The Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System is a tsunami warning system set up to provide warning to inhabitants of nations bordering the Indian Ocean of approaching tsunamis. It was agreed to in a United Nations conference held in January 2005 in Kobe, Japan as an initial step towards an International Early Warning Programme.^[1] It has been suggested that Low coasts mitigation be merged into this article or section. ... For other uses, see Tsunami (disambiguation). ... The foundation of the U.N. The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress and human rights issues. ... Kobe ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture and a prominent port city in Japan with a population of about 1. ... The International Early Warning Programme (IEWP), was first proposed at the Second International Conference on Early Warning in 2003 in Bonn, Germany. ...

The system became active in late June 2006 following the leadership of UNESCO. It consists of 25 seismographic stations relaying information to 26 national tsunami information centers, as well as three deep-ocean sensors^[2]. However, UNESCO warned that further coordination between governments and methods of relaying information from the centers to the civilians at risk are required to make the system effective.^[3] UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established in 1945. ...

Its creation was prompted by the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, which left some 230,000 people dead or missing. Many analysts claimed that the disaster would have been mitigated if there had been an effective warning system in place, citing the well established Hawaii based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center which operates in the Pacific Ocean. Animation of the tsunami caused by the earthquake (see also the full-length version) The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC (07:58:53 local time) on December 26, 2004. ... Official language(s) English, Hawaiian Capital Honolulu Largest city Honolulu Area  Ranked 43rd  - Total 10,931 sq mi (29,311 km²)  - Width n/a miles (n/a km)  - Length 1,522 miles (2,450 km)  - % water 41. ... Tsunameter and buoys used by DART system The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC), operated by NOAA in Ewa Beach, Hawaii, USA, is one of two tsunami warning centers in the United States. ...

People in some areas would have had more than adequate time to seek safety if they were aware of the impending catastrophe. The only way to effectively mitigate the impact of a tsunami is through an early warning system. Other methods such as tsunami walls only work for a percentage of waves, but a warning system is effective for all waves originating outside a minimum distance from the coastline. For other uses, see Tsunami (disambiguation). ... A warning system is any system of biological or technical nature deployed by an individuum or group to inform of imminent danger. ...

In the immediate aftermath of the July 2006 Java earthquake, the Indonesian government received tsunami warnings from the Hawaii center and the Japan Meteorological Agency but failed to relay the alert to its citizens. At least 23,000 people did evacuate the coast after the quake, either fearing a tsunami or because their homes had been destroyed. Map showing location of epicentre The July 2006 Java earthquake was a magnitude 7. ... Japan Meteorological Agency (気象庁) is a government agency, which is a central place responsible for gathering and reporting weather data and forecasts in Japan. ...

It has been suggested that in Muslim-dominated coastal areas, the loudspeakers fitted to mosques could be used to broadcast warnings.^[4]. There is also a collection of Hadith called Sahih Muslim A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Persian: Mosalman or Mosalmon Urdu: مسلمان, Turkish: Müslüman, Albanian: Mysliman, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of the religion of Islam. ... A mosque is a place of worship for followers of the Islamic faith. ...

Notes and references

is the 23rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 179th day of the year (180th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 179th day of the year (180th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 13 is the 13th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• UNESCO IndoTsunami Project Website
• Space Applications for Disaster Monitoring
• Envirtech Tsunami Warning System, based on real time seafloor observatories measuring seismic waves and sea levels
• U.S. Contribution to the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System
• Integrated Tsunami Watcher Service