DEATHS FROM INDONESIAN EARHTQUAKE COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED
On Monday March 28th at around 11:09 am GMT time, Indonesia was faced with yet another tragedy. In addition to the country trying to cope with the after effects of the Tsunami of Dec 26th, they were faced with another challenge. A life threatening earthquake happened during the early hours of the day.
Scientists were flabbergasted at this event. Although they reported that another Tsunami may be possible in the near future. The residents of the country have had some trouble with keeping their homes stable due to severe weather conditions.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Australia feel it would be best for residents to evacuate the affected area immediately. Pictures of ]the earthquake on television and it appears to be even worse now than the Tsunami which was one of the most horrific events that Indonesia has had thus far even more than the Tsunami.
This is where science communication plays a vital role. The role of science communication is weak around the regions of the Indian Ocean. Thousands of lives could have been saved had there been proper technology and efficient communication between all agencies especially health, science, and oceanic groups. There needs to be improved early warning systems so that the residents of the “targeted" region can be warned. The earthquake may not be avoidable, but at least the improved early warning systems will help significantly. Since early warning detection systems have already been created, all scientists need to do is give the systems a stronger technological upgrade.
It is very disturbing that scientists in other countries have more knowledge of what’s happening in the targeted country than the country itself. Reporters can’t act fast enough to make a difference due to various hiccups in technology and speed of news travel. The government needs to support the use of Early Warning Systems and provide funding for their use. One thing that would help is if science journalists were to go the extra mile and find out about any possible warnings and report them to the weather stations before the earthquake hits.
There have been [name an official estimate of deaths here. Relief aid is being sent to victims and families as we speak. Thousands of lives could have been saved with an Early warning from science journalists and meteorologists.
In a global economy, a severe attack on any part of the world has negative effects all over the world. Therefore, it should be the #1 priority of all meteorological and media groups to see that the third world avoid wholesale disasters whenever possible. How would they do this? The answer is simple. By working hard to inform citizens of a country as soon as possible of a possible severe weather problem coming their way. On a whole, I feel that low-income regions in countries around the world have to find ways to acquire information and those that are fortunate enough to have access to technology should use it for legitimate purposes.
By Sanju
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