KUALA LUMPUR: Continued collaboration in disaster monitoring among regional counterparts is imperative, as the absence of international data sharing prior to the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami left Malaysia vulnerable to natural disasters.
Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) director-general Muhammad Helmi Abdullah said Malaysia is part of an international commitment where participating countries collaborate to share crucial information and data in monitoring natural events.
This, he said, is part of the responsibilities of the country as a member of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).
Helmi said relying solely on domestic data is insufficient for mitigating disaster hazards and stressed the pivotal nature of this collaboration.
"The 2004 tsunami which struck Malaysia originated outside our territorial waters and one of the many reasons why we were not prepared was that data-sharing mechanisms were lacking prior to the tragedy."
Helmi highlighted the importance of receiving data from tide gauge stations across the region, especially from nations situated in the Pacific or the Ring of Fire.
This ongoing collaboration, he added, is instrumental in enhancing Malaysia's readiness to monitor and respond to potential threats with a comprehensive and global perspective, fortifying the nation against the unpredictability of natural disasters.
"The term 'tsunami' was once an alien to most of us, even our department did not have any standard operating procedure to prepare against the disaster. but we have come a long way and we should maintain vigilant."
Sidebar: *Success rate in rapid earthquake and tsunami alerts*
Malaysia's rapid dissemination of information, within eight minutes to the public to prepare against earthquakes and tsunami, has reached a 97.8 per cent success rate to date, said MetMalaysia.
The department disclosed that the target achieved is higher than what was aimed for the year 2022 and marked its commitment to public safety.
It said in the event of a local earthquake with a magnitude of 3.0 (and above) or a stronger earthquake occurring within the region with a magnitude of 6.0 (and above), proactive approaches include utilising diverse communication channels will be implemented to reach a broad audience promptly.
A total of 80 media releases and TV spots were strategically deployed to keep the public informed last year alone.
These public announcements are sent through various channels, including MetMalaysia's social media platforms — Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter — apart from the traditional media broadcasts and TV crawlers.
Separately, the department ensured media broadcasts and crawlers were delivered within 30 minutes with a 98.3 per cent success rate, meeting earthquake and tsunami disaster preparedness standards.