Officials seek
disaster warning

Technology and education are the keys to preventing the catastrophic losses caused by tsunamis and other natural and man-made hazards, officials said yesterday.

Government representatives and agencies from around Asia and the Pacific region are in Honolulu this week for a workshop sponsored by the U.S. Trade and Development Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to help countries understand how to better protect themselves.

Officials are hoping to lay the groundwork for establishing a regional all-hazard warning system that could prevent devastation like that caused by the Dec. 26 Indian Ocean tsunami, which killed more than 176,000 people and left about 50,000 missing and hundreds of thousands homeless.

Experts say more would have survived the deadly waves if the region had had a warning system similar to the one that notifies residents of Pacific Rim countries about the threat of oncoming tsunamis.

"We have to keep our technology current. We have to keep our monitoring current. And ... we have to work very hard to make sure we translate that science and technology into messages, into education and into warning systems that people can respond to to protect themselves and protect their property," said Charles Groat, director of the U.S. Geological Survey.

The workshop is aimed at giving participants the chance to discuss common hurdles, to understand how systems work elsewhere -- including in Hawaii -- and to develop their own plans to head off disasters.

"We are convinced that we have the capacity through our coordinated efforts and our unity of action to prevent such a catastrophe from every happening again," said William Brennan, deputy assistant secretary for international affairs at the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The meeting began yesterday and ends Friday.