A Proposal of Tsunami Warning System Using Area Mail Disaster Information Service on Mobile Phones

Abstract

The earthquake with the seismic center around the coast of Miyagi Prefecture and the oceanic trench of southern Sanriku is expected to occur with high probability. Enforcement of comprehensive anti-tsunami measures is expected with high emergency in the Sanriku region across Miyagi and Iwate Prefecture. Consequently, a system is required that prefectures, cities, towns and villages collect swiftly and accurately the tsunami monitoring information that is necessary for evacuation behavior, relief and recovery activities, and deliver and share to the local residents. Regarding the disaster information service "Area Mail" that NTT DoCoMo started newly, it is possible to deliver information simultaneously for afflicted limited areas unlike traditional mobile e-mail system. It is thought that the Area Mail can be used to notify not only to inhabitants but also to the tourists (including foreigners) at the time of the disaster. Furthermore, because Area Mail covers the main fishery region in the coast, service to fishery workers is possible while they operate along the coast. They can avoid tsunami damage even in very early stages of an event. In this study, some issues of applying the Area Mail to tsunami warning for fishery workers are extracted. And a prototype is built to assess the feasibility.