$10.6 Million Initiative Promotes Early Warning

Early Warning Bouys : Through fast and reliable technology Germany is making a significant contribution to making the lives of people in both Europe and in those regions of the Indian Ocean most threatened by natural disasters safer.

The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research is supporting the development of the next generation of natural disaster early warning systems. To this end, Education Minister Annette Schavan has launched a $10.6 million (9 million) four-year initiative. "Through fast and reliable technology Germany is making a significant contribution to making the lives of people in both Europe and in those regions of the Indian Ocean most threatened by natural disasters safer," Schavan said in announcing the initiative on December 2.

The damages from natural disaster, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruption or floods have steadily increased in recent years, Schavan added. Hurricane Katrina, she said, demonstrated that natural disasters now have global economic impact. "To save lives as well as to reduce economic repercussions we need to further advance the development of precise early warning systems, and these need to be put in place on the ground as quickly as possible," she said.

Schavan named increasing Germanys readiness to respond to natural disasters one of the new Federal Governments key challenges. "German science has achieved a leading position in the world in forecasting natural disasters. In Indonesia Germany is currently installing a state-of-the-art Tsunami Early Warning System." Over the past few months, the first GPS-buoys have been positioned in the Indian Ocean.

According to Munich Re, one of the worlds largest reinsurers, the global estimated damages caused by natural disasters have increased from $10 billion to $70 billion between 1970 and 2005.

However, through modern surveillance and data-processing technology it has become possible to give early warnings even for the most severe natural disasters. Thus, in the event of an earthquake occurring close to a mega city such as Tokyo or Istanbul, for example, few seconds would now suffice to seal off gas pipelines, to halt all private and public traffic and to shut down chemical plants, with the aim of reducing damage and injury.

Source: Germany Info, German Embassy Washington, D.C.

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	$10.6 Million Initiative Promotes Early Warning Early Warning Bouys : Through fast and reliable technology Germany is making a significant contribution to making the lives of people in both Europe and in those regions of the Indian Ocean most threatened by natural disasters safer. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research is supporting the development of the next generation of natural disaster early warning systems. To this end, Education Minister Annette Schavan has launched a $10.6 million (9 million) four-year initiative. "Through fast and reliable technology Germany is making a significant contribution to making the lives of people in both Europe and in those regions of the Indian Ocean most threatened by natural disasters safer," Schavan said in announcing the initiative on December 2. The damages from natural disaster, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruption or floods have steadily increased in recent years, Schavan added. Hurricane Katrina, she said, demonstrated that natural disasters now have global economic impact. "To save lives as well as to reduce economic repercussions we need to further advance the development of precise early warning systems, and these need to be put in place on the ground as quickly as possible," she said. Schavan named increasing Germanys readiness to respond to natural disasters one of the new Federal Governments key challenges. "German science has achieved a leading position in the world in forecasting natural disasters. In Indonesia Germany is currently installing a state-of-the-art Tsunami Early Warning System." Over the past few months, the first GPS-buoys have been positioned in the Indian Ocean. According to Munich Re, one of the worlds largest reinsurers, the global estimated damages caused by natural disasters have increased from $10 billion to $70 billion between 1970 and 2005. However, through modern surveillance and data-processing technology it has become possible to give early warnings even for the most severe natural disasters. Thus, in the event of an earthquake occurring close to a mega city such as Tokyo or Istanbul, for example, few seconds would now suffice to seal off gas pipelines, to halt all private and public traffic and to shut down chemical plants, with the aim of reducing damage and injury. Source: Germany Info, German Embassy Washington, D.C.	Print page Back