UNIPATH STAFF
The installation of seven sea-level monitoring stations in 2013 means Oman will be better protected from tsunamis. The project represented a collaboration of Oman’s Directorate General of Meteorology and Air Navigation and UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission.
The monitoring stations are part of a larger plan to establish a National Multi-Hazard Early Warning System in Oman, including nine projects that will provide a clearer understanding of national risks, improve infrastructure and educate the community on disaster preparedness and risk reduction. UNESCO pressed for the establishment of warning systems after a 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean killed thousands and left millions homeless in 11 countries.
“The new sea level stations and the national early warning system will serve to strengthen the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System by providing a much more complete coverage of the North Western Indian Ocean,”
a UNESCO news release announced.
An important part of the project is regional information sharing. Each of the seven stations along the Oman and Arabian Seas streams data through the UNESCO sea level monitoring facility using a global telecommunication system.
Sources: UNESCO, Sutron Corp., Gulf News, National Geographic