Print

Print


If the article below were accurate, it would be another example of why 
sirens and other technology alone cannot be successful for warning systems.  
Would anyone have more reliable accounts regarding this incident?  
Field-based evidence would also be useful for adding to the sparse 
literature on false alarms.

Ilan

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6730545.stm

Last Updated: Thursday, 7 June 2007, 14:20 GMT 15:20 UK

Tsunami siren stirs anger in Aceh

Residents near the capital of Indonesia's Aceh province have disabled a 
tsunami warning system.

The residents cut the power to the siren on a tsunami warning tower by 
throwing rocks at it.

They were angered by a false alarm that sent thousands of people in the 
capital and a nearby area rushing from their homes to higher ground on 
Monday.

Many people in Aceh are still traumatised by the 2004 tsunami in which 
thousands were killed.

A false alarm on Monday morning in the Kaju district near the capital, Banda 
Aceh, caused panic, with thousands fleeing to higher ground.

When another siren sounded in nearby Lhoknga, frustrated residents threw 
rocks at its electrical panel, said Syahnan Sobri of the local 
Meteorological and Geophysics Agency.

"It was too high up, so they stoned it," he said.

Mr Sobri said that while the connection had been cut the actual warning 
equipment had not been damaged.

He added that technicians were being sent to the scene to survey the damage 
but that the warning system had been temporarily switched off in Banda Aceh 
and the surrounding area.

Indonesia was the country worst hit by the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, 
which killed more than 168,000 people in Aceh alone.

_________________________________________________________________
Windows Live Hotmail gives you the control you need to help you keep your 
e-mail private, safe and secure. See for yourself! 
www.newhotmail.ca?icid=WLHMENCA147