A two minutes’ silence will be observed island-wide today (26 December) on National Safety Day from 9.25 a.m. to 9.27 a.m. in memory of all who lost their lives in the 2004 tsunami and other natural disasters in Sri Lanka, the Disaster Management Center (DMC) said.

Meanwhile the DMC says a new program to raise awareness about tsunami dangers will commence from today in view of the National Safety Day.

The Director General of Disaster Management Centre, Major General (Retd) Sudantha Ranasinghe said the relevant awareness program will be carried out by using a caller tune ringtone for mobile phones.

Exactly 19 years ago on Dec. 26, 2004, a massive tsunami wreaked havoc after a powerful earthquake off the coast of Sumatra Island, Indonesia. The disaster, later known as the Boxing Day Tsunami, has since been written down in history as one of the world’s deadliest and most destructive natural disasters in recent times, impacting over 10 countries.

In Sri Lanka, tens of thousands lost their lives while thousands more were left homeless after the debris and waves reduced their homes to mere rubble.

57 of 77 tsunami warning towers in SL, inoperative!

Meanwhile, the state owned ‘Daily News’ reports that according to the Disaster Management Centre, 57 of the 77 tsunami warning towers built in the coastal areas are currently inoperative.

After the 2004 tsunami, two towers were built in the Colombo district, five towers in the Gampaha, six towers in the Kalutara, eight towers in the Galle, seven towers in the Matara, nine towers in the Hambantota, four towers in the Puttalam, eight towers in the Ampara seven towers in the Batticaloa seven towers in the Trincomalee, three towers in Mannar six towers in the Mullaitivu and five towers in the Jaffna district.

Eleven towers can be operated from the Disaster Management Centre and another nine towers are at the level where they can be operated manually after going to the relevant location.

However, the number of towers that cannot be operated is close to 57. The technology for this has been provided by the American Signal Corporation, the report adds.

The news report further notes :

After the construction, steps have been taken to upgrade the towers on several occasions, but it has been revealed according to the information obtained through the Right to Information Act that the technology of the towers are now outdated.

During an inquiry in this regard, an officer of the Disaster Management Center said that non-operational tsunami warning towers using satellite technology have been handed over to the Military, Police and Civil Defense Department for operationalization if necessary.

He also said that the coordination activities will be done by the Disaster Management Centre.

The official said that the satellite technology is not available for the tsunami warning towers as the relevant satellite has been removed from use. He also said that tsunami warnings can be relayed faster with modern communication methods.