India marks 20 years of Tsunami Warning system, experts highlight progress

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], December 20 : As the 20th anniversary of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami approaches, the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) highlights significant advancements in tsunami warning and mitigation systems.
Speaking to ANI, Dr Srinivasa Kumar Tummala, Director of the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) emphasized the progress made since the devastating tsunami, noting the establishment of regional tsunami warning systems and the role of INCOIS as a key agency in implementing an ocean observing system.
"The Indian Ocean Tsunami happened on the 26th of December 2004 and now we are approaching 20 years, two decades after this Indian Ocean tsunami. So what we are trying to demonstrate here is the amount of progress that has been made within these two decades in establishing regional tsunami warning and mitigation systems...Soon after the December 26, 2004 tsunami, the UN gave the mandate to the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC/UNESCO) to establish a regional tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean region, which was also followed by such systems in different ocean basins. So now there are four regional systems. All of these systems work in tandem actually, and then can provide warnings to vulnerable populations in different countries globally. The Indian Ocean Tsunami warning system has three tsunami service providers...There are lots of sensors from which data is being shared in real-time and then they can detect tsunamis..," he said.

Group Director of INCOIS, Pattabhi Rama Rao told ANI, that INCOIS has established a network of 36 real-time tide gauge stations along India's coast to monitor sea levels and detect potential tsunamis triggered by earthquakes in the Indian Ocean.
"Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) is the main agency to implement an ocean observing system to provide ocean information and advisory services...After 2004, the INCOIS established a network of 36 tide gauge stations to monitor the sea level all along the Indian coast and we are getting the data in real-time...In case there is an earthquake in the Indian Ocean and it has the potential to generate a tsunami, the sea level observing network will confirm the generation of the tsunami anywhere in the Indian Ocean region similarly, we have this in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands..," he said.

Senior scientist at INCOIS, Dr Balakrishnan Nair stated that India's tsunami early warning system, established at INCOCOIS, has been successfully predicting tsunamis in the Indian Ocean for two decades. Additionally, 26 tsunami-ready villages have been established in India, primarily in Odhya, with more in development.
"This is regarding the tsunami early warning system at the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS). We are commemorating two decades of tsunami on the 26th of December. India is equipped to protect our people in India as well as the Indian Ocean region by establishing a state-of-the-art tsunami warning centre and it is running perfectly to predict all the tsunamis in the Indian Ocean. In addition to that we are also developing a tsunami-ready community and we have established 26 tsunami warning villages in India, especially in Odisha and we are in the process of developing more tsunami-ready villages in India..," he said.