Friday, January 2, 2009

Some Background

On December 26th, 2004, an undersea earthquake estimated at a magnitude of 9.1 to 9.3 occurred off the west coast of Sumatra. The earthquake created a series of tsunami that killed over 220,000 people in eleven countries in the Indian Ocean basin. Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand were the hardest hit.

The most affected area in Indonesia was the northern area of Sumatra, Aceh Province. Reports list over 168,000 people killed or missing. Over 500,000 people were displaced, 110 bridges destroyed, and 5 seaports and 2 airports sustained considerable damage.

Since 2004 many humanitarian agencies from around the world have been working with the people of Indonesia to help them recover from the tsunami and to prepare for future events.

A tsunami early warning system is being put into place to monitor the seismic activity in the Indian Ocean and to allow for a rapid response when the next earthquake hits. Part of this early warning system is a series of radio stations throughout Aceh province equipped with HF and VHF radios. A start was made on the radio stations but was not completed.

This where Glen and I come in...

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