The 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami5 lessons learned in 10 years of studies and discussions

on disaster risk reduction

#1Do not forget

Extremely destructive tsunamis happen on century scale intervals.

It was not the first of ist kind.A memory must be kept for future generations.

In Banda Aceh there are memorials, now, that could preserve this memory.

They must be mantained throughout the centuries.

This barge was brought 2 km inland by thewave. Today is kept as a memorial

Tsunami Museum in Banda Aceh

#2Early warning systems are a must

Early warning systems must be in place.Operational since 2013,

there is a system of geophones, buoys, satellites, operated by centers in India, Indonesia, Australia.

They can dispatch warns within minutes.

Evacuation drills, Banda Aceh.

#3Technology alone is not enough

Technology changes fast. Complex systems may fail. Mantainance is expensive. Institutions slow reaction

to warnings may hamper emergency measures.There is the need for various measures to be in place,

some of them not technology-, rather community-based (lessons #4 and #5).

Young generations need to know, remember. Visitors at the Barge memorial.

#4Practice, education, are the keys

Improve communities preparedness through exercise, drills, education of communities and governmental

organizations living in disaster prone regions.Preparedness to natural hazards needs to be

monitored and evaluated - for centuries to come.

Drills, exercise. Be ready. Banda Aceh.

#5Indigenous knowledge is a

warning system tool tooIndigenous knowledge has developed in thousands

years. There are some tools communities have developed to cope with disasters. They have often

been saved and shared through oral histories.If scientifically validated, they may become part of

warning systems. They may help where technology or organization fail.

The big Mosquee in Banda Aceh.

Please read my account on indigenous knowledge and science blending for

disaster risk reduction. On Medium.com

Thanks to the scientists at TDRMC in Banda Aceh.And the many people I have met that helped me reporting.

Thanks to PNY.com for supporting the project.

Reparing a basin.

A Mosquee dome was carried and left amid rice fields. Today it is a memorial.