Transcript (3), 4 & 5 (more organized) Control Village ASR +

Current Technical
Designs for Tsunami
Warning Systems: Sri
Lanka
Rohan Samarajiva
Physical and symbolic worlds, absent
linking technologies
Mediated
interpersonal
Symbolic world
where action
Physical world where originates
hazards occur
The physical, the symbolic & their linking
through ICTs, simplified
Warnings
Mass media
Physical world where
hazards occur
Warnings
Mediated
interpersonal
Symbolic world
where action
originates
Physical world of hazards, symbolic worlds,
link technologies & institutions that work
imperfectly
Hazard detection &
monitoring system
Warning Center
Warnings
Physical world where
hazards occur
Mediated
interpersonal
Symbolic world
where action
originates
Mass media
Last mile: Our focus
Information & communication
technology & institutions
Effective warning: multiple
pathways
Tsunami hazard detection
(International/regional)
Assessment and issuance
of warning (National center)
Media
First responders
(incl. CBOs)
Communities; families;
individuals
Tsunami waves &
communication waves

Point-to-point communication
networks are inherently vulnerable to
congestion
No design can be congestion proof
 Congestion can be managed, not
avoided
 Point-to-multipoint is the only real
option

• Cell broadcast vs SMS
Tsunami waves &
communication waves

In a community-based (versus direct to
households) model, avoiding congestion is
essential


Keeping ahead of the congestion by acting
fast; if possible use priority channels
Targeted point-to-multipoint media
• Addressable satellite radio (Disaster Warning,
Response and Recovery)
• 10 second from activation to alert
Key elements of the
LIRNEasia/Sarvodaya design

Improve hazard detection & monitoring

What can we do at village level?
• Not tsunami detection; but ability to identify &
communicate abnormal phenomena
• Villagers as active participant, not just passive
recipients

Improve transmission of warnings

Really up to the government
• But we can supplement
• How to alert a village when the radios and TVs are
off and the police are far away
Key elements

Improve preparedness to receive warnings
and act appropriately

Last-mile problem; fully within Sarvodaya’s
Grama Swarajya concept
• Partly a communication problem
• Solutions are customized for each village
• Partly a question of the mind
• Preparedness through training and drills
• Identification of hazards and preparing responses
through training and simulations
• Marking out evacuation paths, etc.
• Partly a law and order problem
• Village self governance in collaboration with police
First phase

How village organization matters


How training matters


Can better organized villages take decisions
faster and take right action?
“Disaster preparedness through knowledge
and participation”
Availability of [two-way] ICT (free of
congestion, with redundancy) is a
necessary condition

Need to know what works and what
appropriate mixes are
Training
No Training
Sarvodaya
Village
Stages 1, 2
& (3) (less
organized)
VSAT
Mobile
phone
Fixed
phone
VSAT
Mobile
phone
Fixed
phone
ASR +
Ham
radio
ASR +
Fixed
phone
ASR + Control
Mobil Village
e
Phone
ASR +
Ham
radio
ASR +
Fixed
phone
ASR + Control
Mobil Village
e
Phone
Sarvodaya
Village
Stages (3),
4&5
(more
organized)
VSAT
Mobile
phone
Fixed
phone
VSAT
Mobile
phone
Fixed
phone
ASR +
Ham
radio
ASR +
Fixed
phone
ASR + Control
Mobil Village
e
Phone
ASR +
Ham
radio
ASR +
Fixed
phone
ASR + Control
Mobil Village
e
Phone
ASR
ASR
ASR
ASR
Partners and responsibilities






LIRNEasia: Research design and project
management
IDRC: Funding
TVEAP: Training of trainers; evaluation
Sarvodaya Shanti Sena: Trainers and
evaluators
Sarvodaya DMC: Hazard info hub
Sarvodaya tech services: Telecenters using
VSATs; maintenance of equipment
Partners and responsibilities
WorldSpace: DWRR
 Mobile operator (Dialog) and software
partner (MicroImage): Multi-lingual
SMS on Java; priority SMS?
 London School of Economics (Dr
Gordon Gow): CAP and international
best practices

Our objectives
Generate research findings as quickly
as possible (even though project runs
until November 2007)
 Use those findings to provide
appropriate ICTs and training to

All 226 tsunami-affected villages
 All 15,000 Sarvodaya villages
 All ~30,000 villages in our country

Preparedness: the bulwark that
saves lives