Tsunami warning system expected to deliver better results:UNESCO

New York, June 29 (PTI): Almost 18 months after the killer tsunami hit Indian Ocean countries, the entire region has a warning system which is "now up and running as scheduled" and by next month-end it is expected to deliver more better results with the augmentation of the system.

The tsunami warning system installed in Indian Ocean is capable of receiving and distributing tsunami advisories round the clock, the UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), which is overseeing the scheme, said.

By the end of July, UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura said, the system will be capable of improved and faster detection of strong, tsunamogenic earthquakes, increased precision in the location of the epi- and hypo centres of earthquakes and confirmation of the presence of a tsunami wave in the ocean after a strong earthquake.

Twenty-six out of a possible 28 national tsunami information centres, capable of receiving and distributing tsunami dvisories round the clock, have been set up in Indian Ocean countries.

The seismographic network has been improved, with 25 new stations being deployed and linked in real-time to analysis centres. Three Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART) sensors are also operational.

At present, information bulletins are issued from Japan and Hawaii, pending a final decision on the location of regional centres in the Indian Ocean. This will be facilitated when important additional contribution including instruments such as deep-sea pressure sensors and satellites become available in late 2007 and 2008.
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