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On December 26th, 2004, several coastal areas along the Indian Ocean were affected by 30-meter-high Tsunami waves from a 9.1-9.3 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. More than 200,000 people were killed and nearly 2 million people were displaced across 14 countries in this disaster. Fifteen years after this devastating event, how far have we advanced in early warning, mitigation and adaptation to Tsunamis? Through the medium of this symposium, we will provide a platform to policymakers, NGOs, technological innovators, and scientists to share their knowledge and answer questions that will help develop resilient communities across the world.
The Ministry of Earth Sciences (Government of India), the Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services (ESSO-INCOIS), Esri India, and Amrita’s prestigious UNESCO Chair on Experiential Learning for Sustainable Innovation and Development, UNESCO Chair on Gender Equality and Women Empowerment, School of Sustainable Development, and the Center for Wireless Networks & Applications are jointly hosting an international symposium to critically reflect on the imprints of the December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, its subsequent impact on our society, and advances in science and technology that have helped to build sustainable and resilient communities.
SYMPOSIUM OBJECTIVES
The symposium seeks to provide a platform to integrate the last 15 years of research in science and technology to improve the rehabilitation and resilience of coastal communities, and revive scientific social responsibility to reduce the risk and vulnerability factors. We seek to achieve this by:
a) Humanitarian Responses: Case Studies
The December 2004 Tsunami triggered an enormous humanitarian response that was unprecedented. The vastness of the affected geographical areas, population, and the number of countries affected made it a global phenomenon. Disaster response strategies and techniques adopted by NGOs and government agencies need to be comprehended and translated in a scientific way that will help prepare for the future.
b) Lessons Learnt
The disaster left many imprints and taught several lessons in disaster management, social and economic planning, and policy development. It is imperative for the global community to become aware of these lessons as an aftermath of the Tsunami.
Theme 1 Foci:
a) Response, Governance, & Community Resilience
South Asian coasts were greatly affected by the December 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami with varying degrees of disaster impact. Lives and properties were lost, different levels of socio-economic impacts were experienced and moreover, a new feeling of vulnerability developed within the coastal communities. To deal with these impacts and to build resilience, an integrated framework that includes the policies for preparedness, recovery, adaptation, mitigation and education is needed.
b) Technological Innovations: Monitoring, Detection and Early Warning Systems
Advanced monitoring of Tsunami events using IoT systems, remote sensing, and GIS are important in developing an early warning system. With the advent of AI and Geoinformatics, especially modeling with machine learning, deep neural networks and numerical coupled models have highly improved our early warning systems. It is important to understand how these technologies help to improve resilience across global coastal communities.
Theme 2 Foci:
| Inaugural Ceremony | |
| 03:00 pm – 03:03 pm | Introduction |
| 03:03 pm – 03:05 pm | Prayer |
| 03:10 pm – 03:05 pm | Welcome Note Dr. Maneesha V. Ramesh, Director & Professor, Amrita Center for Wireless Networks & Applications; UNESCO Chair on Experiential Learning for Sustainable Development & Innovation |
| 03:10 pm – 03:15 pm | Video Message Tsunami Awareness Day Ms. Mami Mizutori, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) |
| 03:15 pm – 03:25 pm | Inaugural Address Dr. M. Rajeevan, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Govt. of India |
| 03:25 pm – 03:35 pm | Amrita Tsunami Response and Relief – Video film |
| 03:35 pm – 03:50 pm | Presidential Address Indian Ocean Tsunami 2004: Mata Amritandamayi Math’s Response Swami Amritaswarupananda Puri, President, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham |
| 03:50 pm – 04:00 pm | Address by Esri India Mr. Agendra Kumar, President, ESRI India |
| 04:00 pm – 04:03 pm | Vote of Thanks Dr. Sudhesh K. Wadhawan, Advisor and Adjunct Professor, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham; Director General [Retired], Geological Survey of India |
| THEME 1: Tsunami – Responses & Lessons Learnt | |
| 04:05 pm – 04:15 pm | Keynote 1 – Short and long term disaster responses for coastal communities across Asia Dr. Patrick Kilby, Senior Lecturer, Australian National University |
| 04:15 pm – 04:35 pm | Keynote 2 – MAM’s humanitarian operations in the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami: Implications for theory and practice Dr. Bhavani Rao R., Director, AMMACHI Labs; UNESCO Chair in Women Empowerment & Gender Equality |
| 04:35 pm – 04:45 pm | Keynote 3 – Tsunami response and lessons learnt from Sri Lanka Ms. Madhavi Malalgoda Ariyabandu, Director, Duryog Nivaran – South Asia Network for Disaster Mitigation, Sri Lanka |
| 04:45 pm – 04:55 pm | Keynote 4 – Environmental Implications of Disaster Management: Lessons Learnt from the Indian Ocean Tsunami. Dr. Hari Srinivas, Professor of Environmental Policy, Graduate School of Policy Studies, Gakuin University, Japan |
| 04:55 pm – 05:55 pm | Panel Discussion – Reflections on Case studies & Lessons Learnt Moderator: Dr. Maneesha V. Ramesh Rapporteur: Dr. Joost Monks, University of Geneva, Switzerland |
| 05:55 pm – 06:05 pm | BREAK |
| THEME 2: Tsunami – Are we ready for the Future? | |
| 06:05 pm – 06:15 pm | Keynote 1 – Are We Ready to Face Another Tsunami? Dr. Shailesh Nayak, Director, National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) |
| 06:15 pm – 06:30 pm | Keynote 2 – Early Warning System: INCOIS Tsunami Warning System Dr. T. Srinivasa Kumar, Director, INCOIS |
| 06:30 pm – 06:40 pm | Keynote 3 – Making Indian Ocean Coastal Community Tsunami Ready Mr. Ardito M. Kodijat, Head of the IOT Information Centre, UNESCO Office, Jakarta |
| 06:40 pm – 06:45 pm | Keynote 4- Pacific Disaster Center: Tsunami Early Warning Video Dr. Chris Chiesa, Deputy Executive Director, Pacific Disaster Center |
| 06:45 pm – 06:55 pm | Keynote 5 – Development of Indian Tsunami Buoy System Sagar Bhoomi – A Tsunami propagation detection and reporting system in the Ocean Dr. R. Venkatesan, Scientist-G and Programme Director, Ocean Observation Systems, National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) |
| 06:55 pm – 07:05 pm | Keynote 6 – OceanNet: Mobile Offshore Communication Network for Real Time Dissemination of Imminent Disaster Warning Dr. Maneesha V. Ramesh, Director & Professor, Amrita Center for Wireless Networks & Applications; UNESCO Chair on Experiential Learning for Sustainable Development & Innovation |
| 07:05 pm – 07:15 pm | Keynote 7 – Amrita-Kripa: Technology assisted Targeted Timely Disaster Relief Prof. Sethuraman Rao, Associate Professor, Amrita Center for Wireless Networks and Applications, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham |
| 07:15 pm – 07:45 pm | Technical Session – Geospatial Technology Applications for Disaster Risk Reduction Ms. Seema Joshi, General Manager – Strategic Solutions & Technology, ESRI India |
| 07:45 pm – 08:05 pm | BREAK |
| 08:05 pm – 08:55 pm | Closing Panel Discussion – Tsunami: Are We Ready for the Future? Have we sufficiently addressed gaps from the past and learnt from its lessons? Moderator: Prof. N. Vinod Chandra Menon, Founder Member, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) |
| Valedictory Session | |
| 08:55 pm – 09:05 pm | Welcome – Dr. Bhavani Rao R., Director, AMMACHI Labs; UNESCO Chair in Women Empowerment & Gender Equality, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham |
| 09:05 pm – 09:10 pm | Institutional MoU Signing – Amrita & ESRI |
| 09:10 pm – 09:15 pm | Recommendations – Prof. N. Vinod Chandra Menon, Founder Member, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) |
| 09:15 pm – 09:30 pm | Invited Special Addrtess by the Guest of Honour Prof. Ian Davis, Visiting Professor, Kyoto, Lund, Oxford Brookes Universities and Honorary Visiting Professor, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) |
| 09:30 pm – 09:45 pm | Valedictory Address by the Chief Guest Shri. Kamal Kishore, Member, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) |
| 09:45 pm – 09:50 pm | Vote of Thanks Mr. Vishal Sharma, ESRI |
Registration for the event is closed!
