KUALA LUMPUR: THE country’s national tsunami early warning system will be upgraded with the installation of 30 more sirens in coastal areas by year end.
This is to ensure Malaysians are ready for evacuation in case of a tsunami or earthquake.
Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) National Earthquake and Tsunami Centre section head of the tsunami early warning system Irene Eu said with the addition, there would be 53 sirens operating nationwide.
“It should be noted that the sirens focus more on tsunami-prone areas such as Langkawi, Penang and Sabah,” she told the New Straits Times.
The sirens, she said, were to complement other early warning systems such as the SMS (Short Message Service) Gateway tsunami warning and fixed lines through the fixed line alert system.
“The fixed line phones will ring and when people answer, they will hear a message saying ‘tsunami alert, evacuate from the house’, while the sirens have a message that will say ‘tsunami is coming, keep away from the beach’.”
The 23 operational sirens are located in Kuala Teriang, Kuala Kedah, Kampung Kuala Sungai Muda, Kampung Nelayan, Tanjung Bungah, Batu Ferringhi, Teluk Bahang, Pasir Panjang, Kuala Terengganu, Teluk Cempedak, Pulau Pangkor, Port Klang, Pulau Tioman, Miri, Labuan, Kota Kinabalu, Kudat, Sandakan, Lahad Datu, Semporna, Tawau and Kunak.
Eu said the early warning system, implemented since 2005 by the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry at MetMalaysia, was to provide early warning to people, especially coastal communities, on tsunamis in the Indian Ocean, South China Sea or the Pacific Ocean that might affect Malaysia.
“It is a very big system with three components, namely the data and information collection component, processing and analysis component and information and warning dissemination component, which includes seismic and tide gauge networks.”
The seismic network, Eu said, was to detect and monitor earthquakes in the country and surrounding region, where MetMalaysia has 17 seismic stations with an additional eight stations to be installed next year.
The 17 seismic stations are located in Kulim, Ipoh, Kuala Terengganu, Jerantut, Kuala Lumpur, Kluang, Kota Tinggi, Kuching, Sibu, Bintulu, Bakun, Sapulut, Kota Kinabalu, Tawau, Lahad Datu, Sandakan and Kudat.
Eu said with this network, MetMalaysia was able to maintain real-time monitoring of earthquake and tsunami occurrence in the region on a daily basis. The centre receives seismic data from more than 100 international stations around the world for effective monitoring.
As for the tide gauge network, she said it was installed in tsunami- prone areas of Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak to monitor wave activities reaching the shores of Malaysia.
“A total of 17 tide gauge stations have been installed and will serve as the first line monitoring system as they will detect the rise of the water level in the event of a tsunami.”
Eu said from the information available, it was possible to determine if a tsunami was heading for Malaysia as sometimes a tsunami might occur overseas, such as in Japan, but may not have an impact here.
“Only after that will we disseminate our national advisory.”