SENAT
Report n° 117 (2007-2008) by M. Roland COURTEAU, Senator (for the parliament office for the evaluation of scientific and technological choices) - Appendix to the minutes of the 7 December 2007 session
Disponible au format Acrobat (21 Moctets)
(3) Setting up a warning system
In addition to a better understanding of this natural hazard, the tsunami-risk prevention project plans on setting up tsunami-detection and tsunami-warning systems for the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean and the West Indies.
The presentation document for the November 2005 "earthquake plan" points out that " in accordance with France's position as presented during the Kobe conference and before the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, it has been decided to create a national, multi-risk prevention centre in La Réunion ".
Likewise, this document states that " the Mediterranean and Caribbean are particularly prone to tsunami-generating earthquakes [...]. In addition to bilateral partnerships, France will propose - along with the concerned European countries (in particular, Italy for the Mediterranean and the United Kingdom and the Netherlands for the West Indies) and in cooperation with the other countries ringing these basins - European-level initiatives for tsunami detection and the transmission of warnings. "
Following the creation of intergovernmental coordination groups in the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean and the Caribbean, a national coordination group was set up to organize regular meetings in the various basins and finalize the French position. Co-directed by the Pollution and Risk Prevention Department and the DDSC ("Defense and Civil Protection Department"), this informal body gathers together all the French players more or less directly involved in the setting up of a warning system, including both scientific and technical organizations (CEA, IFREMER, IPGP, Météo France, BRGM, SHOM, CNRS, IRD) and ministries (the Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development, the Ministry of the Interior, Overseas Territories and Local Governments, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
(4) Educating the public and raising awareness
Finally, the objective of the tsunami-risk prevention project is to raise public awareness in the most vulnerable zones.
Particular attention has been given to raising student awareness and training teachers. Certain actions are already under way; for instance, primary and secondary-school programmes already deal with major natural risks. What's more, the tsunami of 26 December 2004 gave rise to numerous school initiatives, particularly in the West Indies, La Réunion and the Mediterranean, which are largely based on already-existing projects, such as the "Sismo des écoles" (seismometer at school) project carried out in the Académie de Nice and the Académie des Antilles.
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From "Sismo des écoles" to "Sismos à l'école" The principle of the "Sismos à l'école" ("Seismometers at School") project is to create a network of schools equipped with educational seismometers. A seismic sensor is installed in each school by students from 13 to 18 years of age. The sensors' seismic data is fed into an on-line database; this veritable seismic resource centre serves as the starting point for various educational and scientific activities using new information and communication technologies. Considering the project's orientation (emphasizing new communication technologies), its educational aspect (raising awareness of seismic risk), its scientific content (instrumentation, geophysics, earth sciences) and its importance at the both the regional and national levels (creating a network of schools), it offers teachers numerous educational paths to explore. The project's objectives are the following: - Favour the development of the hard and technological sciences at the secondary-school level, via a project centred around the measuring of an environmental parameter. - Raise children's awareness of natural risks, thereby contributing to the accountability of these future citizens. - Encourage students to become "ambassadors" within their communities for natural-disaster prevention. Launched in 1996 at the Centre International de Valbonne, the "Sismo des Ecoles" programme rapidly spread within the Alpes-Maritimes département with the support of the Académie de Nice, the departmental council and the Géosciences Azur laboratory. Today, the national network consists of a total of 20 schools: 13 in metropolitan France, 3 in the DOM-TOM and 4 in French secondary schools abroad. |
In addition, specific teacher-training initiatives for academies concerned by the tsunami risk are planned, as is the development of educational tools dedicated to this theme.
Furthermore, raising the public's awareness and ensuring its appropriation of the information necessitates identifying the different categories of the exposed populations (residents, tourists, professional groups, etc.), adapting the messages, and identifying the most suitable transmission tools.