Tsunami warning issued after quake hits Sumatra

A powerful earthquake measuring 8.2 struck Indonesia's Sumatra region on Wednesday, triggering tsunami warnings in the Indian Ocean and sparking panic in coastal areas across southeast Asia.

... Indonesia's Meteorological agency said via an sms alert the quake's epicenter was 159 km (99 miles) southwest of Bengkulu, which is in south Sumatra.

About 2- hours after the quake hit, Indonesia's meteorological agency lifted its tsunami warning and said via SMS that there had been no tsunami.

[via Reuters.ca]

After tsunami, S.Lanka gets phone warning system

Next time a disaster such as a tsunami strikes Sri Lanka, officials say they hope to use text messages and the mobile phone system to give people the crucial few minutes warning they need to seek safety, reports Reuters.

..."The scheme will be launched first as a pilot project in parts on the island's south coast, much of which was devastated by the giant wave that killed nearly 40,000 Sri Lankans.

It will use text messages to alert police officers, village chiefs and other important officials to warnings, and can also send a blanket message to all phones in an area through "cell broadcasting" -- more versatile than a normal text or phone call."

SMS tsunami rumor hits Sumatra

Rumors that a volcanic eruption had sent a tsunami crashing toward the coast spread through a seaside town on Indonesia's Sumatra Island early Tuesday, prompting thousands of panicked residents to flee to high ground, witnesses and media reports said, according to The Hindu.

"It was unclear how Tuesday's rumor began, but it quickly spread by word of mouth and SMS test message, the state news agency Antara Antara reported. By about 2.a.m., almost all the mosques in the town were broadcasting tsunami warnings from their loudspeakers along with religious verses, it said.

Unfounded rumors have sparked similar panic in other parts of Indonesia since the tsunami."

SMS to warn of quakes

Indonesia, still reeling from a series of natural disasters, plans to use text messages to alert people about impending disasters predicted by an early warning system, the information minister said today, reports News.com.au.

"The result of a disaster early warning system in an area will be spread through SMSs (Short Message Services)," Information and Communication Minister Sofyan Jalil said.

Such a system would allow more than 80 per cent of mobile phone users in a given area to be informed quickly about any impending natural disaster, and would generate a rapid response from government officials, he said.

The Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG), which would run the early warning system, would also liaise with the media to ensure the warning messages were sent as quickly as possible."

Links to all Tsunami/cell phone stories posted in Textually.org.

Dapat offers Malaysian Government free setup for SMS disaster alert

Local mobile interactive solution Dapat is offering to set up for free the infostructure to link all the relevant authorities and public broadcast systems to enable Malaysians to receive disaster notification via SMS, reports The Star

"According to Dapat spokesman Azli Paat, since Dapat already has an SMS disaster alert notification system in place and in use, the Government can use it for the implementation of the national SMS disaster alert. Currently the system is being used for public earthquake alerts.

The Dapat Gempa Alert is currently linked to the mass media like RTM's Radio 1 and RMKL stations."

First tsunami warning system for Phuket's Patong Beach

Thailand's first tsunami warning system will be installed at the Patong Beach in the country's southern resort province of Phuket before it is extended to other areas along the Andaman coast, reports MCOT.org.

"Three signal towers will be constructed to cover the length of the Patong Beach by the end of April, Phuket's Governor, Udomsak Asswarangkura, told TNA on Monday.

The towers will be linked to the National Disaster Warning Centre.

If the system detects huge movements of tsunami waves, the data will be transmitted to the centre which will alert television and radio networks across the country and cell phone SMS to broadcast the warning.

More than 10,000 people perished or are still missing in Thailand due to the 26 December tsunamis".

Thailand to build tsunami attraction

The Thai government has unveiled plans to build a simulated tsunami attraction in the region worst hit by the disaster to draw tourists back to the area, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

""Authorities would open a tsunami memorial museum complete with a simulated tidal wave in Khao Lak, the region made infamous by post-tsunami photos of bodies and debris floating in the water.

"It would firstly educate everyone who comes to Phuket to make them aware of how these kinds of things happen," Ms Siriwan told reporters at a conference on the island.

A tsunami early warning system based on marine monitoring and SMS warnings would be in place later this month and lifeguards would be installed on all tourist beaches".

Links to all Tsunami/cell phone stories posted in Textually.org.

Role of ICT in a disaster examined

In order to respond to any possible national disaster the ICT Ministry has sought dedicated radio spectrum for emergency communications services from the National Telecommunications Commission and is working on a framework for a disaster warning system, reports the Bankgok Post

[...] After the tsunami event True Corporation did not have a chance to fulfil its role to communicate to people because the capacity of its cell sites was limited. The company plans to upgrade 400 cell stations, out of a total of around 1000, in the next couple of months to have cell broadcasting capability.

The technique will allow the operator to broadcast streaming text messages to between 100,000 and a million users a minute a process that takes less time than to send an SMS message and every operator should coordinate in this project in order to create an efficient nationwide warning system.

For locating survivors or medical emergency services, 3G mobile phones based on CDMA technology could be applied."

MTV Asia Aid

MTV has renamed its Asia Awards 2005 as MTV Asia Aid, reports 160characters.org.

"The MTV Asia Aid global benefit concert was held on 3rd February at the IMPACT Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, featured a host of artists from Asia and around the world, with more than 11,000 fans who gathered to show their support for tsunami recovery efforts".

Related:

-- -- Roundup of tsunami relief SMS fund raising campaigns around the world

-- Links to all Tsunami/cell phone stories posted in Textually.org

Old mobile phones to help Tsunami plight

Recycling specialist, Eurosource Europe, has decided to hook up with Tsunami fund raising co-ordinators, the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), to encourage people to donate their old mobile phones, reports The Inquirer.

"Unlike other such schemes, you can gauge exactly how much your old phone is worth by going onto the recycling appeal's Web site. For example, an old Ericsson T68 would be worth £4.

You can go online and request an envelope from them. Pope the handset inside it and you don't even have to pay the postage. The scheme appears to cover three countries – the UK, France and Eire.

if you don't have an old phone, they'll also take any old printer".

Links to all Tsunami/cell phone stories posted in Textually.org.

SMS tsunami donations reach £1m

Fund raising by SMS has really come into it's own with the many many successful campaigns held around the world which successfully raised money for South East Asia, following the tsunami devestation.

In this latest article by Computer ActiveComputer Active.

"After the disaster 3, Fresh, O2, Orange, T-Mobile, Tesco Mobile, Virgin Mobile and Vodafone clubbed together to provide a single, no-fee text number to accept donations.

By texting DONATE to 83321 £1.50 is automatically deducted from the phone bill and goes straight to DEC.

"Text has proven to be a straightforward and accessible way to demonstrate support for tsunami aid relief, and we are immensely grateful for this huge effort by a new group of donors," said Brendon Gormley, chief executive at DEC."

Related:

-- Roundup of tsunami relief SMS fund raising campaigns around the world

-- Links to all Tsunami/cell phone stories posted in Textually.org.

Councillors dig in to prove fish food is safe

In this picture, Deputy Mayor Karate Thiagarajan and other Councillors of Chennai (India), partake of fish-based dishes to allay the fear in the minds of the public that fish were not affected by the Zulican virus as was stated in the SMS messages floated around in the wake of the tsunami attack. [via News Today].

Related articles:

-- Seafood Virus branded a hoax by Singapore government

-- Dangerous virus in Seafood a hurtful SMS rumor

-- Tsunami aftermath: SMS alert against eating sea food

-- Links to all Tsunami/cell phone stories posted in Textually.org.

Tsunami 2005: Greece - SMS donations

Greek viewers of Public Television have donated more than 16 million Euros for the victims of the Asian earthquake during a two-days tele-marathon show, organized by the Public Television -- with the support of all Greek main television and radio channels.

One eighth of this amount (more than 2 million Euros) have been collected through text-messaging, with SMS participants contributing one (1) Euro to tsumani disaster relief every time they were sending a text message to a special 4-digit short code.

Participation statistics in this operation have as follows 58% of the "text-donators" have sent 1 SMS, 20%: 2 SMS, 16%: between 2 and 6 SMS, 6%: more than 6 SMS.

The whole operation has been organized by Atlantis Groupan independent mobile and web services provider (official partner of Public Television for SMS services), with the support of the country's four mobile operators (COSMOTE, Vodafone, TIM, Q-Telecom).

Related articles:

-- Roundup of tsunami relief SMS fund raising campaigns around the world

-- Links to all Tsunami/cell phone stories posted in Textually.org.

“Tsunami Orphans” Became Targets of Human Trafficking

In Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, a worker of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) recently received a strange SMS advertisement which said, “You can buy children according to your liking”, reports Donga.com.

"The web edition of Newsweek (January 8) reported that the SMS message said, “300 three-to-10-year-old orphans from Atjeh, Indonesia are waiting to be adopted. All related paper processes are free. Just choose the age and the gender of the child.”

Other foreign press outlets, including Reuters, also reported the SMS advertisements of human trafficking of children by saying that the children who have lost their families and homes because of the tsunami face a “second danger.”

The number of children who received direct and indirect damage from the tsunami is estimated at about 1.5 million. A total of 35,000 children became orphans in Atjeh, Indonesia alone.

The foreign press has reported that traffickers in humans, who were persistently active in the region, are using the tsunami disaster as an opportunity to make great profits."

Related articles:

-- SMS chain calling to adopt-an-Aceh-child

-- Baby Smuggling: Police investigate claims

-- «Tsunami Orphans» for sale or adoption by SMS (2)

-- «Tsunami Orphans» for sale or adoption by SMS

-- Links to all Tsunami/cell phone stories posted in Textually.org.

Disaster zones get easier telecoms deployment

Victims of disasters will now be able to benefit from faster and more effective rescue operations, thanks to the "Tampere Convention on the Provision of Telecommunication Resources for Disaster Mitigation and Relief Operations" that came into force Saturday, 8 January 2005, following ratification by 30 countries, reports Cellular News.

"Until now, the trans-border use of telecommunication equipment by humanitarian organizations was often impeded by regulatory barriers that make it extremely difficult to import and rapidly deploy telecommunications equipment for emergencies.

When disaster strikes, communications links are often disrupted; yet for disaster relief workers who arrive on the scene these links are essential. In the absence of an agreed multilateral framework that temporarily waives formalities, delays have meant the loss of lives.

The Tampere Convention calls on States to facilitate the provision of prompt telecommunication assistance to mitigate the impact of a disaster, and covers both the installation and operation of reliable, flexible telecommunication services."

Who Gets Mobile Giving?

Donors have been warned to take care when making donations and to check how much actually goes to the cause. The good news is that a growing number of mobile operators are launching dontaion programmes with all proceeds to the appeal. Mike Grenville from 160characters.org takes inventory on the recent SMS Tsunami fund raising campaigns.

Animals Are Victims, Too

I saw an ad go by:

Animals Are Victims, Too
We're saving animals hurt by the tsunami. Please help us help them.

Wild, if its on the level.

SMS enlisted for Tsunami warning system?

At least five countries have begun developing an alert system using cell phone text messages, a response to the catastrophic Asian tsunami that exposed flaws in present-day early warning schemes, reports News.com.

Discussions among officials in India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand, which were hard hit by the killer tsunami, along with France, have begun in just the last few days, according to a source familiar with the plans.

"We hope to have something tangible in place by mid-April," said Greg Wilfahrt, executive vice president and co-founder of SMS.AC, a wireless e-mail provider that has relationships with carriers in 170 nations. The company has offered its infrastructure and carrier connections to become the basis of the SMS warning system. SMS.ac is also coordinating the talks between the various nations."

But the SMS effort raises some questions. As most wireless dialers are well-aware, cell phone coverage is spotty at best, and only gets worse when infrastructure is damaged. Roaming agreements, however, may help improve the system's range.

Also, while nearly a third of the planet owns a cell phone, there are still billions of people who do not, which would leave them out of the loop with this system."

Related warning systems from around the world:

-- Cell Phones Alert Users of Natural Disasters

-- Germany offers lead on tsunami warning system

-- Text message broadcasts could provide disaster alerts

-- Israeli Company Offers Free Tsunami Alert System

-- The Tsunami Next Time

-- How cell phones may have helped Southern Asia

-- Links to all Tsunami/cell phone stories posted in Textually.org.

Cell Phones Alert Users of Natural Disasters

In high-tech South Korea, mobile phones are now keeping their owners informed of national disasters via short messaging services, reports The Korea Times.

"Through a partnership with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Korea's No.2 mobile operator KTF launched an early-warning service last month before the tsunami hit.

Under the service Multi-Q, the carrier will send an emergency text message to subscribers who carry service-specific handsets for no extra charge.

"We originally got the idea from the heavy snow early last year, which isolated many people who were not well-informed of the weather forecast,'' a KTF spokesman said.

A total of 4.1 million KTF subscribers are now carrying Multi-Q-enabled handsets. They can receive the emergency warning by signing up for the service.

Related warning systems from around the world:

-- Germany offers lead on tsunami warning system

-- Text message broadcasts could provide disaster alerts

-- Israeli Company Offers Free Tsunami Alert System

-- The Tsunami Next Time

-- How cell phones may have helped Southern Asia

-- Links to all Tsunami/cell phone stories posted in Textually.org.

Sharing the grief of victims

Pouring out words of motivation, hope and prayers, caring Malaysians continue to share their grief with the tsunami victims via The Star's SMS campaign, From The Heart, reports The Star.

"The messenger wrote: “My heart runs heavy. Through this message, maybe it can walk steady. The waves took things; it shook up beings. Next time, let's be ready.”

Some 170 messages were received yesterday in the SMS campaign, which will give all proceeds to The Star Earthquake Tsunami Relief Fund.

Sender PAWAN wrote: “If good days didn't last, bad days won't either. Have faith.”

Another contributor, Silver, sent this simple message: “Karma said good things come after bad things goes.”

Related:

-- Malaysian fund raising campaigns by SMS

-- SMS for an SOS: Beware of charges, deductions

-- Roundup of tsunami relief SMS fund raising campaigns around the world

-- Links to all Tsunami/cell phone stories posted in Textually.org.

SMS chain calling to adopt-an-Aceh-child

The thousands of children orphaned, misplaced or separated from their families as a result of the tsunami disaster, should be helped to resume a normal life in their respective countries, reports the Malay Mail Online.

"Children are always the first and most serious victims in any disaster because they are the most helpless.

So it was only natural that when a chain SMS calling to adopt-an-Aceh-child went around Malaysia early this week, there was an outpouring of sympathy for the plight of the orphans with generous Malaysians wanting to adopt the children or donate money towards their cause.

The Indonesian government has announced a ban on adoption amid reports that human traffickers had spirited children out of Aceh."

Related articlels:

-- Baby Smuggling: Police investigate claims

-- «Tsunami Orphans» for sale or adoption by SMS (2)

-- «Tsunami Orphans» for sale or adoption by SMS

-- Links to all Tsunami/cell phone stories posted in Textually.org.

Germany offers lead on tsunami warning system

Germany wants to take a leading role in setting up a system to provide early warning of tsunamis and has drawn up a plan costing an initial 40 million euros, the Research Ministry has said, reports ABCNews Online.

The Potsdam-based Geoscientific Research Institute (GMZ), which would coordinate the system, has developed a concept that could be in place in one to three years, the ministry said.

It would add 30 to 40 new stations in the Indian Ocean region to a global network of 50 seismological research bodies, and would concentrate initially on Sri Lanka and Indonesia, two of the nations hardest hit by the devastating Boxing Day tsunami which killed at least 156,000 people.

"The strength of our concept is that we are building on existing observation centres," Research Minister Edelgard Bulmahn told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. "We don't have to start from scratch."

In the event of an earthquake, a warning would be posted on the Internet in a matter of minutes and emails and SMS text messages sent automatically to regional data stations. Hotels and private individuals could also join the network.

A ministry spokeswoman said Germany was one of the few nations able to set up and operate such a system that works more or less in real time. "

Related:

-- Text message broadcasts could provide disaster alerts

-- Israeli Company Offers Free Tsunami Alert System

-- The Tsunami Next Time

-- How cell phones may have helped Southern Asia

-- Links to all Tsunami/cell phone stories posted in Textually.org.

Australia. Pledges to the tune of $15m

Australian have been hailed the most generous people on Earth after pledging more than $15 million for victims of the Boxing Day tsunami during a star-studded fundraising concert last night, reports the Sunday Times.

"At the end of the broadcast, the Reach Out to Asia event raised $15,198,329.20 through telephone, website and SMS donations."

Related:

-- Roundup of tsunami relief SMS fund raising campaigns around the world

-- Links to all Tsunami/cell phone stories posted in Textually.org.

Spanish Tsunami SMS Campaign raises $5.9 million in 2 days

Spanish TV station Antena 3 (http://www.antena3.com) has raised 5.000.000 SMS that equals to 4.500.000 euros ($5.9 million) in just 2 days.

Their partners are Cruz Roja (Red Cross) and the mobile carriers Vodafone, Telefonica Movistar and Amena. Each Premium SMS costs 0,90 euro (+VAT) ($1.17) and the whole amount goes to the Tsunami Relief. Thanks Roberto!

Related:

-- Roundup of tsunami relief SMS fund raising campaigns around the world

-- Links to all Tsunami/cell phone stories posted in Textually.org.

Netherlands raises 2.2 million in in Tsunami SMS campaign

An e-mail received this afternoon from Peter Caestecker, Area Manager Iberia & Americas.

"We are number 1 SMS broker in the Netherlands --on our website
www.goldenbytes.com you can read -in Dutch I'm afraid- that we almost raised 1'700'000 EUR ($2,2 million) in only 9 days with SMS Premium".

Photo from the BBC.

-- Roundup of tsunami relief SMS fund raising campaigns around the world

-- Links to all Tsunami/cell phone stories posted in Textually.org.

Text message broadcasts could provide disaster alerts

A feature already built-in to most cellphones could be used to alert every mobile phone user in a specific region to impending disasters, such as the tsunami that devastated south east Asia on 26 December, say experts, reports New Scientist.

The GSM cellphone standard already enables phones to receive short data messages from the nearest cellphone base station on a separate channel from normal voice and text message communications. The Cellular Emergency Alerts System Association (CEASA), a non-governmental organisation based in the UK, is campaigning to have the system turned into a disaster warning service.

The "Cell Broadcast" or "Area Information System" was originally designed to let network operators offer location based services, but is now rarely used.

To turn it into an early warning service, a customised PC needs to be installed at the headquarters of each network operator. This contains the geographical co-ordinates of all phone masts, enabling operators to target emergency messages to all phones in the required region.

"We can define an area very clearly and it's scalable to any degree you like," says Mark Wood, the secretary general of CEASA who has previously worked as an emergency coordinator for the United Nations. "You could send a warning to a small village that is about to be washed out, or you could tell an entire region there's a tsunami coming."

As these messages are delivered separately from other traffic, they ought to get though even when a network is jammed with normal traffic.

Wood estimates that it would cost less than $2 million and take a couple of months to add this messaging capability to the four major phone networks that operate in the UK.

Users would then need to change the settings on their phone to enable the service, which would require a public education campaign."

Related:

-- Israeli Company Offers Free Tsunami Alert System

-- The Tsunami Next Time

-- How cell phones may have helped Southern Asia

-- Links to all Tsunami/cell phone stories posted in Textually.org.

Korean Mobile Carriers Raise Fund for Tsunami

KTF, Korea's second-largest mobile carrier, announced Thursday it has started receiving donation for the victims in tsunami disaster which hit the coastal areas of South Asian nations including Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

People can send their money through mobile banking and donate their mileage on the Net, according to the company. The fund-raising campaign will last until the end of March. By Seong-ju Lee for Telecoms Korea.

Related:

-- Roundup of tsunami relief SMS fund raising campaigns around the world

-- Links to all Tsunami/cell phone stories posted in Textually.org.

Text messages aid disaster recovery

Text messaging technology was a valuable communication tool in the aftermath of the tsunami disaster in Asia, reports the BBC.

"The messages can get through even when the cell phone signal is too weak to sustain a spoken conversation.

Now some are studying how the technology behind SMS could be better used during an emergency.

[...] Mr Rampersad, who used to work in the military, knew how important on the ground communication can be in times of disaster. He wondered if there might be a way to automatically centralise text messages, and then redistribute them to agencies and people who might be able to help.

"Imagine if an aid worker in the field spotted a need for water purification tablets, and had a central place to send a text message to that effect.

"He can message the server, so the server can send out an e-mail message and human or machine moderators can e-mail aid agencies and get it out in the field."

Mr Rampersad and others had actually been thinking about such a system since Hurricane Ivan ravaged the Caribbean and the southern United States last September.

Last week, he sent out e-mail messages asking for help in creating such a system for Asia.

Interstate bridges in Florida damaged by Hurricane Ivan. The idea for the text alert system came out of another disaster In only 72 hours, he found Dan Lane, a text message guru living in Britain.

The pair, along with a group of dedicated techies, are creating what they call the Alert Retrieval Cache.

The idea is to use open-source software - software can be used by anyone without commercial restraint - and a far-flung network of talent to create a system that links those in need with those who can help."

-- -- Links to all Tsunami/cell phone stories posted in Textually.org.

Cingular Wireless to use text messaging to attract tsunami-relief donations

America's first SMS fund raising campaign.

Starting Thursday Cingular Wireless will send text messages to all of its 46 million customers, giving them a chance to make $1 or $2 donations to the Asian tsunami disaster relief effort, charges that will appear on their monthly bills, reports RCR Wireless News.

"Cingular's offering mirrors that of a variety of other European and Asian carriers, which have set up similar text-messaging donation schemes. The move also marks a further evolution of the U.S. text-messaging market, which has traditionally trailed that of the more advanced European and Asian wireless markets."

Related:

-- Roundup of tsunami relief SMS fund raising campaigns around the world

-- Links to all Tsunami/cell phone stories posted in Textually.org.

Charity swindle warning

Authorities warn generous Norwegians to check exactly who is collecting money for tsunami aid. Several swindles have already been revealed, reports Aftenposten.

"The State Collection Control issued a warning advising people to check a register of 'serious' organizations.

Norway's economic crime unit Økokrim has already cracked down on phony collectors and e-mail and SMS schemes."

Links to all Tsunami/cell phone stories posted in Textually.org.