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Countries bordering Indian Ocean test tsunami warning system

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-10-14 13:21

JAKARTA: Hundreds of people in Aceh province of Indonesia took part drill on Wednesday that invovled countries bordering the Indian Ocean to test the tsunami warning system, the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said.

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Indonesia has set up tsunami warning systems along its coastal areas vulnerable to quake upheaval following the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 that killed more than 250,000 people including 170, 000 persons in Aceh province in the northern tip of Sumatra island of Indonesia.

Head of Quake Department of the agency Suharjono told Xinhua that the practice, backed by the Untied Nations, was aimed at testing the warning systems and whole preparedness of several countries in the region.

A series of earthquake and tsunami have killed over 1,000 people recently in Asia, including the tsunami in Samoa and American Samoa that killed more than 100 people, and the 7.6- magnitude quake in West Sumatra province of Indonesia that killed more than 1,000 people and caused massive destruction.

Indonesia installed tsunami warning system throughout more than 17,000 islands in 2005 to prompt community at coastal areas to seek safety on higher ground when tsunami occurs. But not many of the them can operate.  

Other countries taking parts in the drill include Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Timor Leste, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Pakistan, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and Tanzania.