The Asian Tsunami

After the tsunami that caused over 150,000 deaths in Asia, making it one of the largest natural disasters in modern history, world leaders will discuss the establishment of a tsunami early warning system in the Indian Ocean at a conference in Japan from Jan. 18 to 22.

The World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe, Japan will devote two sessions to discussion of a tsunami early warning system in the Indian Ocean, which could be fully functional within a year.

The system, similar to the one already operating in the Pacific Ocean, would make it possible to adopt life-saving evacuation measures in the event of a tsunami (giant waves produced by underwater earthquakes).

“There is no reason why this cannot be done,” said Sálvano Briceño, director of the U.N. International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR)

“We have been in contact with U.N. agencies, technical institutions and governments in the region affected, and find that there is a strong basis of knowledge, technology and collaboration and a real readiness to act,” he added.

The United Nations is coordinating international aid for the victims of the Dec. 26 tsunami that had particularly devastating consequences in seven countries in South and Southeast Asia: Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, the Maldives, Burma, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Somalia.

During a special meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Jan. 6 in Indonesia, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan appealed to the international community for 977 million dollars to cover the emergency humanitarian needs of some five million people in the region over a six-month period.

“From the nameless fishing villages of Sumatra to the modern tourist resorts of Thailand, from the beaches of Sri Lanka and India to the coastal communities of the Maldives and Somalia, the disaster was so brutal, so quick, and so far-reaching that we are still struggling to comprehend it,” Annan said.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has established a public health emergency strategy because it fears that if the basic needs of the victims are not dealt with immediately, especially with regard to drinking water, outbreaks of infectious diseases could claim as many lives as the tsunami itself.

The Asian tsunami has also served to highlight a number of environmental concerns that the U.N. Environment Program (UNEP) plans to address through a special task force created at its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
“While the focus is to save lives and fight diseases, it is also important to address underlying risks, such as solid and liquid waste, industrial chemicals, sewage treatment and the salinisation of drinking water,” said UNEP Executive Director Klaus Toepfer.

The Asian tsunami additionally served to emphasise the particular vulnerability of the world’s small island developing states (SIDS), whose leaders will be meeting from Jan. 10 to 14 at a conference in Mauritius.

Over 2000 official representatives of the island nations, their traditional donor partners and other countries will discuss disaster prevention strategies and a wide range of other themes including climate change, waste, marine resources, freshwater, energy, biodiversity, transportation and tourism.