What have we learned from the tsunami? Rohan Samarajiva

1.Failures of ICT use and of institutions occurred Assumed ubiquity and power of ICTs not evident on December 26, : Krakatoa disaster carried by telegraph agencies 2 days later 2004: Destruction of Aceh carried by satellite and Internet-equipped news organizations 2 hours later News of inundation of East Coast coastal towns reaches Colombo, but is not broadcast; failing to save lives on other coasts

Physical world where hazards occur Symbolic world where action originates Mediated interpersonal Physical and symbolic worlds, absent linking technologies

Physical world where hazards occur Symbolic world where action originates Mass media Mediated interpersonal Warnings The physical, the symbolic & their linking through ICTs, simplified More time to run; more lives saved

The importance of ICT-based warning and evacuation Sri Lanka’s biggest natural disasters compared Families affected Deaths 1978 East Coast Cyclone & Tidal Surges 250, Indian Ocean Tsunami 248,26630,974 (40,000) 1:11:34

Physical world where hazards occur Symbolic world where action originates Mediated interpersonal What happened on December 26 th, 2004: A world without ICTs... One in 500 died in Sri Lanka without one minute of official warning

2.Congestion matters, but broadcast is not panacea All point-to-point networks including SMS were affected to varying degrees by congestion They can play a role “ahead of the wave,” but... Broadcast modes have difficulty alerting people Radio and TV must be on Cell broadcast does not alert

Communities; families; individuals Multiple pathways make keeping ahead of the wave difficult Tsunami hazard detection (International/regional) Assessment and issuance of warning (National center) Media First responders (incl. CBOs)

How to give alerts based on the lesson Systems that can make people ready AHEAD of the congestion wave Hazard information hub (HIH) Community based system Novel methods of alerting people WorldSpace Disaster Warning Response and Recovery (DWRR) set, connected to HIH Dialog-U of Moratuwa-MicroImage GSM based alerting device

3.Government need not do everything; Sri Lanka’s strength is community Government has hands full with Hazard detection and monitoring systems National disaster warning system Why not build on the community strength to develop preparedness at the village level? Making Sarvodaya’s 226 tsunami affected villages disaster resilient

4.Sri Lanka can lead the way with community-centered disaster-preparedness Community approach prioritizes training and preparedness Cost-effective to provide mix of specially designed communication devices to community leaders, rather than households Community focus also reduces negatives of panics and trust problems

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 2,000 and then all 15,000 Sarvodaya villages All ~30,000 villages in our country Bay of Bengal and beyond

Where we are now 7 day Train-the-trainer Workshop completed Picture is from in-situ training at tsunami- affected village on west Coast 28 trainers from all regions completed course

Where we are now Locally developed alerting device demonstrated to villagers Village level training underway Equipment being Tested for HIH

For more information (search using “disaster”) Rohan Samarajiva ; (f) Gordon Gow Nuwan Waidyanatha