On July 11, 2012, German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited the Tsunami Early Warning Center in Jakarta as part of her first trip to Indonesia. Together with other research centers of the Helmholtz Association, DLR was involved in setting up the Tsunami Early Warning Center.
"I am very impressed by the tsunami warning center," she said, summing up her visit. "I think this is a very good example of German-Indonesian cooperation that really works for the benefit of the people," continued Ms. Merkel.
DLR's German Remote Sensing Data Center has developed the central decision support system (DSS) for the Tsunami Early Warning Center and carried out risk analyses for tsunami-prone areas. DFD was also involved in long-term training measures for the Indonesian staff.
The development of this "German Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System" (GITEWS) was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and carried out in cooperation with the Indonesian Ministry of Science (RISTEK) and the relevant authorities.
GITEWS went into operation in November 2008 and became a central component of the Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System InaTEWS. GITEWS was subsequently optimized and proved its functionality during numerous seaquakes, most recently during the strong seaquakes on 11.04.2012. Since October 2011, a DSS component developed by DLR has been installed on site, which serves as an international early warning system for the entire Indian Ocean. The expansion allows the responsible Indonesian authority BMKG to assume the role of a Regional Tsunami Service Provider (RTSP).
Ms. Merkel: "On the one hand, you can see the highest scientific quality here [...], but on the other hand, you can also experience how Indonesian specialists, primarily physicists, [...] also participate in the scientific development and scientific opportunities that Germany offers. In this respect, this is a prime example of cooperation, which of course also includes funds for development aid and technical cooperation. I believe the money is really well spent here.
Six years after the tsunami disaster in the Indian Ocean, on March 29, 2011, GITEWS was fully handed over to Indonesia. DLR is still involved with its project partners in Indonesia and will continue to train Indonesian experts and advise decision-makers until March 2014.
