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<br /> <br />16 <br /> <br />LOllg subject to devastatioll by <br />earthquake-gmerated tSUlramis, <br />some coastal Japa/lese <br />commullities have cO/lstructed <br />barriers like this olle ill Taro. <br />At 8 meters (26 feet) high, the <br />wall protects the community <br />illland (to the left in the photo) <br />of the fishing harbor, itself <br />protected by a breakwater. <br />With adequate warnillg, <br />residents still at risk call <br />evacuate to the barrier- <br />protected regioll. <br /> <br /> <br />The city of Hilo, Hawaii, approached tsunami <br />protection differently. After sustaining damage <br />from the 1960 Chilean tsunami, Hilo conducted a <br />study to define protection against similar events. <br />The most economic solution was to create a buffer <br />zone near the coast that encompassed the area <br />inundated in 1960. Coupled with a tsunami <br />warning system, this approach has also proved <br />effective. <br /> <br />SUCCESSFUL INTERNATIONAL <br />EFFORTS <br /> <br />Much valuable work on the reduction of losses <br />from natural hazards has been carried out by <br />engineers, physical and social scientists, archi- <br />tects, community planners, emergency managers, <br />and others in many countries. Not surprisingly, <br />some of these efforts are international in their <br />scope and participation. It is the success of these <br />cooperative projects that underlies the concept of <br />an International Decade for Natural Hazard <br />Reduction. Some of these programs are described <br />below. <br /> <br />World Meteorological Organization (WMO) <br /> <br />The World Meteorological Organization stands as <br />an example of the benefits of international cooper- <br />ation for hazard reduction. Recognizing that the <br />world has but one atmosphere and that successful <br />weather forecasting requires measurements and <br />modeling of the atmosphere, ocean, and land <br />surfaces as a whole, nations began entering into a <br /> <br />z <br />~ <br />I <br />() <br />" <br />~ <br />() <br />~ <br />o <br />~ <br />~ <br />~ <br /> <br />series of agreements in 1947. These agreements <br />provide for real-time exchange of data and estab- <br />lishment of standards for data quality control and <br />timeliness. They also foster the sharing of exper- <br />tise in weather prediction and modification and <br />the fundamental understanding of atmospheric <br />processes. As a result, each nation is able to <br />provide for the public safety and economic protec- <br />tion of its citizens by drawing on an international <br />cooperative framework. <br /> <br />Worldwide Standardized Seismograph <br />Network (WWSSN) <br /> <br />This network was created in the early 1960s to <br />upgrade observational seismology. It has been <br />successful in improving and unifying earthquake <br />occurrence maps worldwide. The mapping has <br />improved earthquake risk assessment and con- <br />tributed essential support to modern theories of <br />plate tectonics. Success stemmed from three as- <br />pects of the network: it is worldwide, providing <br />global coverage of the temporal and spatial pat- <br />terns of seismicity and earthquake focal mecha- <br />nisms; it consists of a standardized set of instru- <br />ments, providing uniform response at all stations; <br />and it is coordinated, with cooperating countries <br />having explicit mechanisms for collecting and <br />distributing the WWSSN data. <br /> <br /> <br />Tsunami Warning System (TWS) <br /> <br />The Tsunami Warning System was established in <br />the wake of the Aleutian tsunami of April 1, 1946, <br />