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Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), who heads the U.S. Senate subcommittee overseeing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, has called for Congressional hearings on the failure (to issue an adequate tsunami warning), and on finding ways to ensure that the technological capabilities of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center are made available to the Indian Ocean, according to the Boston Globe.
The head of NOAA said his agency did all it was responsible for doing in warning 26 countries in the Pacific.
"We cannot watch tsunamis in the Indian Ocean," said Conrad C. Lautenbacher, the Commerce Department's undersecretary for oceans and atmosphere and a retired Navy vice admiral, noting that no warning system exists for all 11 countries where the death toll has now topped 117,000.
Lautenbacher said he had ordered an internal review of its response to the quake and tsunamis. He said he also has asked NOAA staff to look at creating a "rapid reaction" emergency team and a more global warning system.
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This internal review might well examine whether it is appropriate to expand the mission of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center beyond its traditional Pacific Rim responsibilities. I.E., if the Center's staff believes a significant tsunami may have been generated in any ocean of the world (based on calculations of the earthquake's magnitude and other factors), should not the Center take aggressive measures -- including using the mass media -- to alert nations bordering that ocean? This would seem to be a reasonable and humanitarian response; unfortunately, it didn't happen after the December 26 earthquake in the Indian Ocean.
Doug Carlson
Honolulu, HI
January 2, 2005
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