Muscat: Oman’s Directorate General of Meteorology and Air Navigation (DGMAN) has completed the installation of seven new sea-level stations to help bolster the efficacy of regional tsunami warning systems.
The stations were done with the assistance of Unesco’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC-Unesco), the global UN agency said in a statement issued at the weekend.
“The stations are functional and providing data streams through the IOC-Unesco Sea Level Station Monitoring Facility via GTS (Global Telecommunication System), a monitoring service for real time sea level measuring stations that contributes to several international programmes, such as the Global Sea Level Observing System Core Network and the regional tsunami warning systems,” the statement added.
IOC-Unesco has been closely working with the Sultanate of Oman, providing technical support and guidance to assist in the design and establishment of its own National Multi Hazard Early Warning System (NMHEWS) including for tsunami and other sea-level related hazards. The installation is one of nine projects that contribute to this effort.
By the end of this collaboration, Oman will have its own fully operational Early Warning Centre, embedded in a national policy for Disaster and Risk Reduction and Mitigation. The projects focus on expanding the knowledge base on regional risk; reviewing available system components; expanding infrastructure and capacity; improving awareness, preparedness and community-based risk reduction.
The new sea level stations and the national early warning system will serve to strengthen the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (IOTWS) by providing a much more complete coverage of the North Western Indian Ocean including Oman Sea.
