Another quake

Another quake

Even though a tsunami did not strike Indonesia on Monday, the earthquake on the island of Nias off Sumatra has left at least 2,000 people dead. The estimate is based on the number of buildings destroyed in the town of Gunung Sitoli.

The warning system now under installation with UN help is expected to be completed by December 2006. But aid agencies warn that this would tackle the problem only partly.

Most coastal communities on the Indian Ocean periphery are poor, and there is no way in which a warning on radio or TV would necessarily reach them. This gap between technology and the recipients can be narrowed only by rapid reaction, well-organized aid agencies and volunteers on the spot.

While Pakistan should set up its own early-warning system for the fishing communities, it would be less costly and more effective if Pakistan could link its own system to the one being developed by the UN for the Indian Ocean region. -- The Dawn, Karachi