The Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG) said in a statement yesterday that in order to improve Macau’s mechanism for coping with natural disasters, and better protect the safety of citizens’ lives and property when disasters strike, the city’s first tsunami alarm system will come into effect on January 1.
The statement noted that a tsunami is a destructive abnormal wave, usually triggered by a strong earthquake under the sea.
“Tsunami” means “harbour wave” in Japanese.
Although Macau was less likely to be affected by a tsunami, the statement said, there were still specific risks under the threat of the Manila Trench seismic zone which is an area where earthquakes tend to occur.
The statement noted that if a strong undersea earthquake occurs in the Manila Trench seismic zone, a tsunami may occur in the South China Sea and reach Macau within “three to four hours”, possibly causing serious damage to the city. The statement added that if the earthquake that triggered the tsunami was closer to Macau, the warning time would be even shorter. Macau’s tsunami warning signal is classified in three levels: Orange, Red and Black, according to the height of the tsunami wave affecting Macau, i.e., the height is higher than the normal water level, indicating the risk of a tsunami affecting local coastal waters, the statement pointed out.
According to the observatory, the Orange tsunami warning signal indicates a degree of high risk that a tsunami wave of between 0.3 and 1.0 metre is expected, while the Red and Black tsunami warning signals refer to a serious risk and an extreme risk and that tsunami waves of between one and three metres and above three metres respectively are expected.
This poster provided by the Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG) yesterday shows Macau’s first tsunami alarm system, which will take effect next month, classified in three levels – Orange, Red and Black.
