In a few more months, residents of India will be able to receive tsunami warnings via SMS messages that will also provide them with guidance and information before disaster strikes.
UK-based RegPoint, a health-services company focused on bringing wireless technology to the global healthcare community, is behind the technology, developed in conjunction with the Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services.
The two organisations are scheduled to launch the tsunami warning system in the first quarter of 2015.
The tsunami warning system is based in based in Hyderabad. Its technology has been designed to provide residents with accurate and rapid location-specific information on the size, scale and expected time of the disaster, as well as advice on how best to stay safe.
The tsunami of 26 December 2004 killed 230,000 people in 14 countries around the Indian Ocean. No warning system had been in place.
Sophia Salenius, chief executive of RegPoint, said even in a technologically advanced 21st century, we remain dangerously exposed to the worst Mother Nature has to offer.
“When the final technological development is completed early next year, we will have the capability to utilise a wealth of information and state-of-the-art scientific analysis to significantly improve survival rates when disasters hit,” Salenius said.
Hyderabad, India, image via Shutterstock
