HIGH TECH SYSTEM: Fadillah (right) and Yap (left) listening as a staff member explains about the early tsunami warning system.
KUCHING: The National Tsunami Early Warning System, which was established in the wake of the Aceh Tsunami in 2005, will provide a 12-minute early warning especially in Miri, Mukah and Kuching in the worst-case scenario of a tsunami disaster.
The three locations, which have greater possibility to be hit by big waves generated from an earthquake, will greatly benefit from the system that is similar to those being used by the Japanese Meteorology Agency and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PWTC).
Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Datuk Fadillah Yusof revealed this in a press conference after launching the Sarawak Meteorology Office headquarters at Jalan Lapangan Terbang Lama on Wednesday.
According to Fadillah, Miri, Mukah and Kuching could be exposed to tsunami should an area called Manila Trench in the Philippines be hit by an earthquake beyond eight in the Richter scale, which is, according to him, on a ‘worst case scenario’ basis.
“A siren is located in Miri at the moment and the Meteorology Department is looking at all possible scenarios to place sirens at Mukah in the near future,” said Fadillah who was accompanied by the head of Meteorology Department Yap Kok Seng.
The system in Sarawak incorporates one earthquake monitoring centre in Miri, four seismic stations in Kuching, Sibu, Bintulu and Bakun, three tidal measurement tools at Mukah, Bintulu and Miri and one siren located at Luak Bay in Miri, he added.
He, however, said that a research conducted by Seismic and Tsunami Hazards and Risks
Study in Malaysia in 2009 had revealed that the Sarawak’s coast was categorised under the lower risk area for tsunami threat.
The high tech equipment and monitoring tools will also provide a high resolution forecast on weather, providing information at least three or seven days before, whereas dissemination of information can be obtained through sms, fax, telephones, internet, media, fixed line alert system and sirens.
Answering a question
from The Borneo Post, Yap on the other hand stated that the area in Manila Trench is located at a subduction zone, facing China and Vietnam and the biggest scale earthquake was recorded a century ago.
Earlier at the event, Fadillah in his speech revealed that under the 9th Malaysia Plan, a total of RM16 million had been spent on building various facilities.
“Among the facilities were the new Miri Meteorology Station, certification to four runway visual range at Kuching, Miri, Bintulu and Sibu airport, upgrading of Kuching, Miri and Bintulu weather radar,” said Fadillah.
The state’s meteorology department headquarters was constructed in 2008 and was completed in 2010 with a total cost of RM3 million.