Goa tsunami in Sept 2007 went unnoticed, says NIO scientist

PANAJI: A tsunami in September 2007 was recorded in Goa and Lakshadweep archipelago in the Arabian Sea on India’s west coast, but being mild it went unnoticed.The state’s coast as well as the rest of the country’s coastline will be vulnerable to future events in the sensitive Indonesian region, says NIO scientist Anthony Joseph.Two out of three major global tsunamis haveoccurred in Indonesia and this belt is not only prone to earthquakes but alsovolcanic eruptions, says Joseph.The first known tsunami occured onAugust 27, 1883. It was a tsunami after a volcanic explosion in Krakatau,Indonesia while the third one, adisaster of massive proportions impacting 12countries, saw the surge of the sea landward on December 26, 2004 after anearthquake struck Sumatra. The second one — the Chilean tsunami andconsidered one of the most destructive— occured on May 22,1960.The NIO scientist who discusses the interesting subject oftsunamis in his book ‘Tsunamis’ published in New York saysearthquakes and volcanic eruptions can trigger tsunam is and India and otherregions will be vulnerable to its aftermath.Joseph further says thatmangroves are a useful bio shield which can reduce the impact of the oncomingwaves, attenuating their energy. “Not only tsunamis, but also otheroceanogenic disasters can be ameliorated by the presence of mangroves and othertree vegetation,” he said.“If people are killed then anydisaster gains attention, and hence September 2007 tsunami went unnoticed as itwas mild,” Joseph said. The December 26, 2004, disaster, the third knownglobal tsunami caused catastrophic damage and loss of life in Asia and Africa.“It was directed towards Sri Lanka but killed more than 2,30,000 peopleand injured almost 2,83,000 people from about 60 countries, according toavailable figures,” he said.Among those who died werenationals from 73 countries who were tourists in some of these 12 countrieswhile millions were rendered homeless. Though South Africa was 8,000 km awayfrom the epicentre of the earthquake, disaster struck Port Elizabeth aswell.On its part, NIO has established a network of sea level andsurface meteorological stations all along the west and east coast and thecountry’s islands.“People can see online the changes insea level and also in the meteoro logical influences and thus keep themselvesabreast of what is happening,” he said, adding that the progress of theseevents can be monitored.“In recent years, the Indian Oceancontinues to be haunted by earthquake-generated tsunamis, the latest being theAugust 10, 2009, earthquake at the Andaman Island,” says Joseph.