Enforcement of land use and coastal zone management practices is essential - Anup Karanth

“There is not enough political will and commitment in most of the countries to disaster risk reduction. The Government should continue to ensure people’s safety from disasters. The story doesn’t end by putting up a sophisticated and robust EWS, instead the journey just begins by installing the EWS.” - Anup Karanth, Gurgaon, India

At the time of the Tsunami:

·    I received phone calls from Guwahati, Bhubaneshwar, Chennai, Trivandrum and Bangalore reporting tremors (@ 630hrs, 26Dec2004). This message was passed on to Stacey Martin (ASC @ Pune) and Hari Kumar (Project Coordinator, UEVRP @ Delhi). Stacey Martin indicated about a large earthquake event and possibility of Tsunami which could touch the Indian shores. The matter was conveyed to the senior officials in the Govt.

·    I tried reaching the NEOC 07.30 hrs; however no one picked the call.

·    By 0800hrs IST, I received close to 12-15 felt reports of the earthquake across the country and there was a general fear of Tsunami coming and hitting the Indian shoreline.

·    Jaiganesh (Project Officer, UEVRP) informed on the phone that the Tsunami has hit the coast of Chennai. As the event was unfolding I could hear the loud noise of emergency service personnel deploying rescue operations  

Lessons

·    Risk mapping of hazard prone areas serves as a decision making tool. Risk mapping also serves as an instrument for raising public awareness and education

·     In 2004, countries across the Indian Ocean did not feel the need for establishment of EWS for Tsunami hazard. Several lives could have been saved if the region had an established tsunami EWS. A functional end-to-end early tsunami early warning system is therefore an important and a critical infrastructure for countries prone to tsunami threat.

·    Land-use planning in coastal areas must consider the threat of tsunami hazard. With more people and assets in coastal zones, slightest exposure to events such as tropical cyclones, floods, storm surge and tsunamis is likely to cause loss of life and damage to property. The local government/authority along the coastal zones have to determine the risks and undertake long term planning measures so as to ensure that loss of life, property damage and damage to environment is minimized.

Challenges

·    Reducing risk requires scientists, institutions and society to work together. There is a need for stronger collaboration, interaction and communication between all the parties.

·     Enforcement along the lines of defined land use and existing coastal zone management practices has taken a back seat. Risk sensitive land-use planning and building codes can significantly reduce the exposure to risks in coastal zones.

·    Low probability and high impact events throws open a huge challenge in building risk perception among the communities. Public awareness and education should be continued all year round. They are essential for keeping the memories alive and also to assure that the early warning systems are in place to safe guard their lives in case of imminent threat.