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)
d) The launch of a warning system in New Caledonia and in Wallis and Futuna
While French Polynesia already benefits from an effective warning system, the system for New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna is still in its early stages. Due to these territories' isolation and low population density, their tsunami-based observations remain very incomplete. However, several tsunamis were recorded during the 19 th and 20 th centuries, generated by earthquakes near the Solomon, Vanuatu and Loyalty Islands.
Recently two events reminded us of these territories' tsunami vulnerability.
On 3 May 2006, following a magnitude 7.8 earthquake with in the Tonga Islands, PTWC issued a warning for the islands of Tonga, Niue, Samoa, Wallis and Futuna and Fiji.
On 1 April 2007, a magnitude 8.1 earthquake in the Solomon Islands subduction zone generated a devastating local tsunami. In New Caledonia, the authorities were alerted by PTWC and the High State Authority decided to evacuate (as a precaution) the Loyalty Islands and the eastern coastal districts.
The Sumatra tsunami, combined with both the arrival in New Caledonia of the former High Commissioner for French Polynesia (who had instigated the installation of sirens on this territory) and the raised awareness of the Ministry of Overseas Territories (which has since become the Junior Minister's Office for the Overseas Territories) and the tsunami-vulnerable districts in New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna, provided the impetus for setting up a warning system in these two territories.
In May 2007, the Junior Minister's Office for the Overseas Territories spent €22,000 to provide itself with a central warning station. In addition, New Caledonia is in the process of acquiring sirens for the districts of Ouvéa (3 sirens), Lifou (8 sirens) and Maré (3 sirens). These sirens are funded primarily by the inter-district equalization fund and, to a lesser extent, by the global allocation of equipment. The Junior Minister's Office for the Overseas Territories has also provided money for the installation of sirens in Wallis and Futuna.
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Even so, overall, nearly three years after the Sumatra tsunami, France's initial interest has waned, due to the lack of a strategic vision and insufficient funding.