The project to build a tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean has commenced off the coast of Indonesia.
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The system is currently being tested and is a collaborative project between Germany and Indonesia. |
Indonesia’s Aceh province, located on the northern part of Sumatra Island, was the area hardest hit by the tsunami in December of last year. Currently, in a joint venture with the Indonesian government, a German research vessel is heading towards the waters off Sumatra to deploy signal-sensing buoys.
After eight months of design, testing, and surveys, two early warning tsunami buoys are ready for deployment.
These buoys are approximately seven meters long and are equipped with devices mounted on the buoy and an underwater system to measure seismic activity. These instruments are connected to sensors located on the seabed. In the event of any unusual activity, the buoys are programmed to transmit information via satellite back to a processing station located onshore in Indonesia.
At this center, scientists will be responsible for analyzing and interpreting the data to determine whether to issue an alert.
Currently, tsunami alerts are sent to coastal communities through text messages or emails. There are also plans to install sirens to alert the population more quickly.
Reinhold Ollig from the German Ministry of Research and Education explains that installing such a system in Indonesia is extremely important.
Mr. Ollig states, “This is the most dangerous area in the entire Indian Ocean region, and we, along with our colleagues in Indonesia, are implementing this project to protect lives in this frontline area.”
Scientists share the view that the Sumatra region remains unstable and there is a significant likelihood of a major earthquake occurring.
No one knows when such an earthquake might happen, but with the equipment being deployed and some luck, there is hope that thousands of lives could be saved if a tsunami were to strike again in this area.
