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| Image of large waves coming ashore |
One year has elapsed since the magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck off of the coast of Japan which resulted in the unprecedented tsunami which struck the Sendai region causing over 20,000 lives to be lost. Seven years ago an earthquake and resulting tsunami in Indonesia killed over 230,000 people. After these two mega disasters it would seem logical that any viable knowledge which would save lives when these disasters occurred would be supported in earnest.
The technology designed to American safeguard lives consists on a network of buoys which would relay information about any waves as they raced across the ocean. The first six were installed by National Oceanic and Aeronautical Association (NOAA) in 1996 and was later expanded to 39 after the 2004 tsunami. These high tech devices, tethered to the bottom of the sea, line the Pacific and Atlantic oceans measuring water pressure changes and the movement of the sea floor. Any abnormalities will be transmitted to satellites which are then used to create tsunami alerts. These buoys proved very successful in predicting the time and height of the waves which arrived in Santa Cruz California after last year’s tsunami.
Thus I was alarmed to hear the Tsunami buoy warning system whose purpose is to protect the West Coast against tsunami would be getting decreased funding in Obama administration’s 2013 budget. I guess our lawmakers were not satisfied that the investment made, amounting to $400,000 for each buoy, worked exactly as designed.
The scenario makes me think if the government had known what would transpire in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina whether Congress could have found the funds to sure up the levees against the inevitable direct strike of a major hurricane.
When will the government act on the painful lessons learned after these calamities from not being prepared? Will they ever get it?
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