Govt to spread disaster warnings with SMS messages

Govt to spread disaster warnings with SMS messages

Agence France-Presse Jakarta

Indonesia, still reeling from a series of natural disasters, plans to use text messages to alert people of impending disasters predicted by an early warning system, a minister said on Wednesday.

"The result of a disaster early warning system in an area will be spread through SMSs (Short Message Services)," Minister of Communications and Information Sofyan A. Djalil said.

Such a system would allow over 80 percent of all cell phone users in a given area to be quickly informed of any impending natural disaster and would generate a rapid response from government officials, he said.

The Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) which will run the early warning system will also liaise with the media to ensure the warning messages are sent out as quickly as possible.

"The government will provide the BMG with adequate equipments to carry out its tasks," Jalil said.

The government would also announce the warnings in key urban areas, such as religious and commercial centers, he said.

Indonesia has been shaken by a series of earthquakes since the massive Dec. 26 earthquake that generated tsunamis that killed about 220,000 people around the Indian Ocean, mostly on Sumatra island.

An 8.7 earthquake centered on the same Indian Ocean geological faultline on March 28 killed more than 700 people as scores of concrete buildings collapsed on the Indonesian island of Nias.

A series of volcanoes on the Indonesian archipelago have sprung to life in the wake of the quakes, including Tangkuban Perahu, near Bandung were some 50 heads of state are to meet Sunday to mark the golden anniversary of the Asia-Africa summit.