Tsunami Update: Early Warning System

By JULIETTE ROSSANT The phrase "We're from Washington; we're here to help" is more often a cause for fear than for comfort in America, but this time it seems like our government is doing something very, very right. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced the launch of an Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System (IOTWS), a two-year project, costing $ 16.6 Million as part of a multinational system to detect and prepare for tsunamis and related coastal hazards. Other U.S. agencies involved include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). U.S. technical assistance will primarily support efforts in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and the Maldives – the countries most severely affected by the December 2004 disaster, which killed nearly a quarter million people. The project kicked off in Perth, Australia, earlier this month with a first session of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (or "ICG/IOTWS-I"). The international supervisor is the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The system will be operational in twelve months, according to UNESCO, reports ABC News. A very real-world obstacle was identified during the session: will the system be effective in the dreaded "last mile"? How will warnings reach remote villages, where phones of any kind and televisions are scarce? Developed nations had best recall that many of the countries they intend to help are "lesser developed nations" -- off the grid. Live8 has shown the very real-world limits that developed nations are willing to extend: solutions must fit the problem's realities, not the perceived reality of the problem solvers. To help recall the depth of devastation from the Asian Tsunami, try this for a simple measure: Thailand expects that it will take three (3) years simply to identify all its dead, according to the BBC. We laugh at memories of the Black Death in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, but this has been a real-life "Bring out your dead!" experience, with repercussions for years to come -- like a generation lost at war, yet more reminiscent of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima (recently commemorated) than of any "lost generation." What are chefs doing these days about Tsunami relief? Even the newly formed Chefs for Humanity, which arose out of the Tsunami disaster (see new website), has not earmarked its first fundraising effort for UNICEF next month on eBay for Tsunami relief (see press release and previous article). (Reuters has an excellent, interactive map of the affected region: click here to see.) Previous articles: Cat Cora: Chefs for Humanity Clinton Writes on Tsunami Tsunami 11: Christmast Island Is OK Tsunami Update 10: Jean-Georges Vongerichten Tsunami Update 9: Dining to Donate, Pret-A-Porter Tsunami Update 8: Dining to Donate in San Francisco Tsunami Update 7: Dining to Donate in Washington DC Tsunami Update 6: Dining to Donate in Houston Tsunami Update 5: Chefs Counter Tsunami Update 4: US Ex-Presidents Lead Funding Tsunami Update 3: Christmas Island New Year's Resolution: Eat Well, Help Others Tsunami Update 2: Race Against More Death Tsunami Update 1: Foodies Help 2004 Tsunami: How Foodies Can Help Technorati Tags: superchefblog, super chef, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, cuisine, tsunami, clinton, Bill Clinton --> back to superchefblog