Tsunami Management Systems Used in the Some Countries - Literature review Example

Heading: Crisis Management Your name: Course name: Professors’ name: Date Introduction In 2004, there was a tsunami disaster in Indian Ocean that caused great losses of life and property. The same thing happened again in March, 11th, 2011 just off the Japan’s North Eastern coast. In the latest crisis, waters o the Pacific Ocean fanned out of to the land, where thousands of people along the coast were displaced, killed, and injured. Additionally, the Fukushima nuclear station in Japan suffered a serious damage, while thousands of people were evacuated from the dangerous zone. These unfortunate incidences left a substantial effect on how the countries in the world manage crisis. Several programs have been put in place so as to warn, control, manage, and warn against large scale tsunami occurrences in various parts of the world. Therefore, this essay explores some of the tsunami management systems used in the some countries, as well as ways in which local communities and governments can effectively prepare for these emergencies. What is Tsunami Hazard? ESRI (2006, pp. 6-40) notes that tsunamis refer to large and long water waves that result from submarine volcanic explosions, underwater earthquakes, or the effect of outer space bodies, such as, landslides and meteorites. As a tsunami advances to the seashore, a large amount of energy that was previously accumulated in the extensive wavelength is transmitted to wave light with appalling outcomes. Specifically, bays, estuaries, and gulfs are some of the most susceptible coastlines. These inlets’ shapes form a funnel-shaped tsunami that intensifies into a huge and heavy water wall that crashes in the land with great power. The first wave to hit the coastline is often the highest of all. A sequence of waves forms more destruction than a single one (Bernard 2005, pp. 121-130). Therefore, the people and structures able to flee from the first wave are more prone to next waves. Some of the effects of the tsunami disasters include trampled coral reefs, gouched beaches, decimation of mangrove trees, changed coastlines, and flooded vegetation and rice with marine water. They also result in pollution of water table and water; sedimentation and salinization of coastal strips. Moreover, tsunamis can cause damage of bridges, buildings, irrigations, roads, and drainage systems. The United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) environment sudden assessment have demonstrated gaps in the Asian tsunami disaster report that includes lack of susceptibility and full risk evaluation; reduced field evaluations to date largely limited to areas of dense population densities; historic lack of ecological baseline information; lack of ecological quality evaluations and information on hazardous and poisonous wastes that can be blended with other debris; and lack of ecological procedure in national crisis programs. Bernard (2005, pp. 121-130) postulate that some of the most dangerous tsunamis are said to have originated from China and Mediterranean, Japan Sea, Indian Ocean, and off northern Chile. Over the last 1, 200 years, over 70 tsunamis have consumed about 10,000 lives in Japan. Although most of the tsunami cases originate from these areas, majority of other areas like the United States have experienced economic harm. The most susceptible places for tsunamis include North America-Caribbean; North America Pacific; Virgin Islands; and Northern Puerto Rico. This place is specifically prone since its population has been developing fast. According to early studies, every tsunami occurrence affects 35.5 million individuals, of which 4million are US citizens. On the other hand, ESRI (2006, pp. 6-40) says that there are megatsunamis that entail gigantic waves that can have run-up heights of up to 90 meters. These may be caused by a drop of ocean island segments or volcanoes of the continental asteroid or shelf effect with the sea. The most susceptible place for this type is the LA Palma Cumbre Vieja. What is a disaster? According to ESRI (2006, pp. 6-40), this refers to an onset of an absolute event causing deep damage or loss as felt by the troubled people. Disaster management entails three phases; pre-disaster to mitigation, and then the preparedness. In the pre-disaster stage involved the identification, mitigation and preparation for a risk. In the disaster phase, emergency reaction happens, while in the post disaster stage, there are reconstruction and rehabilitation activities. The pre-disaster stage requires identification of risk, hazard, risk and evaluation of vulnerability to the risk (Bernard 2005, pp. 121-130). Hazard is the interaction between extreme natural occurrence ad human beings in relation to value systems and cultural perceptions. On the other hand, a risk is a probability, which entails a real exposure of a human value thing to a hazard, and always viewed as a blend of loss and probability. These evaluations aid in the identification of features of a hazard like its magnitude, frequency, and location. Elements are risk refer to assets and populations exposed in a susceptibility evaluation. Therefore, Risk = Vulnerability x Hazard (ESRI 2006, pp. 6-40). Challenges of tsunami crisis Morrissey (2007, pp. 1-30) notes that upon the occurrence of the Indian Ocean tsunami crisis, global science agencies organized for an inventory of available capacity for tsunami detection, warning, and monitoring systems, which would be carried out under the auspices of the UN. That inventory could offer a baseline form which exclusive requirements for such a network could be established. Government policy examiners brought up national security and technological issues as an outcome of sharing and building a true global tsunami timely warning network. Technological issues involved global standards for tsunami warning equipments, communications procedures, and data collection needed of systems, which would obtain data and sabotage of worldwide telecommunication systems. Besides, Karan and Subbiah (2011, pp. 100-115) point out that the United States intelligence specialists were worried that some information collected can be taken into account sensitive and may demonstrate techniques, which can compromise US and other countries’ intelligence-collection activities. Karan and Subbiah (2011, pp. 100-115) posit that the creation of a true worldwide tsunami timely warning system with potential of issuing local and regional warnings has needed participation of numerous nations with broadly differing technological abilities, and monetary resources. Reports show that the global political leaders anticipated that most of the system’s financing was the responsibility of the richest nations. Resources for the procurement of the state-of-the-art detection and monitoring technology that includes scientific platforms, instruments, and communication networks; to sustain global cost sharing; and to offer permanent maintenance and operations of such systems seem to be the most crucial impediment towards the achievement of a joint global effort for tsunami detection and timely warning (Bernard & Robinson 2009, pp. 71-80). As per Morrissey (2007, pp. 1-30), at a January, 2005 House Briefing, Gregg Withee, an Assistant Director of NOAA for Satellite and information Services, came up with another matter when he witnessed that some countries in the Indian Ocean, such as, India, upheld proprietary rights to their actual-time satellite information, implying that world monitoring and crisis response firms would have to be charged for the data. He further asserted that some information can be vital for the detection and tracking tsunamis in Indian Ocean and assessment of after-disaster destruction (Heaton 2011). Internationally proposed crisis management systems Deep Ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART II) Morrissey (2007, pp. 1-30) holds that in a meeting that was held in May, 2006 in Australia’s Melbourne city, the US made plans that would lend two extra state-of-the-art Deep Ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART II) buoys for the tsunami detection and confirmation of non-occurrences in the Indian Ocean. US support, and those of other developed nations in the world, such as, Germany, are influential in the establishment of restricted exemplary IOTWS in near-term. NOAA chose tow sites for the deployment of the DART buoys: near the Andaman Islands off Sumatra, and amid Colombo, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Phuket. NOAA installed the initial buoy in December 2006 to remember the anniversary of the 2004 tragedy (Bernard & Robinson 2009, pp. 71-80). Secondly, Morrissey (2007, pp. 1-30) says that the NOAA planned to install the second buoy in the May, 2007. According to the NOAA officials, there was a need for the provision of technical aid and some financing for manage the IOTWS. Besides, the IOC is also discussing techniques to finance IOTWS offers platforms and opportunities for hosting other ecological sensors. They have also suggested joint uses of global shared utilization of fleets to aids in the installation and preservation of the buoys (NOAA). President Bush’s Tsunami Action Plan President Bush, in December, 2005, released a Tsunami Risk Reduction for the US: A framework for Action. The program is designed to outline steps necessary in the reduction of tsunami on Hawaii, US mainland, and US territories in Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean (Morrissey 2007, pp. 1-30). To enforce recommendations in Bush’s plans, he proposed $20.4 million for the NSW and FY 2007. Additionally, the president requested for $35,000 million for USG’s Global Seismic Network (GSN) upgrades and approximately $35,000 more than the enacted funding of FY 2006. Some social scientists complemented the plan by arguing that institutionalizing a public instruction constituent in enforcing legislation, which may protect the US from tsunamis. They foresaw teaching of home authorities as resident creators and deliverers of crisis education and domestic tsunami crisis planning, alongside inter-agency distribution of resource at all stages of a visible federal agency and government in the community. Eventually, they advocate adaptation as an optional means of crisis management like use of high-effect and low-tech solutions for spreading public emigration orders (ESRI 2006, pp. 6-40). National Weather Service Tsunami Program According to Bernard and Robinson (2009, pp. 71-80), the National Weather Service (NSW) of the NOAA has managed the US operational plan for tsunami warnings in coastal areas US Pacific and has a global consists of two US tsunami warning stations that detect, watch, and warn potential tsunamis caused in Pacific Ocean. A linked program under the NTWP focuses on the reduction rate of tsunami alerts for Pacific Ocean. The National Tsunami Hazards Mitigation (NTHMP) aids in crisis management and in creating maps of probable coastal barrage for a tsunami of a particular degree. The NTHMP also conducts tsunami crisis education and outreach programs through the NOAA’s TsunamiReady plan (Heaton 2011). National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program (NTHMP) Morrissey (2007, pp. 1-30) says that NOAA opened the NTHMP to handle the credibility of Pacific tsunami alarms in 1922. Then, there has been a 75% false-alert tsunami rates. Domestic officials in Hawaii got concerned with important social economic disruption and turmoil being caused by fake error rate has enhanced considerably since that time (NOAA). Additionally, intermittent drills are carried out by the Hawaiian government disseminate the community with appropriate disaster procedures to be considered in case of a calamity (Karan &Subbiah 2011, pp. 100-115). Another key research effort at NTHMP considers the possible for substantial earthquake in the Pacific Northwest Cascadia Region those USGS scientists and others consider would produce tsunamis that can seriously harm a number of US Pacific coastal areas. The NTHPM has worked with five Pacific states; Oregon, Alaska, Washington, Hawaii, and California, and is currently working with Puerto Rico and five Atlantic states in the development of domestic tsunami crisis preparedness for vulnerable communities as part of the NOAA’s plan. Shaw (2006, pp. 92-105) says that NTHMP study and creation has led to technological transferred to aid tsunami warning processes. For example, is tsunami crisis model that with the requisite seismic information and knowledge of place of where a tsunami is reinforced; can project the intensity and course of resulting waves. The NTHMP also help on behalf of coastal communities in creating maps of probable tsunami flood (Mittal 2011, pp. 1-20). Tsunami Detection Operations Morrissey (2007, pp. 1-30) maintains that NOAA presently runs a network of 20 determined detection and relay centers as part of NSW DART Program. NWS intends to deploy about 39 stations at the center of US tsunami timely warning system. In April 2006, the US network was increased by seven more DART buoys in the Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Ocean, and Gulf of Mexico. Lastly, 32 US DART buoys were set to work in Pacific Ocean and the modern three off Alaskan Peninsula, as well as three in middle Pacific Ocean. Besides, Shaw (2006, pp. 92-105) notes that another DART buoy was made for Chilean government, and is installed in eastern South Pacific Ocean, off Chile’s coast. Even though the US and collaborating nations that depend on the network can have the ability to early detect tsunamis, NOAA officials have warned that consequential cautions are only successful if national emergency officials can obtain communications and, in turn, notify the public on essential actions or procedures (Heaton 2011). The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) According to Karan and Subbiah (2011, pp. 100-115), the USGS is also central to the NWS national tsunami alert program. USGS function of the GSN has been imperative in the identification of the probable for and provision of early tsunami warnings. Notably, the GSN is system comprising of 127 worldwide seismic watching centers, some of which are located in Indian Ocean. Moreover, Heaton (2011) holds that GSN system is controlled by Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) that is a group of educational institutions engaged in earthquake detection, monitoring and modeling. Though USGS does not watch directly for tsunamigenesis, GSN gauges degree of sub-marine and land-based around the world in real-time. USGS establishes whether to notify NOAA (NSW), depending on the location and magnitude, of potential tsunami onset. Shaw (2006, pp. 92-105) argues that USG scientists based at NEIC gather and analyze data on crustal twist and ocean floor dislocation resulting from earthquakes, and establish which occurrences can be predecessors to tsunami generations. USGS topographical mapping information and digital elevation models (DEM) are being used in the development of more spatially correct tsunami flood maps for probable susceptible communities. These maps have greatly helped disaster managers to develop tsunami emigration programs and have provided sufficient guidance on rulings of local authorities in personal expansion and land-use through the consideration of potential tsunami effects (NOAA). Morrissey (2007, pp. 1-30) asserts that USGS basically watches for seismic action on land, but its geologists argue that land-based processes may be as significant for tsunami detecting and alerting as deep as ocean buoys. In some coastal regions of US, particularly along Pacific Ocean, earthquakes have caused landslides, some of which have led to sudden enormous land wasting into ocean and displacing gigantic volumes of water domestically. Mittal (2011, pp. 1-20) says that big submarine landslides happen under the ocean, and off the continental ridge that rarely cause tsunamis. Other study has been carried out at USGS so as to consider possible impacts on US Atlantic coast from a great tsunami, which can result from the volcanic collapse in Canary Islands in West Africa (Bernard & Robinson 2009, pp. 71-80). Recommendations Tsunami is a deadly event than consumes thousands of lives in the involved regions, not to mention properties worth billions, and economic downturn that it causes. Despite the numerous management systems that local authorities and governments have done, there many other ways in which they can adequately prepare for such calamities. To start with, local governments and local authorities ought to voluntary and community based programs that will help in the establishment of a 24-hour caution centers that will watch, detect, and manage tsunami incidences. Secondly, ESRI (2006, pp. 6-40) holds that the authorities should also facilitate the development of ways to obtain tsunami alerts and warnings the public. Thirdly, Karan and Subbiah (2011, pp. 100-115) maintains that the authorities ought to develop an official tsunami crisis program and carry out emergency exercises. Fourthly, governments and other authorities should play a significant role in the promotion of public awareness by conducting community education as regards tsunami preparedness. Therefore, if the aforementioned are carried out by various forms of authority in the globe, tsunami effects are likely to be minimal (Shaw 2006, pp. 92-105). Conclusion Following the tsunami incidences that have hit certain parts of the world causing immense losses of life and property, governments and other forms of authority have discussed possible emergency management programs that would help in the monitoring, sensing, and management of such calamities. Some of the global proposed systems include National Weather Service Tsunami Program; President Bush’s Tsunami Action Plan; Deep Ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART II National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program (NTHMP); Tsunami Detection Operations; and The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). In addition, these authorities ought to establish community-based, voluntary programs that will establish 24-hour warning centers; provide public with tsunami education; develop tsunami crisis program and carry out emergency exercises; and public awareness. References Bernard, EN 2005, Developing tsunami-resilient communities: the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program, Springer, Dordrecht Norwell, MA. Pp. 121-130. Bernard, EN & Robinson, AR 2009, The sea, ideas and observations on progress in the study of the seas, Interscience Publishers, New York. Pp. 71-80. ESRI 2006, GIS and Emergency Management in Indian Ocean Earthquake/Tsunami Disaster, United States of America. Pp. 6-40. http://www.esri.com/library/whitepapers/pdfs/gis- and-emergency-mgmt.pdf Heaton, B 2011, Japan Tsunami Response Aided by High-Tech Warning. Disaster Preparedness & Recovery System. Emergency Management. Retrieved March 20th, 2012.http://www.emergencymgmt.com/disaster/Japan-Tsunami-Warning-System-031111.html Karan, PP & Subbiah, SP 2011, The Indian Ocean tsunami the global response to a natural disaster, University Press of Kentucky, Lexington, KY. Pp. 100-115. Mittal, AK, 2011, U. S. Tsunami Preparedness: NOAA Has Expanded Its Tsunami Programs DIANE Publishing, New York. Pp. 1-20. Morrissey, WA 2007, CRS Report for Congress. Tsunamis: Monitoring, Detection, and Early Warning Systems, Information Research Specialist (Science & Technology) Knowledge Services Group. Pp. 1-30. http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL32739.pdf NOAA. National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration, Tsunami. Retrieved on March 19th, 2012. http://www.tsunami.noaa.gov/prepare.html Shaw, R 2006, Recovery from the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster, Emerald Group Pub, Bradford, England. Pp. 92-105. Read More