CL
Subject: The Tsunami: Why did the Information Not Get Out?
.... and the US as well as the UN seem to be on top of
the cover-up dung-hip:
Already since the days of Commander in Chief Cincpac, the US Navy
sits
like a
fat spider in the middle of a global web of gigantic dimensions, whose
satellites,
surveillance planes, ships, buoys and underwater-units with all their
acoustic, optic,
seismic, electromagnetic and thermal sensors report even lovemaking
whales or
shagging subs in any ocean.
SOSUS and OSIS, which already in the late 60's could detect immediately
any
earthquake of such magnitude like the one, which was triggered last
December
by yet to be established causes and which itself triggered the
devasting Tsunami,
have been improved over the years in its ocean surveillance
capabilities to such
extent, that the demand for a "Tsunami surveillance system" called for
by Kofi
Annan and others who just want to play with more taxpayer's money, is
actually
an affront against the intellect of Millions - not only against the
intelligence of a few.
But maybe they are just testing, if mankind, which becomes every day
more
and more blindfolded, has reached its final stage already at which the
spider
can just throw the empty hull of humanity out - after having it sucked
dry.
please read also the article below, though it contains one mistake:
The correct line must read: There
are Ocean sensors in the Indian Ocean.
(N.B.: Even British Indian Ocean Territory Diego Garcia is in heart of
the Indian Ocean)
NAVSUPPFAC
Diego
Garcia became the only U.S. Navy base that launched
offensive air operations during Operation Desert Storm and, being
located just
3000 miles south of Iraq, it remains the oppressors foothold in the
Indian Ocean
as well as a vital link in the US agression structure, though the local
people,
which were kicked out by the Bristish who play the host for the US,
claim it
back and want the UK and the United States to leave.
What
is more important is the fact that the maximum elevation on Diego
Garcia is only 22 feet and the tidal wave there was at least 6 feet
high.
Diego Garcia is just located at half the way the Tsunami took on
its course
to Somalia. But on Diego Garcia there was apparently neither
destruction nor alarm
concerning the tidal wave, which according to UNICEF (though disputed)
destroyed
the coastal village at Ras Hafun in Somalia many hours later and
thousands of miles
down the Tsunami's track.
The Tsunami: Why did the Information Not Get
Out?
by Michel Chossudovsky
8 February 2005
SUMMARY
One of the most destructive
and powerful earthquakes in recorded history, more than a quarter of a
million recorded deaths, local economies destroyed, the lives of entire
communities shattered, and no serious investigation into the flaws of
the global seismic warning system is contemplated.
According to Columbia
University's Earth Institute the M-9.0 Sumatra Andaman Island
earthquake on December 26th released energy, equivalent roughly to 700
million Hiroshima bombs.
Seismic information regarding what scientists identify as a "rare
great earthquake", was available in near real time (i.e. almost
immediately) to seismic centers around the World.
Other types of data, including satellite imagery were also available in
near real time.
The advanced global seismic information and communications systems were
fully operational.
Why then, did the information not get out on the morning of December
26th?
Ten of thousands of lives could have been saved.
The issue has been skirted by the Western media, sidestepped by the
governments and the UN, not to mention the international scientific
community.
What Happened on the Morning of December 26th?
The tsunami was triggered within minutes of the earthquake, prior to
the release of the first tsunami advisory bulletin by the Pacific
Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) in Hawaii, so it was no longer a question
of emitting "a warning" of an imminent danger. The catastrophe had
already happened.
In other words, by the time the first tsunami bulletin had been issued
at 01.14 GMT, the deadly seismic wave was already sweeping Banda, the
capital of Aceh province in Northern Sumatra, causing thousands of
deaths.
This ex post facto bulletin emitted by the PTWC, did not even warn of
the potential danger of a tsunami. Moreover, it casually dismissed an
established and scientifically accepted relationship:
"If it were a 9 earthquake ... with the thrusting in an ocean basin
margin, the likelihood is almost 1:1 that it would generate a tsunami" (Dr. Charles Groat, Director, US Geological
Survey in testimony to the Science Committee of the US House of
Representatives, 26 Jan 2005).
Tip of the Iceberg
The PTWC bulletins are but the tip of the iceberg. The information
on the quake was known and available in real time, to an entire network
of seismic organizations.
It was also on hand and accessible to a number of government agencies
both in the US and internationally, almost immediately. Numerous
officials, scientists, members of the military and intelligence
services, had advanced knowledge of an impending disaster.
In other words, we are not dealing with the failures of a single
warning Center in Ewo, Hawaii, but with an entire Worldwide network of
seismic information, satellite imagery and other sophisticated data,
which was available almost immediately.
Who informs Whom?
The question is not why the PTWC did not emit a tsunami warning,
but why did an entire global network of scientists and officials not
emit a warning, in relation to one of the largest quakes in recorded
history.
While the PTWC had indeed formally notified Washington and the Military
at the Diego Garcia island base, the US government and military already
knew, because the seismic data had been processed within minutes by an
agency under the jurisdiction of the US Department of the Interior,
namely the National
Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) based in Golden,
Colorado.
The data regarding the magnitude of the earthquake originated from four
seismic stations located in the Indian Ocean, operated by the International Deployment of Accelerometers
(IDA) Project .
"Received signals three minutes, thirty seconds after the quake
began"
In testimony to the US Congress (Jan 26, 2005), Scripps (SIO)
Deputy-Director John Orcutt which overseas the Indian Ocean IDA seismic
stations confirmed that on December 26, the data pertaining to the
Sumatra-Andaman quake had been "immediately and automatically forwarded
by computer to the USGS National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC)
in Golden, Colorado and the NOAA tsunami warning centers in Hawaii and
Alaska"
The US Military Base at Diego Garcia
The first news reports underscored the fact that the US military base
at Diego Garcia had been given advanced warning, but that the
information reached military officials at the US island naval base
"after" the tsunami had hit India and Sri Lanka:
- "An NOAA log shows that the
US
Pacific Command, including Diego Garcia, was given a specific warning
about the tsunami some two and three quarter hours after the
earthquake" (The Guardian, 7 Jan 2005)
This earlier reports must be qualified.
The fact of the matter, is that the data concerning the earthquake
originated from monitoring stations situated on the site of the US
island military base.
In addition to the IDA/IRIS stations, the
International Monitoring System (IMS) of the Preparatory Commission for
the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO)
based in Vienna, operates several stations in the Indian Ocean region,
three of which are located in the Chagos Archipelago (British Indian
Ocean Territory). Two of these stations are situated directly on the
site of the US military base.
There are in all four stations in the Chagos archipelago, which use the
communications system of the US military base.
In other words, the
US military base at Diego Garcia , with its advanced monitoring
facilities, research labs, etc. was not the "recipient" but rather "the
source" of the relevant data regarding the earthquake.
Satellite Imagery transmitted in Real Time
In addition to real time seismic data (as well as hydroacoustic,
infrasound and radionuclide data transmitted out of Diego Garcia),
satellite images of the disaster on the North Sumatra coastline were
also available in near real time to a number of agencies and
international organizations.
The US has an advanced "spy satellite" system, with very precise
capabilities of monitoring the terrain, including changes in the
natural environment, not to mention moving objects. The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO),
which was responsible for launching the first spy satellites of the
Cold War era operates a sophisticated system of reconnaissance
satellites, which transmit imagery and other data in real time.
Another key US body, involved in satellite imagery is the National
Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, (NGA) , formerly known as the
National Imagery and Mapping Agency. The latter was in fact the
architect of the global positioning system (GPS), which was conducive
to creating a system of global geospatial intelligence (GEOINT).
NGA
is part of the US defense system, it serves the Department of Defense
and the intelligence community. It has very precise capabilities of
monitoring the geographic and physical terrain by satellite, all over
the world, using the techniques of geospatial intelligence (GEOINT).
In other words, state of the art satellite imagery (available to
military, intelligence, civilian as well as private commercial
entities) provides "a real time set of eyes". With regard, to the
M-9.0 tsunami of December 26, satellite images were available almost
immediately. The US military confirms in this regard, that it has
access from its satellite systems "to vital intelligence in real
time". These real time images were used extensively in the Iraq and
Afghan war theaters. (Hearings of Sen Armed Services Committee, 25 Feb
2004).
The Role of the European Space Agency
Real time seismic and other data (including satellite imagery) were
also available to a number of countries including Russia, China,
Japan
and the European Union.
In this regard, The
European Space Agency (ESA ), which has links to NOAA, has
"multi-sensor access" in real time to data from satellites including
very precise imagery which allows:
- "for complete large-scale
phenomena to be observed to an accuracy and entirety it would take an
army of ground level observers to match"
In addition to imagery, the satellite
transmits other relevant data which measures very accurately "ground
motion" and "sea height":
While "before" and "after" images of the disaster have been made
public, the images which show the progress and movement of the tsunami,
in the period immediately following the earth quake have not been
released.
Concluding Remarks: The Need for an Investigation into the Warning
System
More than a quarter of million people have died in one of the
World's most devastating natural disasters.
The overriding issues pertaining to the warning / information systems,
cannot be drowned or brushed aside. They must be the object of a
full-fledged inquiry, preferably by an independent body.
This report has outlined a number of broad issues pertaining to the
global information network. The latter requires detailed examination in
the context of full-fledged inquiry.
What agencies in the US, the European Union, in the Indian Ocean
countries and internationally were informed? The failures are by no
means limited to the US seismic network.
When were they informed? What type of data did they have? Some of that
data has not been released.
Why did the information not reach the people on time in the countries
affected by the tsunami?
What factors, administrative, scientific or otherwise, contributed to
preventing the information from being transmitted?
We are not dealing strictly with seismic data. Satellite images of the
devastation in Northern Sumatra were also available. Other types of
data were also transmitted in near real time by satellite.
The approximate speed of the seismic wave was known and confirmed.
According to the news reports, the tsunami was moving at a speed of
roughly 20 km a minute (on average) in relation to Sri Lanka.
The seismic information was known to the NEIC and other seismic centers
within less than four minutes after the quake.
The tsunami hit the Indonesian coast within 5 minutes, in other words
10 minutes before the release of the first TPWC bulletin. Banda Aceh
was hit by the tsunami 11 minutes after the earthquake, approximately 3
minutes before the release of the TPWC bulletin.
In other words, it was possible to predict in a very precise way, at
what time the seismic wave would hit the coastlines of Thailand, Sri
Lanka, India, The Maldives and Somalia. Had this information been
transmitted in a consistent fashion, there would have been ample time
to evacuate people from the coastal areas of Sri Lanka, India, not to
mention the East coast of Africa.
There are no (but
see comment above - Ed.) Ocean sensors in the Indian Ocean. But
this was not the cause of the failures and omissions in the warning
system.
The tsunami became active immediately following the earthquake. No
warnings were sent out following the seismic readings despite the fact
that the tsunami had already hit the Indonesian coast.
This is the key issue.
The Tsunami was active, and this was known, corroborated not only by
seismic information but also by satellite images and other data,
roughly 30 minutes prior to hitting Thailand.
TEXT OF COMPLETE ARTICLE at http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO501A.html
To read the complete text
of this article click : http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO501A.html
see also the earlier article, which clearly showed that the Thai
and Philippine Governments had the warning
long before the Tsunami hit their coasts and DID NOTHING !!!!!!!
ECOTERRA Intl.