The initiative stemmed from the loss of Korean nationalities following the recent natural disasters in New Zealand and Japan.
“The purpose of the panel discussion is to till the ground for developing an information-sharing network in case of environmental disasters for Koreans living or traveling abroad, who cannot easily access such information” said Kwon Won-tae, Director-General National Institute of Meteorological Research.
According to Professor Yun Sung-hyo from the Pusan National University and also one of the presenters in the panel discussion, there is a pressing need to develop an earthquake early warning system and more ocean bottom seismometers.
“The country should also prepare for a potential eruption of Mt. Baekdu”, says Professor Yun.
“By assessing the amount of magma and the speed of its movement underneath Cheonji Lake we can predict when the volcano is likely to erupt and enable us to estimate the extent of damage the eruption is likely to induce, this would allow us to develop plans for evacuation and setting up shelters accordingly” he said.
In addition to setting up an information-sharing network, the Korea Meteorological Administration also hopes to launch a service for smartphone applications that would provide information that aims to improve emergency preparedness among Koreans.
The smartphone application will be designed to provide real-time extreme weather forecasts and disaster prediction.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Clarice Africa
Quelle/Source: futureGov, 13.04.2011
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