We all remember that in 2004 a huge tsunami took more than two hundred thousand lives in Southeast Asia. Many of those people could have been saved with proper emergency preparedness. Effective emergency preparedness is a key factor in saving lives during natural or manmade disasters.
The tsunami of 2004 was probably the most terrible one in the whole history. However, it was not the first tsunami and probably is not the last one. There were about twenty five tsunamis in the twentieth century. Most of them occurred in the Pacific Ocean. However, tsunamis have been recorded everywhere around the globe. They took place in Japan and in Chile, in Great Britain and in Italy. New Zealand also suffered from a tsunami more than one hundred thousand years ago.
For many centuries people were not able to predict tsunamis. That is why getting ready for them was not possible. Tsunamis are often caused by volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and landslides. Fortunately, today scientists are able to predict tsunamis after such events.
Geographic areas with the high risk of tsunamis today have warning systems that are able to warn people long before the wave reaches the coast. Powerful computers are used to predict the time and the possible location of tsunamis. However, it is impossible to know this for sure so far. After an underground earthquake a warning is sent to all communities that are located by the sea. It warns people that a wave may go in their direction. When these alerts are gotten in time, emergency preparedness efforts become much more effective. In 2004 such warnings were not sent and this became a good lesson for people to get ready for the same events in the future.
Emergency preparedness for tsunami should base on such warning systems. When an underground earthquake is detected, a signal is sent to communities that could be affected by the wave. At this stage it is impossible to predict the size, the location and the time of the tsunami. That is why all recommendations and warning are of general kind. A tsunami may occur many hours after the seismic event.
When people get a warning that a tsunami might occur, they should stay alert and keep watching the sea. Such signs as quick receding of sea water show that a tsunami is coming. In most countries people are alerted by a siren. It is used about three hours before the possible tsunami. If there are signs of water receding, people need to evacuate immediately.
Once scientists get to detect a tsunami, they send detailed information about its size, speed and direction. In this case a siren is used to alert people again. And people need to leave the dangerous area.
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