Overview

Background

In 2005 the US Agency for International Development launched the United States government's Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System (IOTWS) Program in response to the 2004 tsunami disaster. This two year program aims to help develop integrated early warning and mitigation systems in the Indian Ocean region, allowing local populations to detect and prepare for tsunamis and related coastal hazards.

Project Summary

D-TRAC has been awarded a grant under the US IOTWS Small Grants Program to carry out research into tsunami warning system implementation and understanding in the six tsunami-affected provinces of Thailand. The aim of D-TRAC's contribution to the program is to identify gaps in the last mile of Thailand's tsunami warning system through extensive surveys of sub-districts affected by the December 2004 tsunami. D-TRAC hopes to provide information which will help to highlight vulnerable sections of the population who lives outside the areas of influence of existing early warning systems.

Additionally, the research will focus upon the understanding and implementation of tsunami warning systems and disaster preparedness at the village and community levels. This part of the study is especially important because it is critical that the warning communication is understood by the population in areas at risk, including seasonal populations and remote locations.

Methodology

Two teams of researchers began working in the field in Mid-October 2006, gathering information in the provinces of Phang Nga, Ranong and Phuket, surveying provincial and sub-district offices and interviewing villagers. Working until May 2007, D-TRAC will continue this work in the provinces of Satun, Krabi and Trang, covering a total of up to 200 villages in high risk areas.

This research will allow D-TRAC to provide the US IOTWS Program team with a complete overview of the extent and standard of tsunami warning systems in Thailand's tsunami-affected areas and an analysis of the general tsunami-preparedness of the region.

The final findings are to be distributed to key stakeholders (government offices, NGOs and INGOs) with an aim to ensuring that the people with the power to make a difference (by addressing the highlighted issues) are provided with the information needed to do so.

Contact

If you would like more information about D-TRAC's IOTWS project, please contact Sandra Peart on sandra.p@d-trac.org [2]