“We cannot stop natural disasters but we can arm ourselves with knowledge: so many lives wouldn’t have to be lost if there was enough disaster preparedness.” -- Petra Nemcova

World’s biggest and most sophisticated natural disaster alert systems have been the results of some of the worst tragedies. Natural or man-made, such disasters have revealed the possibilities of more life-threatening events than humans could think of, giving birth to some of the best and also the most important emergency response systems in the world.

Tsunami alert

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) operates the Pacific Tsunami Warning System, out of Hawaii. The system is part of one of the two major international tsunami warning systems.

The most sensitive and accurate warning system, whenever this gets activated, it only means that a real tsunami is in the offing. Its speciality is that it gives an idea of the size of the tsunami that is going to reach the shores soon, and also the areas and the number of people which it’s going to hit. This information is extremely useful for the disaster or emergency response teams as it helps them create a quick strategy to save as many people as possible in the given time. The system has a provision to send out warnings to over 30 countries immediately.

Emergency Alert

The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is the US’s national warning system. It was a replacement and modification of the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS). The system has been designed to allow the US president to reach the citizens of his country within 10 minutes of the knowledge of a potential disaster. At the same time, it also alerts people about emergencies arising out of local weather, such as thunderstorms, or flash floods and tornadoes, to also activate emergency response systems across the States.

Although this has been so far used only for testing, and no real situations (national EAS tests were conducted in November 2011 and September 2016), EAS covers a wide expanse of the US. It is under the direct control of the White House, with the US president’s as the ultimate word. Once activated, it takes over all the broadcast and telecast centres to prepare them for a message from the president.

Earthquake Warning

The meteorological agency of Japan, which faces a constant threat of devastating earthquakes due to its dense population and location on the Pacific Ring of Fire, runs the Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) system. Earthquake waves move with a speed of around 500-600mph which this system detects at a very early stage and automatically gets activated, sends out alerts in advance to public so that they get some time to move to safety. This also helps the emergency response systems make quick plans.

Skywarn

This is a key information source for the US’s National Weather Service. Consisting of a network of storm spotters, Skywarn observes weather conditions and gives reports with accurate and real-time info of natural disasters. Meteorologists usually take a cue from this information to form warnings for people and activate disaster management teams in areas which are likely to be impacted.

Hurricane Center

The National Hurricane Center (NHC), is known for its accurate observations on the direction and reach of the hurricane. Its reports help in determining the exact type and intensity of disaster or emergency response system that needs to be activated. Also operated by NOAA, NHC activates warnings for nearly 20 Caribbean countries, besides for the East and Gulf Coast.

Health Alert

The US’s Disease Control and Prevention Center (CDC) created the Health Alert Network (HAN) for public outreach during disease outbreaks. The network is activated at a possible outbreak of a communicable disease, to send out quick warnings to all government facilities and news services, which can then start spreading the word. HAN has a strong network of 50 state monitoring areas besides the national network.

  Conclusion

Man can live about forty days without food, about three days without water, about eight minutes without air…but only for one second without hope. -- Hal Lindsey

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