Current Technical Designs for Tsunami Warning Systems: Sri Lanka Rohan Samarajiva

Physical world wherehazards occur

Symbolic worldwhere action

originates

Mediatedinterpersona

l

Physical and symbolic worlds, absent

linking technologies

Physical world wherehazards occur

Symbolic worldwhere action

originates

Mass media

Mediatedinterpersonal

Warnings

Warnings

The physical, the symbolic & their linking through ICTs, simplified

Physical world wherehazards occur

Symbolic worldwhere action

originatesMass media

Mediatedinterpersona

l

Warnings

Physical world of hazards, symbolic worlds, link technologies & institutions that work imperfectly

Information & communication technology & institutions

Warning CenterHazard detection & monitoring system

Last mile: Our focus

Communities; families;individuals

Effective warning: multiple pathways

Tsunami hazard detection(International/regional)

Assessment and issuance of warning (National center)

Media First responders(incl. CBOs)

Tsunami waves & communication waves Point-to-point communication

networks are inherently vulnerable to congestionNo design can be congestion proofCongestion can be managed, not

avoidedPoint-to-multipoint is the only real

option• Cell broadcast vs SMS

Tsunami waves & communication waves In a community-based (versus direct to

households) model, avoiding congestion is essential Keeping ahead of the congestion by acting

fast; if possible use priority channels Targeted point-to-multipoint media

• Addressable satellite radio (Disaster Warning, Response and Recovery)

• 10 second from activation to alert

Key elements of the LIRNEasia/Sarvodaya design Improve hazard detection & monitoring

What can we do at village level?• Not tsunami detection; but ability to identify &

communicate abnormal phenomena• Villagers as active participant, not just passive

recipients Improve transmission of warnings

Really up to the government• But we can supplement

• How to alert a village when the radios and TVs are off and the police are far away

Key elements

Improve preparedness to receive warnings and act appropriately Last-mile problem; fully within Sarvodaya’s

Grama Swarajya concept• Partly a communication problem

• Solutions are customized for each village

• Partly a question of the mind• Preparedness through training and drills• Identification of hazards and preparing responses

through training and simulations• Marking out evacuation paths, etc.

• Partly a law and order problem• Village self governance in collaboration with police

First phase

How village organization matters Can better organized villages take decisions

faster and take right action? How training matters

“Disaster preparedness through knowledge and participation”

Availability of [two-way] ICT (free of congestion, with redundancy) is a necessary condition Need to know what works and what

appropriate mixes are

Training No Training

Sarvodaya Village Stages 1, 2 & (3) (less organized)

VSAT Mobile phone

Fixed phone

ASR VSAT Mobile phone

Fixed phone

ASR

ASR + Ham radio

ASR + Fixed phone

ASR + Mobile Phone

Control Village

ASR + Ham radio

ASR + Fixed phone

ASR + Mobile Phone

Control Village

Sarvodaya Village Stages (3), 4 & 5 (more organized)

VSAT Mobile phone

Fixed phone

ASR VSAT Mobile phone

Fixed phone

ASR

ASR + Ham radio

ASR + Fixed phone

ASR + Mobile Phone

Control Village

ASR + Ham radio

ASR + Fixed phone

ASR + Mobile Phone

Control Village

Partners and responsibilities

LIRNEasia: Research design and project management

IDRC: Funding TVEAP: Training of trainers; evaluation Sarvodaya Shanti Sena: Trainers and

evaluators Sarvodaya DMC: Hazard info hub Sarvodaya tech services: Telecenters

using VSATs; maintenance of equipment

Partners and responsibilities

WorldSpace: DWRR Mobile operator (Dialog) and software

partner (MicroImage): Multi-lingual SMS on Java; priority SMS?

London School of Economics (Dr Gordon Gow): CAP and international best practices

Our objectives

Generate research findings as quickly as possible (even though project runs until November 2007)

Use those findings to provide appropriate ICTs and training to All 226 tsunami-affected villagesAll 15,000 Sarvodaya villagesAll ~30,000 villages in our country

Preparedness: the bulwark that saves lives