• With the addition of the new centres, there will be seven seismic stations in all

By Chaturanga Samarawickrama  

The Chinese government has pledged to provide three more  fully equipped seismic centres and one of them is to be established at the  Western and North-Western Provincial boundaries, the Environment  Ministry said.   

Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said that there are four  seismic stations operational in our country which are located in  Pallekele, Buddhangala, Mahakanadarawa and Hakmana.   
With the addition of the new three seismic centres to be donated by China, there will be seven seismic stations in all.  “Earthquakes are still a new experience for us. Our country  has not yet been hit by a severe earthquake in recent times after the  2004 tsunami. But there is no guarantee that there will be no earthquakes  in future. As a precautionary measure, we need to establish all the  necessary facilities required for seismic study in the country,”  Minister Amaraweera said.