Monitoring the Tsunami Warning System in Indonesia

The ASM website (http://asmmag.com) reported that the existing Tsunami Warning Systems in Indonesia has been vandalised. This may have increased the number of deaths caused by the tsunami in October since no warning was sent to the people. However, a report from Australia said that even if the system is working, the result of the Tsunami would have been the same. Still, the disaster compelled the authorities to improve the disaster operational monitoring.

The tsunami caused the death of more than 100 people and displaced about 500 households (BBC).

What happened to the warning system increased issues with regards to monitoring the system on a continuous basis. When these kind of systems are monitored properly, and even if there is a glitch, the operators would be able to track and fix it. The problem in Indonesia was that the warning system, was left unmonitored until the tsunami struck.

Despite the claim of the scientist from the Australia Bureau of Meteorology that it would have not made any difference to the damage even if the warning system was properly monitored, this kind of issues should not be taken for granted. It raises the need for security and improvement.

Monitoring would help in supplying a more accurate and functional system and providing a certain level of security to the people in its area of responsibility.

Source:

Asian Surveying and Mapping

http://asmmag.com/features/indonesia-tsunami-warning-system-monitoring

Health Maps: Tracking Diseases

In Indonesia, a vital help program is helping the local communities in restoring health and preventing diseases.

Dr. Bronwyn Myers, a Charles Darwin University (CDU) Senior Research Fellow, indicated that in Eastern Indonesia health was a major concern among the poor and rural communities.

Dr. Myers set-up a two-year research project to help the local health department of East Nusa Tenggara Province (NTT) curb and control the occurrence of diseases in the province. The main objective of the project is to enable district government officers to improve health service delivery at the village level and build their capacity to make decisions in the allocation of health resources. They have created a user-friendly system with the help of GIS that the clinical officers can access and use to map the province and plan for the allocation of health resources in the area. The GIS pointed out areas in need or areas where disease outbreaks may occur.

Similarly, one of the lecturers at the University of Nusa Cendana, Frederika Rambu Ngana, has been doing health mapping projects with CDU since 2008. She is one of the recipients an Executive Endeavour Award in Darwin. “My focus in eastern Indonesia is to advice the local health department how to use GIS systems and train local health officers how to collect and map health data to use as a resource tool,” she said.

According to Ms. Rambu Ngana, she is looking forward to developing new health mapping applications in the course of her visit to Darwin. She also wants to explore animation techniques to help her show how diseases spread. She related that health data previously gathered and kept by the regional and rural clinical staff were not put into use. These maps are now used in monitoring health delivery and analysing maternal and child health data.

Ms. Rambu Ngana also teaches GIS System to the nurses and midwives in Eastern Indonesia, and she claims that even in very remote areas and those without knowledge in computer technology can use these tools.

The organizations behind this program are CDU, Menzies School of Health Research and the Health Department NTT with the grant from USAids Public Sector Linkage Project.

Source:

http://ext.cdu.edu.au/newsroom/a/2010/Pages/HealthmapshelppreventdiseaseinIndonesia.aspx

Spatial Data: Helping in Cleaning New Zealand

Spatial data and aerial imagery online helped New Zealand’s emergency clean-up of the 7.0 earthquake that rocked the country last September. The Australian Research Collaboration Services (ARCS) also known as BeSTGRID, have been sharing data with New Zealand and other research organizations. Because of the great demand from various agencies in New Zealand , ARCS had to create a common data repository where they can share information including digital maps, aerial photography, and satellite images.

The ARCS provided temporary credentials to aid workers who access the system. Anthony Williams, the Executive Director of ARCS shared that the emergency responders will be allowed to access the system so that they will be able to contact one another better. “We’re happy to make ARCS identities available to those responding to the earthquake’s aftermath,” Williams added. It made the clean-up faster and more efficient.

Source:

http://www.spatialsource.com.au/2010/09/14/article/NZ-quake-cleanup-assisted-by-spatial-data-clearing-area/OGUWNMKNEY