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Pacific Tsunami Alert System Tests To Start Mid-May
Paris (AFP) May 01, 2006 UNESCO said Saturday it would test the Pacific tsunami alert system at a regional level for the first time next month to assess the reactions of the countries concerned. "This exercise is designed to improve responsiveness, to evaluate the ability of each country to react and optimise coordination across the region," the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Educational Organisation said in a statement. The alert system was created more than 40 years ago and is funded by UNESCO's International Oceanographic Commission (COI). The test, dubbed Pacific Wave 06, will be organised in two phases: first a fake tsunami warning will be sent out by the alert centre in Hawaii on May 16, then transmitted to predetermined contact points and to the national authorities in charge of dealing with emergencies. "It will be clearly indicated that it is a test and not a real alert," said the international organisation. The second phase will take place either that day or the following day, when the national emergency authorities will transmit the information to their local equivalents. Most of the 29 Indian Ocean nations affected by the December 2004 tsunami did not have an adequate warning system when a massive undersea earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra unleashed giant waves, killing an estimated 217,000 people in 11 countries. Experts said a system similar to the one in operation for decades in the nearby Pacific could have allowed thousands of victims to reach safety.
Source: Agence France-Presse Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links - Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters A world of storm and tempest When the Earth Quakes
Bush Contributed To Extent Of Katrina Aftermath Says Senator Lieberman
Washington (AFP) Apr 27, 2006President George W. Bush is partly to blame for the extent of devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina, which left more than 1,500 people dead in the southeastern United States last year, Democratic Senator Joseph Lieberman said Thursday. |
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