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Alexander Downer vows for Tsunami warning system
Australian FOREIGN Minister Alexander Downer pledged yesterday to develop a tsunami warning system for the Indian Ocean region in co-operation with other countries, in a bid to prevent a repeat of Sunday's disaster. "I know it looks a bit like closing the door after the horse has bolted but there will be tsunamis again in the future, hopefully never again on this scale," Mr Downer said. "We wouldn't want to see the opportunity lost of saving lives in the future coming out of just there being a lack of any kind of warning system." The UN and Japan also pledged to act swiftly to boost early warning capabilities in the region. Mr Downer's comments followed the revelation Australian scientists had warned in September that our coastline was vulnerable to a tsunami because of the lack of an early warning system for natural disasters covering the Indian Ocean. Geoscience Australia's earthquake hazard expert, Phil Cummins, argued in a paper published in September that "a warning capability should be established, using tide gauges on Cocos Island and Christmas Island, to provide several hours' warning of a tsunami generated off Sumatra". UN emergency relief co-ordinator Jan Egeland said such a system was "imperative" and would be discussed at the world conference on disaster reduction in Japan next month. Posted by: God Save The World 2004-12-29 |
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