Case Study: Boxing Day Tsunami
Situation/ Problem:
On Boxing Day (december 26), 2004, a huge tsunami hit 11 countries, killing 275,000 people. There were two huge problems that lead to the loss of thousands of lives. The first problem was education about tsunamis. The second problem is lack of warning. Without these two things, people were very unprepared.
Background:
So why is the lack of education and warning, a problem? The lack of education is a problem because, for the Boxing Day tsunami no one knew what the long line of white water heading straight towards them was, so lots of people were gathering on the beaches to look at it when it formed.
Lack of education about a tsunami also lead to a lot of destruction the houses weren’t built to withstand a tsunami, the Boxing Day tsunami reached up to 500km per hour and some waves were recorded to reaching up to 20 meters in height. This damaged over 141,000 houses were destroyed which only makes up 47.9% of the damage. The lack of warning was the biggest problem, because no one knew the tsunami was coming, so everyone was trapped in the towns and unprepared. With more warning, people would have had time to evacuate to higher ground and save their loved ones.
Description of Solutions:
Several solutions were put into place to minimize the damage by giving sufficient education and warning. For example, broadcasts and movies have been made which educate the public on the power of tsunamis. The Boxing Day tsunami and the Japanese tsunami were heavily televised for up to months after they happened. This lead to awareness of the tsunamis and now more people can recognize the warning signs. To better warn the public there are several technologies put into place. The first is a tsunami alarm system. ‘The Tsunami Alarm System receives earthquake and tsunami warning information from a multiplicity of seismic measuring stations and tsunami warning stations from different countries all over the whole world’ (http://www.tsunami-alarm-system.com/en/tsunami-alarm-system/tsunami-alarm-system.html)
Subscribers then receive three back-to-back SMSs on their phones, which warn them about an impending tsunami. Another technology is a loud siren that sounds near coast lines when there is a tsunami detected (no matter how big) a broad cast in the local language is then played which says something like “warning: tsunami approaching, evacuate to higher ground immediately” this broadcast plays over and over many times alongside a siren.
How Effective Are These Solutions?
The solutions are quite effective. After the Boxing Day tsunami, the broadcast reached all over the world. Then in the Japanese tsunami when people saw the approaching water, they knew what it was and knew to run. The tsunami alarm system works well in theory because people would all receive an individual warning, although it has not been tested. But a downside of this technology is that not everyone is subscribed to this system so they may not receive a warning. Lastly, the siren along the coastlines has little effect. In the Japanese tsunami, the technology was put into play, but no one took heed and everyone ignored the siren. Also, the siren only warns people around the coastlines, everyone inland had no idea what was coming.
On Boxing Day (december 26), 2004, a huge tsunami hit 11 countries, killing 275,000 people. There were two huge problems that lead to the loss of thousands of lives. The first problem was education about tsunamis. The second problem is lack of warning. Without these two things, people were very unprepared.
Background:
So why is the lack of education and warning, a problem? The lack of education is a problem because, for the Boxing Day tsunami no one knew what the long line of white water heading straight towards them was, so lots of people were gathering on the beaches to look at it when it formed.
Lack of education about a tsunami also lead to a lot of destruction the houses weren’t built to withstand a tsunami, the Boxing Day tsunami reached up to 500km per hour and some waves were recorded to reaching up to 20 meters in height. This damaged over 141,000 houses were destroyed which only makes up 47.9% of the damage. The lack of warning was the biggest problem, because no one knew the tsunami was coming, so everyone was trapped in the towns and unprepared. With more warning, people would have had time to evacuate to higher ground and save their loved ones.
Description of Solutions:
Several solutions were put into place to minimize the damage by giving sufficient education and warning. For example, broadcasts and movies have been made which educate the public on the power of tsunamis. The Boxing Day tsunami and the Japanese tsunami were heavily televised for up to months after they happened. This lead to awareness of the tsunamis and now more people can recognize the warning signs. To better warn the public there are several technologies put into place. The first is a tsunami alarm system. ‘The Tsunami Alarm System receives earthquake and tsunami warning information from a multiplicity of seismic measuring stations and tsunami warning stations from different countries all over the whole world’ (http://www.tsunami-alarm-system.com/en/tsunami-alarm-system/tsunami-alarm-system.html)
Subscribers then receive three back-to-back SMSs on their phones, which warn them about an impending tsunami. Another technology is a loud siren that sounds near coast lines when there is a tsunami detected (no matter how big) a broad cast in the local language is then played which says something like “warning: tsunami approaching, evacuate to higher ground immediately” this broadcast plays over and over many times alongside a siren.
How Effective Are These Solutions?
The solutions are quite effective. After the Boxing Day tsunami, the broadcast reached all over the world. Then in the Japanese tsunami when people saw the approaching water, they knew what it was and knew to run. The tsunami alarm system works well in theory because people would all receive an individual warning, although it has not been tested. But a downside of this technology is that not everyone is subscribed to this system so they may not receive a warning. Lastly, the siren along the coastlines has little effect. In the Japanese tsunami, the technology was put into play, but no one took heed and everyone ignored the siren. Also, the siren only warns people around the coastlines, everyone inland had no idea what was coming.