Early Warning System Needs Improvement

By Barrie | November 1st, 2007 | No Comments

The existing early warning system to detect potential natural disasters is still ineffective, especially regarding the dissemination of information, said participants at a seminar. In a seminar on the role of information technology and communication in disaster management, a participant from Padang, West Sumatra — a province especially prone to earthquakes — called for a local early warning system that was more effective and understandable by the people.

“We need a voice-enabled early warning system in our region, so that people can instantly hear the warning and be more prepared when an earthquake strikes,” the participant said.

“Indeed, we have a siren to warn us, but I suggest the siren only be switched on for potentially big earthquakes, since small earthquakes might occur 10 to 15 times a day. Can you imagine how panicked the people will be if the siren sounds continuously?”

Meteorology and Geophysics Agency’s (BMG) deputy for data and information systems, Prih Harjadi, however, maintained that the agency only played the siren for earthquakes that had the potential to trigger tsunamis.

“Our tsunami early warning system is equipped with three detectors, comprising a seismograph to detect tremors, and buoy and tide gauges to identify changes in sea level,” Prih said.

“We measure how long it takes for waves to reach the shore. If the buoy and the tide gauge do not indicate any changes in sea level in a certain period of time after a tremor, the earthquake will not cause a tsunami.”

Prih said the BMG has installed 73 seismographs in 11 seismic centers nationwide, with a distance between the sensors of 300 kilometers and a processing time of 10 minutes.

By the end of this year the agency aims to install another 87 seismographs, all equipped with accelerographs to speed up the processing time.

Tuesday’s seminar also heard suggestions to apply new systems of disaster management to complement the current system.

Airputih Foundation, an NGO focusing on information technology, suggested using the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) system, which is able to collect disaster warnings and disseminate the alerts and information to related stakeholders through satellite receivers.

“If an earthquake occurs, for example, BMG will send an alert message to the provincial disaster management center. The center will then forward the message to many sites in the province, including local administrations, hospitals and local media, so that people can be immediately informed,” said Airputih’s Paul Lek.

State-owned telecommunication company PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia presented a dissemination system for tsunami alerts, the virtual phone (VIPO), which combines telecommunication with a broadcasting system.

The Research Center for Information Technology and Communication at the Bandung Institute of Technology presented a disaster and emergency alert using the Next Generation Network.

Desy Nurhayati