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Is Sri Lanka in the dark if tsunami strikes again?
Colombo, November 5 (Daily Mirror) - Amidst the Tsunami Exercise (IOWave25) scheduled in several coastal districts today, Director General of the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) Maj. Gen. Sampath Kotuwegoda (Retd.) yesterday revealed that all 77 Tsunami Early Warning Towers in the country are not operative at the moment.
He told a news conference at the Government Information Department that these towers became inoperative about three years ago due to an issue in the satellite which provided signals to these towers.
The Director General said it is a huge task and that the DMC alone cannot rectify it.
"We have discussed with international organizations through the Foreign Ministry to restore the functioning of the towers, "he said.
The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) Director Pradeep Kodippili said Tsunami Early Warning Towers are only one method and that there are more than 15 more such warning methods.
He said DMC cannot depend on one method and there are alternative methods in operation. He also said these are more like bell towers used for alerting people along the coastal belt.
"Alert through these towers is audible within a certain radius only. The entire coastal belt of Sri Lanka also cannot be covered even through these towers. Yet, we are planning to repair them ," he said.
The Indian Ocean Tsunami Exercise (IOWave25) is scheduled to be conducted in coastal districts of Batticaloa, Jaffna, Galle and Kalutara today at 8:30 a.m.
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