as Hikkaduwa could facilitate the promotion of tourist industry.

Confidence of safety from disasters could be established in the minds of foreign visitors if early warning towers of multi-hazards were in existence in tourist resorts of the country he further said.

He thanked the management of the Coral Gardens Hotel and the John Keells Company for providing land space for the construction of the Multi-hazard Early Warning Tower of Hikkaduwa.

Under Secretary General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of UNESCAP, Dr. Kim-Hak Su making his observations said that recognising the severe impact of the tsunami disaster, the General Assembly of the United Nations, in its Resolution No. 59/27 adopted on 28th January, 2005, a call for the establishment of a Regional Early Warning System particularly to deal with tsunamis in the Indian Ocean and South Asian regions.

As the regional commission of the United Nations for Asia and the Pacific, building multi-hazard and tsunami early warning systems had been a key priority of UNESCAP, he said.

Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register.

Powered by AkoComment!