Tsunamis, Earthquakes and other stuff OH MY!

Check out Helen Lambourne's BBC article titled -

Tsunamis: Anatomy of a Disaster

It's an interesting read, should you not know what the heck happened.

Also check out these two articles taken off Bernama -

What You Have To Do During An Earthquake
KUALA LUMPUR, March 31 (Bernama) --

The Fire and Rescue Department Thursday came out with several tips on how people should respond in the event of an earthquake.

* If you're indoor, stay there. Get under and hold onto a desk or table, or stand against an interior wall.

* Stay clear of exterior walls, glass, heavy furniture and appliances. The kitchen is a particularly dangerous spot.

* If you're in an office building, stay away from windows and outside walls and do not use the elevator.* If you are outside, get into the open. Stay clear of buildings and power lines or anything else that could fall on you.

* If you are driving, move the car out of traffic and stop. Avoid parking under bridges or overpasses.

* Try to get clear of trees, light posts, signs and power lines.

* If you're in a mountainous area, beware of the potential for landslides. Likewise, if you're near the ocean, be aware that tsunamis are associated with large earthquakes. Get to high ground.

* If you're in a crowded public place, avoid panicking and do not rush for the exit. Stay low and cover your head and neck with your hands and arms.-- BERNAMA

Dapat Offers Govt Free Set Up Of National SMS Disaster Alert
KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 (Bernama) -- Local mobile interactive solution brand, DAPAT Wednesday offered the government to set up for free the infrastructure to link all relevant government authorities and public broadcast stations to enable Malaysians to receive disaster notification via short messaging system (SMS). The company, in a statement today said that it already had an SMS disaster alert notification system in place and in use and with this, the government could straight away use it for the implementation of the national SMS disaster alert. At the moment, it said the system is being used for SMS access of earthquake alerts for the public. "Through our DAPAT Gempa Alert, Malaysians can get the latest updates of earthquakes measuring above five on the Ritcher scale and happening within Asia," said its spokesman, Azli Paat. With the availability of the system, all that is needed now is to establish direct links between the network of relevant authorities such as the police, the national crisis centre and the national security division to the DAPAT.net system, he said. The DAPAT disaster alert notification can be accessed by typing "GEMPA" and sending it by SMS to 32728.-- BERNAMA

Also check out this article taken off AP-

TOKYO (AP) — Japan will begin relaying to six western Pacific nations information on where and when earthquake-spawned tsunamis might hit their shores, a government agency said Friday. Japan and its neighbors agreed in 1999 to set up such a system, but the Dec. 26 tsunami disaster in the Indian Ocean, which killed over 170,000 people, has given the project greater urgency. The countries involved in the warning system, which begins Monday, are China, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Russia, and South Korea. The Meteorological Agency said when quakes larger than magnitude 6.5 strike, it will issue warnings on whether a tsunami will be generated. The agency will use special communication networks set up by the World Meteorological Organization to let the countries know if they're likely to be hit by a tsunami and how tall the wave is expected to be, said Akira Nagai of Japan's Meteorological Agency. The information will supplement less detailed tsunami alerts issued to 26 Pacific Ocean nations by a U.N.-coordinated network based in Hawaii. Japan and the United States have developed the world's most advanced tsunami warning systems. Japan's network of fiber-optic sensors feeds seismic activity data to a supercomputer, which can issue a warning of a deadly tsunami within minutes of a quake.