The volcanic warning system in Colombia is essential for protecting communities living near the active Galeras volcano. Situated close to the city of Pasto in south-western Colombia, Galeras has been one of the country’s most active volcanoes since the 16th century. Following a relatively short dormant period, it began a series of eruptions that have significantly affected the Department of Nariño since the 1930s, resulting in numerous casualties. In 1993, during the Decade Volcano Conference held in Pasto, an unexpected eruption tragically claimed nine lives.
Not only have the local authorities taken on the task of monitoring the volcanic behaviour and thoroughly studying the acquired information, but also of raising awareness and preparing the community to face a potential emergency in the best possible way to protect the population. In mid-2018, they installed an alert system of electronic sirens to warn the local population.
The Gibon and Bono sirens were installed as part of a pilot project. The sirens generate alarm tones; however, they also inform the population of what is happening and provide instructions. The authorities can activate the installed siren system locally or remotely via VHF radio, allowing timely warning so that families can take action and prevent tragedies in the event of a disaster.
History has shown that it is not enough to study natural phenomena in order to predict a catastrophic event and to educate the population. A fundamental part of the process is a system that allows mass notification of the people when the devices in the system can detect the imminence of any catastrophe: the system that delivers the information from the authorities to the community – the system of electronic sirens made by Telegrafia. These measures altogether lead to the better management and mitigation of negative impacts of natural disasters.
The article was written by
Petra Rychtarcikova
Petra is an international business manager in charge of Spanish, French and Portuguese-speaking countries. Petra, with her global, economic and logistic background and knowledge of four languages, does very productive and responsible work for Telegrafia. Latin-American affairs, travelling, tourism and electronic sirens are her hobbies, and she is pleased to bring you exciting information from the Telegrafia world.