Context:
Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre (ITEWC) stated that there is no tsunami threat to India after a powerful magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Japan.
Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre (ITEWC):
- National authority to issue tsunami advisories for India.
- Operated by – Indian National Centre for Ocean Information System (INCOIS)
- Location – Hyderabad
- An integrated effort of –
- Department of Space (DOS)
- Department of Science and Technology (DST)
- Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
- Survey of India (SOI)
- National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT)
- Comprises a real-time network of seismic stations, tide gauges and a 24X7 operational tsunami warning centre
- Purpose –
- To detect tsunami-genic earthquakes and monitor tsunamis
- To provide timely advisories to vulnerable communities
- Accredited as Tsunami Service Provider (TSP) by – Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO
- TSP for – 28 Indian Ocean Rim (IOR) countries, along with Indonesia and Australia.
Indian National Centre for Ocean Information System (INCOIS):
- Established in 1999 as an autonomous body.
- Ministry – Ministry of Earth Sciences
- Functions –
- Coordinates with the Disaster Management Officials (DMOs) for implementation of Tsunami Ready programme in India.
- Conducts IOWave Tsunami mock exercises biannually
- Identifies the Potential Fishing Zones (PFZ) for the fishermen community.
INCOIS has partnered with ISRO and Airports Authority of India (AAI) to develop a satellite based message broadcasting services through the indigenous navigational satellite communication system ‘NAVIC‘.
Source: The Hindu
Previous Year Question
The 2004 Tsunami made people realize that mangroves can serve as a reliable safety hedge against coastal calamities. How do mangroves function as a safety hedge?
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2011 Prelims]
(a) The mangrove swamps separate the human settlements from the sea by a wide zone in which people neither live nor venture out.
(b) The mangroves provide both food and medicines which people are in need of after any natural disaster.
(c) The mangrove trees are tall with dense canopies and serve as an excellent shelter during a cyclone or Tsunami.
(d) The mangrove trees do not get uprooted by storms and tides because of their extensive roots.
Answer: (d)
