Tsunami warning system work on schedule: Sibal

A full-scale early warning system for tsunami and storm surges will be in place by September next year, as planned, minister of science and technology and earth sciences Kapil Sibal has said.

Speaking at a press conference on the second anniversary of the deadly tsunami which took thousands of life and displaced lakhs of people in several parts of the country, Sibal said, "In these two years, we have developed a world-class warning system that will be the best in the zone. We have analysed 50,000 scenarios to make the warning system suitable and efficient in all situations and parts of the country."

An interim tsunami warning centre is operating since July 2005 at the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad, where the full-scale system will be set up.

"The present system takes 30 minutes to analyse and warn about a tsunami whereas the complete system will take 10 minutes to analyse and another 10 minutes to confirm the threat," Sibal said.

Announcing the latest developments on this front, Dr Shailesh Nayak, director, INCOIS, said 17 tide gauges had been set up in waters surrounding the country and realtime data was being received at INCOIS.

One Bottom Pressure Recorder (BPR) deployed in waters near the Andaman and Nicobar island was sending data and another was in the process of being installed, he said.

A total of 12 bottom pressure recorders are planned to be installed as part of the network. The recorders would monitor the changes in the sea level.

"These recorders tell whether a tsunami has been generated or not, while the tide guages confirm the occurrence," Nayak said.