Tsunami-hit countries agree on early warning system at emergency summit

Tsunami-hit countries agree on early warning system at emergency summit

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In the wake of a massive tidal wave that killed more than 150,000
people in Asia, countries bordering the Indian Ocean agreed on
Tuesday to a proposal for the setting up of an early warning
system to help prevent similar tragic losses from reoccurring.

Countries participating in the summit on humanitarian and
reconstruction efforts in the aftermath of the Dec. 26 tsunamis
said in a joint statement that the early warning system was of
great importance to detect and warn of tsunamis before they
strike.

"The regional early warning system will be similar to the
regional early warning system in the Pacific Ocean," the
statement said.

The Tsunami Warning System (TWS) in the Pacific, comprising 26
participating countries, has the function of monitoring
seismological and tidal stations throughout the Pacific Basin. It
evaluates whether an earthquake has the potential to create a
tsunami and disseminates a tsunami warning.

The centers in Hawaii and Alaska detected the massive
earthquake off Sumatra island minutes after it happened on that
fateful Sunday morning and issued information bulletins to member
nations in the Pacific, but not to countries directly in the
tsunami's path.

The system, initiated by the U.S. government, however, is
meticulous and largely expensive for countries in the Indian
Ocean region, comprised mostly of developing countries. A system
of seven detectors, run from Hawaii, cost about US$18 million to
develop.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said that countries like
Japan, South Korea and China had agreed to help tsunami-affected
countries develop a system.

Susilo said the system not only constituted equipment to
detect tsunamis but also touched on education for people living
along the coast, coordination and information sharing among
countries bordering the Indian Ocean.

Thai foreign minister said that such a system could have saved
many lives if it had been installed in quake-prone regions.

"We had no functioning, real-time, early warning system on
tsunamis ... Many deaths could have been avoided if people had
been warned," he said.