Crisis Management by the Coastal Areas of Asia - Case Study Example

Crisis Management: Tsunami Management Crisis Management: Tsunami Management 1 Reaction and recommendations: 2 Crisis management programs: 4 Analysis of the data: 8 Conclusion: 9 Introduction:          The changes that have occurred in the past few years in the ecological system are highly alarming. These changes have had a negative effect on the human life and property; while at the same time have bought about changes in the ecological balance of the global ecology. In the following paper there shall be conducted a detailed discussion on the problems that have been faced by the coastal areas of Asia, after the occurrence of the Tsunami. The paper will also look at the various programs that have been undertaken by the government and the people alike to ensure full preparedness of management teams should a catastrophe like Tsunami occur again.            The history of mankind reflects the occurrence of a number of changes that have had a deep impact on the lives of the human race as a whole. One such occurrence has been the coming of the industrial revolution, which transformed not only man but all of man’s surroundings. The changes in demand of the market led to an increase in the demand that man kind made on the environment. The result of all the human action and his interaction with the environment has been that the ecology of earth today has become highly unstable, resulting in the problems of global warming and tectonic instability which is today being faced by all mankind. Given the changes that have been experienced there is today felt a need to ensure that people are more aware of the environment. This includes ensuring implementation of various crisis management programs in areas which are susceptible to such problems.                                  One such calamity that occurred in the new millennium was the occurrence of tsunami in the Indian Ocean. In the year of 2004 an earthquake took place on the floor of the Indian Ocean that resulted in one of the biggest tsunamis that had occurred in 40 years to affect the shores of the South Asian countries in the region. The effects of the calamity were disastrous and there were a number of countries that were affected by it. In the following paper there shall be conducted a detailed discussion on the various programs that have been put into place in the wake of the tsunami. These programs have been developed to ensure that the people in the region are prepared in the future. The paper will also focus on the viability of the programs that have been set up and try to establish a holistic picture of the effectiveness of the programs in the regions today. The purpose of the entire discussion is to try and develop the most efficient system of crisis management in the face of such natural calamities and disasters. Reaction and recommendations: In the wake of the tsunami the global community came together to develop effective programs to meet the challenge that it posed to society. A number of recommendations were made through various agencies. There was in fact set up the Tsunami Evaluation Coalition to look into the then existing situation, analyse the situation and make recommendations to improve the situation. After the tsunami there were faced the problem of people who were dislocated and there was experienced loss of property. The recommendations that were made were mainly in relation to the devastation that took place in the region (Lovholt, F., Bungum, H., Harbitz, C.B., Glimsal, S., Lindholm, C.D., and Pedersen, G, 2006). The Coalition analysed the ground realities, and made recommendations on the basis of the various problems that were being experienced in the region. The problems that were faced also included that international organizations which were functioning in the area were unable to coordinate with the local bodies in the region. The problem of people rehabilitation was an important concern facing the governments and the international community. Given these the problems the TEC formulated the Synthesis Report which made the following recommendations: The international humanitarian community needs a fundamental re-orientation from supplying aid to supporting and facilitating communities’ own relief and recovery priorities. Another important recommendation that was made that all the agencies that were involved in the affected area would make every effort to enhance their calamity management efforts through creation of collaborations among themselves, and with all other local and international actors, including the indigenous people and the local governments. There was also realised that there was a need to distinguish between the organizations that functioned at a professional level from those who did not. This was carried out through the creation of an international relief system which would develop an authorized and documented system which would distinguish between the two. There also has to be ensured that all the agencies ensure that their funding is more proficient and economic and that they work in a more visible and flexible manner which is better associated with values of good donor ship (Houghton R 2007). Thus, the recommendations that were made by the coalition called for greater coordination between the international organization and the indigenous people of the region. It called for better allocation of the funds which have been billed to the indigenous population of the affected area. Even though the funding that was available was high, the problems of inappropriate aid and competition among the various agencies were a reality that was faced in the rehabilitation program. The recommendations that were made in the social and economic field included the development of a better communication program, and setting up a more integrated system of disaster management and tsunami alert system. Crisis management programs:                 There were many programs that were implemented in the regions that were affected by the tsunami to ensure better management. These programs included governmental intervention, local aid, role of the international organizations such as the UN and other such collaborative actions. One of the most important programs that were undertaken in the regions was the development of a tsunami warning system. This was mainly a system that has been developed by the experts to detect the tsunamis and issue warnings in case of impeding tsunamis so that there is minimal damage to human lives and property. The system that has been developed is impingent on two systems; the first is the network of sensors that detect the intensity of the tsunamis while the other is the communicative systems that are utilized to ensure that the alarms are issued in time to the public so that evacuations of the areas can be undertaken. There are two types of systems that are in place in the world today in relation to the tsunami warning system, international and regional (Kenneally, Christine 2004). These are essentially similar and make use of the same principle that while tsunamis travel at between 500 and 1,000 km/h (around 0.14 and 0.28 km/s) in open water, earthquakes can be detected almost at once as seismic waves travel with a typical speed of 4 km/s (around 14,400 km/h). It is through the development of such a system that there can be ensured that there is issued a warning which provides sufficient time for evacuation. During the 2004 calamity there was observed to have emerged a growing concern about the lack of warning systems in the region in the international community. The system was developed in the region in the post 2004 scenario in collaboration with the international community. In fact the first steps to install in place a system to ensure that there was a warning system in the region, the efforts were initiated by the United Nations in the year of 2005.  Since then there has been put into place the Tsunami Warning system in accordance to the international system in the region, to ensure that in case of a calamity in the future the people can be warned in time. The technology was provided by the US, and it was set up in the region by the local governments in collaboration with international organizations. The program made use of two technologies, the sensors system and the communicative system. The sensor system is an automated system that can issue warnings as soon as the earthquake occurs so as to warn the public about the impending disaster. In such cases the sensors are attached to the bottom of buoys, and there are machines that read the sensors and in case of an earthquake, warning signals are sent out. The sensors that are attached are usually sensitive to the pressure of the water (Iwan, W.D., editor, 2006). They monitor the pressures of the overlying water columns and the formula that is used for the calculation is P is equal to pgh, where P is the overlying pressure of the water columns in newtons per meter square, p is the density of the sea water, which is 1.1 multiplied by 103 kilograms per meter cube, g is equal to the acceleration due to gravity, which is equal to 9.8 meters per second square and h is the height of the water column in meters. This is usually set up by the coastal guard as a method to ensure that the signs of the tsunami can be read in time to warn the people of the impending danger so that the area can be evacuated. Once the sensor systems have made the warnings, the communicative system is made use of to ensure that the people are made aware of the danger and the lower land could be evacuated. This is carried out with the help of the modern day technology so that the maximum numbers of people are warned. There are a number of new methods that have been developed since the year of 2004 in the region to ensure that the people can be warned in time. The system of communication is becoming more inclined towards the 21st century methods of communication, such as the system of smses, e mails, faxes, radio, telex and also through the emergency services and armed forces are dispatched to the areas to clear them. In fact there has been today developed a system where the people can register their number and in case of a threat of tsunami the people are sent messages. Tsunami alert system was also developed by scientists in accordance to the needs of the countries in the region. It is a system which is being developed by Asian Institute of Technology (AIT). The system that is being developed is basically focused on the idea of ensuring that there is analysis of the data after the occurrence of an earthquake so as to see if there is a possibility of a tsunami. In case there is, the system makes use of the modern technology of communication to ensure that this information is communicated to the indigenous people. The system makes use of the system of SMSes (Rainfall Forecast in Bangkok by Radar, Online). This was developed mainly due to the fact that scholars in the region believed that a new system would be more effective as there are a number of problems that are being faced with the international tsunami warning system.               The system that has been developed is more local, and it will take time to transfer this technology to the global community. At the present moment this is focused on the Southern Asian region, which was affected by the Sumatra – Andaman Island earthquake, including the polity of Thailand, India, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Other than the development of the warning system, the recommendations also looked at ensuring that the economic and social systems in the regions be restored. One of the most important recommendations is that there was made was the restoration of the public services in the region so that there was greater scope of improvement of the whole lot instead of limited growth. This recommendation focused on the restoration of the normal patterns of life in the region so that long run stability could be achieved. This is important as it is only through the collaborative efforts of the government along with the indigenous people that this be achieved (Carballo M, Heal B, Online). For example, in the country of India, the government set up the program Bhoomika which looked at rehabilitating those people who had lost their homes and livelihood. Analysis of the data: The data that has been collected reflects that during the crisis management there has to be ensured that there is higher coordination between the various organizations and bodies functioning in the affected area. The importance of coordination cannot be ignored as the local bodies are aware of the need of the people, but lack the resources to meet the need in the region. On the other hand the international organizations have the resources but are unable to function effectively as they do not know the needs of the region (West, Michael; Sanches, John J.; McNutt, Stephen R, 2005). The role of the governments and the indigenous people is of utmost importance as it is only through the cooperation of these agencies that sustainable development be achieved in the long run in these regions. In relation to the tsunami warning system the following observations can be concluded. A review of the system reflects that although the system that has been developed is highly advanced there are still a number of problems that are being faced with the system. One of the most important problems that is being faced with the existing system is that there is no insurance against immediate tsunamis, where there is little to no time between the occurrence of the earthquake and the tsunami. In such cases, when a tsunami occurs the people lack the time required to evacuate the low lands and reach the safety of the high land paces (Gavin K 2006). Another important short coming of the system that is in place is that it may lead to warnings being issued in cases where there may not occur a tsunami, as the system is based mainly on the readings of the seismic waves. The system also does not record the potential of tectonic disturbance and a system needs to be developed that takes into account the potential of the earthquake. The technology is still being developed and has not been implemented as of now. Finally one of the most important drawbacks of the system is that it is highly impingent on the system of communication to ensure that the people are warned in time to evacuate the regions and run to the high lands for shelter. But the countries are in the region very poor and due to this lack the resources to develop an intrinsic communicative system which is required in order to ensure that the tsunami warning system is effective in the long run and can be used to warn the people. Conclusion:   Thus, it can be concluded that the system that has been developed in the region since the year of 2004 is much advanced than the system that was in place at the time when the tsunami occurred. This is mainly due to the fact that there was realized after the occurrence of the calamity that the area lacked an alert system. There has even been developed a regional system which is the TAS, which looks at the regional needs of the countries in the region. In fact there are today in process talks that are looking at establishing a global system of tsunami warning, including the Atlantic and Artic belt so that all the coastal areas of the world can be secured. Also the role of the government and the local organizations cannot be ignored and these are in fact crucial in the growth and recovery of the economic and social conditions in the affected regions in the long run. Reference: Carballo M, Heal B (Online), The public health responses to the tsunami- what have we learned?, accessed at http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:jRM64OUNmVsJ:www.fmreview.org/textOnlyContent/FMR/Tsunami/04.doc+tsunami+recommendations&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=in on June 14, 2010. Gavin K 2006, Ammianus and the Great Tsunami, The Journal of Roman Studies 94 (141): 141–167. Houghton R 2007, The tsunami evaluation coalition: implications for Practise, Humanitarian Exchange magazine, Volume 37 (2), 2007, pp 23-26. Iwan, W.D., editor, 2006, Summary report of the Great Sumatra Earthquakes and Indian Ocean tsunamis of December 26, 2004 and March 28, 2005: Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, EERI Publication 2006-06, 11 chapters  Kenneally, Christine 2004, Surviving the Tsunami, Slate December 30, 2004 Lovholt, F., Bungum, H., Harbitz, C.B., Glimsal, S., Lindholm, C.D., and Pedersen, G, 2006, Earthquake related tsunami hazard along the western coast of Thailand, Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, Vol. 6, No. 6, 979–997 Rainfall Forecast in Bangkok by Radar, Tsunami Alert system, accessed at http://www.wap.ait.ac.th/tsunami.html on June 11, 2010 West, Michael; Sanches, John J.; McNutt, Stephen R, 2005 Periodically triggered seismicity at Mount Wrangell, after the Sumatra Earthquake, Science, Vol 308, pp 1140-1145. Read More