Tsunami early warning system is transferred to Indonesia
March 29, 2011
Tsunami early warning system is transferred to Indonesia
The German-Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System for the Indian Ocean (GITEWS) was handed over to Indonesia on March 29 by a German delegation led by the Parliamentary State Secretary (BMBF) Thomas Rachel. The warning system was expanded and optimized during a testing phase lasting just under three years and is now being entrusted to the responsibility of Indonesia.
GITEWS - Transfer of the German-Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System to Indonesia
Group photo of the German delegation with high-ranking representantives from Indonesian research institutions after the transfer of the Tsunami Early Warning System (GITEWS) to Indonesia at the BMKG facilities in Jakarta. In front is the head of the German delegation, the Parliamentary State Secretary at the BMBF Thomas Rachel. To his left the Indonesian Minister of Research and Technology, Dr. Suharna Surapranata (RISTEK) and Ms. Sri Woro Harijono, Director General of BMKG.
This warning system links for the first time a multitude of various measurement stations which have been established throughout Indonesia as part of the project. This measurement network includes seismometers, GPS, and coastal water gauge stations. The data they collect are brought together in a central decision support system, compared there with simulations of tsunami propagation and complex risk assessments, and presented in a way that permits rapid and sound decision making despite the mass of data.
GITEWS - View of the Tsunami Early Warning Center at BMKG in Jakarta
Amidst the consoles of the decision support system. Dr. Fauzi, the director responsible at BMKG (right), describes the different workplaces for the German guests. To the left of Dr. Fauzi the Parliamentary State Secretary at the BMBF Thomas Rachel, in the entourage of the German Ambassador to Indonesia, Dr. Norbert Baas. To his left Prof. Reinhard Hüttl, chairman of the board of Geoforschungszentrum in Potsdam, Dr. Jörn Lauterjung, GITEWS project coordinator at GFZ, and Prof. Dr. Stefan Dech, director of DFD at DLR.
The decision support system was developed and implemented by DLR’s German Remote Sensing Data Center. "With the Tsunami Early Warning System the technical foundation has now been created for lasting and reliable operation," explained Prof. Dech, DFD director. "Important tasks are now disaster prevention, communicating the warning over wide areas, and supporting instruction and training."
The entire system was developed under the aegis of the Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam (GFZ) together with German research institutions. Until 2014, German scientists will continue to support the Indonesian partner organizations in training the local staff of experts and optimizing the system’s operation.
