Tsunami early warning system being planned
BUTTERWORTH: The Government has proposed to establish a tsunami early warning system.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said yesterday this was to prevent tragedies and the loss of lives, like what the country experienced on Sunday.
“We will get all the appropriate sources to help us in establishing the early warning system,” he said, adding that experts from Japan would be invited for this purpose because the country had a comprehensive early warning system.
Najib also said the country had been put on the alert for a possible second tsunami because the epicentre of the earthquake near Sumatra had yet to stabilise.
He said aftershocks with a reading of 5 on the Richter Scale could still be felt around the earthquake area.
“There is a possibility that the country would experience a second tsunami and those living along the coastal areas are advised not to return home until further notice,” he told reporters at the Royal Malaysian Air Force Butterworth airbase here.
Responding to a question, Najib said the Meteorological Service Department Seismology division could only obtain information on shocks but it did not have the facility to predict tidal waves.
He also advised the public not to listen to rumours that the Penang Bridge would be closed because it was not safe to use.
“I have checked with Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu about the bridge and all other major infrastructures, and he confirmed that they were not affected at all.”
Najib also said the Government would give RM1,000 each to families who had lost their loved ones and RM200 each to those who sustained injuries. Families who had to evacuate would get RM200 each and the aid would be paid out immediately.
Later in Langkawi, Najib inspected damage caused by the tidal waves at Kuala Cenang, Kuala Teriang and the Telaga Harbour Park in Pantai Kok.
Kuala Teriang was one of the worst hit areas in Langkawi with 116 houses damaged or washed away, and 102 boats damaged or lost. The sole fatality in Langkawi, an 80-year-old woman, was from the area.
Elaborating on the tsunami alert system, Meteorological Services seismology division director Low Kong Chiew said Malaysia planned to work with other Asian countries.
The countries in the proposed network were likely to include Singapore, Brunei, Thailand and Sri Lanka, he said.
Low said that for this system to work, certain instruments must be placed in the oceans to detect aftershock or tsunami.
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