Misleading alert causes panic

The tsunami alert in the early hours of Sunday was to warn the people of a possible tsunami. Misreading the warning as a tsunami was on the way, people had started fleeing in panic. There also seem to have been lack of coordination among various institutions that were monitoring the seismic activities. An official of the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) told the Daily News that the DMC had released tsunami warning only to alert the people. “The people had mistaken the tsunami alert for preparedness. The people had not identified the correct signal and began fleeing,” he said Evacuation of people from possible tsunami affected areas should be done after consulting the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB) and National Aquatic Resources Agency (NARA).   www.dailynews.lk/2010/06/15/news02.asp