The Hindu Business Line : Investing in warning systems

The ferocity of the tsunami that hit the east coast of India and the unparalleled destruction that has been left in its wake stresses the urgent need for investment in early warning systems.

While the loss of property could not have been avoided, the loss of human life could have been vastly minimised if people living in the coastal areas had been warned to move inland.

There is ample scientific knowledge and methodology to predict tsunamis today. Countries such as the US and Japan are jointly working on a tsunami forecasting system.

But India, while investing heavily in meteorological forecasting, has ignored the need to invest in oceanographic forecasting technology.

It is an embarrassment to all our scientific progress that the National Institute of Oceanography hadn't the slightest clue as to what was coming and hence couldn't issue warnings.

The country must invest in warning systems and tsunami predicting devices or collaborate with neighbouring countries if it cannot afford the requisite capital outlay for the investment.

C. N. Kumar

Bangalore

Letters to the editor and contributions can be sent by e-mail to: bleditor@thehindu.co.in

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