China’s Tsunami Warning Hub opens

BEIJING, China (China Daily) — With the full operation of an advisory center authorized by the United Nations, China started offering tsunami warning services to nine countries in the South China Sea (SCS) region on Tuesday as the world celebrates the fourth World Tsunami Awareness Day.

Built by China and authorized by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the South China Sea Tsunami Advisory Center (SCSTAC) in Beijing began its trial operation at the end of January 2018.

“Since the trial operation, the capability of the center has been increasingly enhanced,” said Wang Hong, chief of the State Oceanic Administration under the Ministry of Natural Resources, as he spoke during the ceremony for the center’s full operation.

He also said the Smart Tsunami Information Process System-which China owns independent intellectual property rights to-has been operating stably since the trial.

The system will beef up tsunami mitigation capability in the SCS region.

The center is now hosted by China’s National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center, an affiliate of the ministry.

Yu Fujiang, director of the forecasting center, said the tsunami advisory center is now able to send out warnings only about 10 minutes after the occurrence of an earthquake thanks to the smart system.