UNESCO appeals to Indian Ocean nations and donors to maintain momentum in building tsunami early warning system

UNESCO news release

"The earthquake that struck Sumatra, Indonesia, on March 28, has reinforced the need for a comprehensive, durable tsunami early warning system that will provide the accurate real-time information required by national authorities to properly warn and protect their populations, UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura said today. 'We cannot afford to cut corners,”'Mr Matsuura said. 'A reliable system requires far more than seismic instruments that tell us when and where an earthquake has struck. It also requires the instruments, such as tide gauges, and know-how that can evaluate the risk of a tsunami and where it is likely to hit as well as well-established communication networks for passing that information to national and local authorities in those zones at risk.'”