Indonesian ocean nations conduct mass tsunami drill

ULEE LHEUE, Indonesia - Sirens wailed and crowds fled across Indian Ocean nations today in a mass drill simulating a giant tsunami similar to the 2004 disaster that killed about 220,000 people.

The UN-backed drill, dubbed "Exercise Indian Ocean Wave 09", saw the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center and the Japan Meteorological Agency send out bulletins for a 9.2-magnitude quake and tsunami, UNESCO said.

The exercise was aimed at testing warning systems and preparedness in nations in Asia, Australasia, the Middle East and Africa.

Hundreds of people including school children fled from the coast as ambulance crews stood watch in the Indonesian province of Aceh, the area worst hit by the 2004 tsunami with 168,000 dead.

"This sort of exercise is useful for letting me know if a tsunami strikes," local resident Bachtiar told AFP.

"But the sirens and crowds make me panic, they remind me of the 2004 tsunami," he said.

Another resident, 20-year-old Risnawati, said Acehnese needed no reminding of a tsunami's destructive power.

"Acehnese already know how to save their life if a tsunami strikes. They will automatically run to higher ground if there are signs of a tsunami-like receding water," she said.

"It's impossible to survive from tsunami if we take refuge in that building since it's too close to the sea," she said, referring to a shelter designated by local authorities.

In Sri Lanka, which lost about 31,000 people to the December 2004 disaster, around 200 residents on the southern and eastern coasts carried out a mock evacuation after receiving warnings via mobile phones and loud-hailers.

"The exercise took nearly three hours this morning when the Pacific Tsunami warning centre first alerted us (to kick off the exercise)," said disaster management head Gamini Hettiarachchi.

"The test went off very well," he said.

In India, national tsunami warning head Srinivasa Kumar said the public was not involved in the exercise, with authorities concentrating instead on coordination between government agencies.

Countries participating in the drill are Australia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and East Timor.

New report highlights ties between global warming and US security

A new National Intelligence Assessment says that food shortages and migration caused by a warming climate could threaten US national security by aggravating ethnic strife around the globe, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.
The Washington Post writes that Thomas Fingar, chairman of the National Intelligence Council, delivered the report Wednesday to a joint meeting of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the House Select Committee on Energy Independence. He warned that global warming will reduce food supplies in Africa, which he predicted would in turn spark violence in the region.
"Without food aid, the region will likely face higher levels of instability, particularly violent ethnic clashes over land ownership," probably creating "extensive and novel operational requirements," for the fledgling U.S. Africa Command, according to a National Intelligence Assessment on the security implications of climate change by the National Intelligence Council. ...
Overall, the assessment found that while the United States "is better equipped than most nations to deal with climate change," the impact on other countries has the "potential to seriously affect U.S. national security interests." Humanitarian disasters, economic migration, food and water shortages - all caused by climate change - will pressure other countries to respond. Such demands "may significantly tax U.S. military transportation and support force structures, resulting in a strained readiness posture," the assessment found.

more info--->>>>New report highlights ties between global warming and US security

A disaster in the making

Once again we find ourselves living in the shadow of calamity. In 2004 it was the tsunami; in 2008 a devastating cyclone in Burma and horrific earthquake in China. This time many thousands of people have died but our country has been spared. Besides making every effort to help the survivors, this is an opportune time to ask ourselves how we would have fared in similar circumstances. Just how prepared are we?
The answer is not reassuring. While fate dictates the nature of the threat, we can only judge ourselves by our preparation and response. That is where the sizable investment made in creating the National Disaster Warning Centre in the wake of the tsunami and putting one of our best and most experienced minds in charge of it should have paid off. Post-tsunami strategy dictated that this Centre should always be at a high state of readiness and constantly monitoring our alert status.
Shamefully, this has not happened. Instead, the Centre has itself become a disaster area, falling victim to shifting political winds. According to prime ministerial adviser Plodprasop Suraswadi, it has been stripped of budgetary funding and left with no decision-makers or manpower. Even the buoy deployed in the Indian Ocean amid great fanfare as a key part of the early warning system no longer works, and what remains of the National Disaster Warning Centre apparently has no authority to get it fixed.
This wretched state of affairs is why the country's foremost expert on disaster preparedness, Smith Dharmasarojana, who foresaw the 2004 tsunami and was ignored and later rehabilitated, tendered his resignation as the Centre's director. He detected a waning of interest as memories of the tsunami faded and businesses and tourist facilities along the southern coast lost interest in joining a network warning system to which they might actually have to contribute money.
Beyond that, Mr Smith felt that without a proper nationwide 24/7 warning system, many provinces would suffer an unacceptably high number of human casualties from any natural disaster - unacceptable because they could be minimised or avoided altogether. He was also dispirited by the lack of government funding and negligible support which followed the decision by the Surayud Chulanont administration to downgrade the Centre and place it under the Meteorological Department. This loss of independence has jeopardised the installation of warning devices in disaster-prone areas.
Disaster planning can save countless lives but this means having a well thought-out action plan and equipment ready in place at all times. It cannot be an afterthought. A bid to sort this mess out has reached Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej's in-tray and should now be put on the cabinet agenda.
The tragedies which have befallen Burma and China have begun to serve as a catalyst to get our emergency preparedness operations back on track. Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin has summoned more than 3,000 owners of high-rise buildings to a meeting on measures to prepare for earthquakes. Inspections will follow, although few of Bangkok's buildings were constructed to withstand the intensity of the Sichuan quake.
We have a national trait of rising quickly to the occasion when disaster strikes. Not for us the malign neglect that characterised Burma's response to Cyclone Nargis. Clearly, though, our rescue services need all the help they can get and that means as much advance warning as possible. We cannot ditch the warning centre as an economy measure or because of squabbles over political turf. Too many lives are at stake.