Early warning system for PNG

Early warning system for PNG

CANBERRA (AP): A network of seismological beacons will be installed along Papua New Guinea's north coast as an early warning device against future tsunamis, the Australian government said yesterday.

Australian scientists will travel to Papua New Guinea today to begin work with an international team of seismologists trying to understand the cause of the disaster, Resources Minister Warwick Parer said.

"The seismologists will be assisting the Papua New Guinea Geological Survey to install a network of seismographs at Wewak, Aitape, Vanimo and at Nuku, south of Aitape," Parer said.

"These will be used to locate aftershocks which will highlight the source region of the magnitude 7 earthquake that triggered the destructive tsunami."

A tsunami believed to have been caused by an offshore earthquake struck the northwest coast of Papua New Guinea on July 17, destroying villages, killing 2,000 people and leaving thousands more homeless.