Effects and Causes of the Tsunami - Essay Example

Crisis Management Introduction Tragedies are drastic occurrences that happen either in an individual’s life or in the environment either way they have negative impacts on people and any other thing involved. Tragedies can either occur naturally or be influenced by man but tragedies that occur naturally are the worst since in many occasions are hard to prevent and unavoidable. One such tragedy that occurred naturally making a negative impact on the lives of many people was the tsunami. Tsunami is a natural phenomenon caused by a huge wave of water or tidal waves that have been displaced and may cause a lot of danger and harm. They are very common in Japan and they are used to dealing with them and can be predicted earlier but this was a new tragedy for the people of Indonesia and the country as a whole. Indonesia was unfortunate to suffer one of the biggest and drastic tsunamis experienced in a long time. This was in 2004 and the crisis left many people dead and others injured and displaced. This tragedy created awareness in the lives of many people on how they deal with tragedies and other related crisis. Many countries started coming up with ways by which to handle a tragedy such as the tsunami and to set up programs that keep them prepared on how to handle tsunamis just incase they occur. The central focus of this essay will be based on the tsunami tragedy and the management systems set in place to ensure the safety of the public and the effort made by the government and local communities concerning the issue. Effects and causes of the Tsunami The occurrence of the tsunami in Indonesia created awareness in the people, where most have never heard of it before; they are now taking measures to ensure public safety on the matter. The tsunami was quite new to most people and they had to understand its cause and how they can handle the issue efficiently. The Tsunami that occurred in Indonesia was triggered by an earthquake that occurred under the sea near Aceh in Northern Indonesia. This earthquake triggered the tsunami since it had a magnitude of 8.9; this caused the tsunami that spread all over the Indian Ocean and to the coastal region at high speed and considering that the people were not prepared for this it destroyed the lives of many people. Tsunamis are usually triggered by underlying forces that trigger the overlaying water. Detection and Early warning systems Due to the tsunami and the impact it had in the lives of many people especially those affected by it, some measures have been taken and emergency employed to make sure that incase of another tragedy the people are going to be prepared. After the tragedy occurred it was discovered by science agencies that there were not enough systems in the coastal areas that are used to detect and warn people of the tsunami. This is very important because the safety of the people can be secured so that incase the instruments are able to detect a tsunami, the people who are likely to be affected can be issued with warnings and ordered to vacate the areas. This way more lives will be saved and even if the infrastructure might be destroyed, the lives of the people are more important and should be put first. If any of these countries had the correct and working instruments to detect tsunamis, they would have managed to save many lives. This caused many organisations to question whether the coastal regions are well equipped in case such a disaster occurs again. This was taken into consideration by many international agencies and the suggestion of improving warning systems in countries that a likely to be affected in the event that a tsunami occurs. This process began by the science agencies gathering data on the number of existing detection and warning machines in the coastal regions of countries globally (Morrissey, 2007). The overall number they got was not encouraging and the matter took a more serious turn since the tsunami can be very lethal. Involvement of international bodies The truly global detection and warning system, was put into effect with help from UN bodies since some of the third world countries did not have funds to support the system. This began being implemented in the year 2006, where bodies such as UNESCO and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) were helping head the program (Srinivan, n. d.). There were some other countries who contributed like Australia, Japan, Thailand and India also made individual contributions in efforts to support the program as they knew the effects of tsunami are devastating. These contributions and other meetings held for the same course inspired other countries and UN bodies to engage in the activity and contribute in any way they can to the project (Morrissey, 2007). The machines that detect the tsunami will come in very handy to most nations as it is very difficult to detect a tsunami as its wave height is shirt but it has a very wide wave length. Therefore, as it moves on the surface of the ocean it is difficult to notice it and it is only noticed as it reaches the shore it also has high speed sometimes. Person registry system In event that a tsunami does occur some programs have been put in place to help cope with the situation. One such program is the missing person registry, this is an online project that is efficient in helping missing people get found. It resembles a bulletin board where the missing people are registered and search for them begins. When a tragic disaster such as the tsunami occurs, many people are displaced and people are easily lost hence, finding them would be difficult. With this emergency program, people will be able to file their missing person’s report, which will make it easier for the people searching for them know the number of people that are missing. If the people missing are alive they might be able to communicate with those looking for them and it will make work much easier and give hope to the people. The system does not only contain information of the person missing but also of the one looking or them so that incase one has information about a particular individual, information may be conveyed easily. Organization registry system Organisation registry is also another program or method being adopted by countries that are likely to suffer a tsunami tragedy. This is an organised method that makes work less complex and helps the operations move faster. It gives in detail all the necessary information that is likely to be helpful when a disaster has occurred. The people working in helping those affected are given clear definitions of what exactly they will be doing and the method by which they will use in their work. These assignments and definitions of how to handle their work help the relief workers a lot as it brings about coordination and collaboration among them. An organization registry provides necessary information of the locations that have been hit by the disaster and in which the workers are working on and a description of the services being provided in the area. Knowledge of the location is an advantage for the workers and stakeholders involved since some of the areas may be foreign to them and this will help them navigate through the lands much easier without necessarily having to get lost. Request/ pledge management system The request/ pledge management system is one of the systems aided by technology. It is an online system that is really efficient in that the relief workers helping in the area and other government agents can be able to look at and locate areas that are requesting for various necessities and be able to supply those areas with them accordingly. This is important as various locations may require different necessities from others and this site helps the people providing to give each location and its people the equipments they need for survival. It also helps the agencies monitor the requests and supplies being made. Shelter registry system Shelter registry is another system usually employed in areas that is being employed in areas that have been hit by tsunamis. This system helps provide data on the number of shelters present in the hit areas it also keep track on the location recording any changes in the area. This applies in that it gives an estimate on the number of shelters that have been destroyed leaving people homeless and infrastructure as well. The agencies are also able to determine the camps set up for the people and how they are gong to help cater for them while they figure out a way to help them get new homes. Situations management system Emergency management systems are meant to help handle the situation better and another system used is the situation awareness system. This system is basically made to draw clear lines concerning the situation at the locations that have been hit by the tsunami. In case there is some information that has not been highlighted the people are given the opportunity to add in on any information they find necessary and important concerning the respective area. This helps people to realise that the situation should not be taken lightly and it also helps the people involved to receive more help from outside sources. Volunteer coordination system Volunteer coordination is perhaps one of the very important systems used, since help from volunteers is very helpful. During a crisis such as the tsunami one, getting volunteers to help in search activities and other distribution activities is very important and helpful. This is because some of the volunteers may be people from the local region and may know the locations better than the relief workers therefore navigating the lands might be much easier. Relief workers experience several challenges while on rescue missions and one of them is language barrier, this is where volunteers come in handy again as they can be able to understand the people better if they are from the local region improving the communication. This makes work much easier and faster thus the volunteer coordination makes work simpler for the NGO bodies dealing in the areas. It helps them get the contacts and any other necessary information. This helps them keep an eye on them and also helps while allocating the volunteers different responsibilities in different areas. On going practices The above systems and strategies are mostly applied by the Sahana Free and Open Source Disaster Management System, which was created in 2004 during the tsunami tragedy in Sri Lanka. The main reason why it was created was to help manage the situation at the time. The Sri Lankan government supported the program fully and in every way they could to help improve the situation being faced. Since the government suffered a great financial crisis, the program was receiving its funding from other external bodies such as; Swedish International Development Agencies (SIDA). The project proved to be successful during the tragic period and other nations decided to use it during their own crisis like; Asian Quake in Pakistan 2005. Governments has taken steps in ensuring that the local communities that are likely to be affected by the tsunami are well prepared just incase there is a warning or detection. First step taken is to educate the local community on the tsunami how it occurs its effect on the people and how to deal with the situation incase they are caught up in it. Educating the local community on the tsunami does not need qualifications but rather enough knowledge on the subject to be able to answer all the questions the community might have. One should also make sure that the people understand the message that is being passed to them. Media houses are also doing a pretty good job in trying to educate people on the tsunami and its effects and how they should handle such situations. Before the tsunami hit Indonesia and Sri Lanka most people did not know about tsunami but due to media coverage most of them are now knowledgeable. Government preparing for the tsunami The government has also been applying effort to make sure that the people are well prepared for the tsunami. The government is funding organisations and other relief bodies that help in helping the local community survive a tsunami tragedy. Steps being taken include preparing evacuation maps to be used in case there are warning signs detected (Anon. , 2007). This way the evacuation process will be simpler with less confusion and people will know where they are headed not just moving anywhere. The evacuation maps are usually made by people from the government and they should be readily available for the people whenever they need them. Local Community preparing for the tsunami Involve the local community in activities that prepare them for the tsunami. These activities will include the people strengthening their infrastructure and other buildings around them that may be able to withstand the blows of the tsunami and preparing the land for usage might also be helpful. This will all take some time and patience from the educators but eventually might convince the locals of the dangers of the tsunami and why they need to prepare (Anon. , 2007). The people providing the local community with knowledge and information should take the advantage of people with influence in the community. This way they will receive better cooperation from them. According to studies conducted it has been proven that the people can be bale to handle emergency situations better if they are warned earlier. Therefore, the government should make sure to relay any important information to the public so that they may start preparing for any outcomes. Conclusion In conclusion, the tsunami is a tragic phenomenon that has a great impact on the environment and the people surrounding it. It is a disastrous tragedy that most people were unaware of before it occurred in Sri Lanka in the year 2004. It caused the death of thousands and left millions injured and displaced. This occurrence caused the awareness of the tsunami across all nations and emergency systems started being set in case of a tsunami or any other related tragedy. These systems range from the implementation of machines and instruments that can be used to detect and warn the people of any tsunamis in the future. Other strategies deployed by other nations would be the seven strategies used by the Sri Lanka government Sahana FOSS Disaster Management Systems, to handle emergency situations. The local community in the coastal areas is mostly affected by the tsunamis, therefore the government takes measures to make sure they are prepared and individuals from the local areas take part in helping them too. Therefore, the tsunami is very lethal, its awareness among the people is very important and ho to handle an emergency situation is equally urgent and important. Reference List Morrissey, W. , 2007. Tsunamis: monitoring, detection and early warning systems. [Online] (Updated 10 May 2007) Available at: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL32739.pdf [Accessed 20 May 2010]. Srinivas, H. , n. d. The Indian ocean tsunami and its environmental impacts. [Online] Available at: http://www.gdrc.org/uem/disasters/disenvi/tsunami.html [Accessed 20 May 2010]. Tsunami Guidebook, 2007. Preparing your community for tsunamis. [Online] (Updated 5 April 2007) Available at: http://nctr.pmel.noaa.gov/education/science/docs/Reports/GHI_Guide_20070407_ Draft.pdf [Accessed 20 May 2010]. Read More