WASHINGTON - The Bush administration unveiled a $37.5-million plan Friday to erect a tsunami warning system designed to protect both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts by mid 2007.
The plan would quadruple the size of the warning network in the Pacific and erect similar safeguards for the Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf coasts, officials of the White House science office said. Operating it would cost about $24.5-million a year.
The warning system would "provide the U.S. nearly 100 percent detection capability for the coasts, allowing an alert within minutes and, in some cases, within seconds of a tsunami's formation," said John Marburger, President Bush's science adviser.
The system, which would be overseen by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Geological Survey, is being designed so that other nations may add to the network.
SRI LANKA: There were signs of resilience as more than 25,000 people left relief camps over a 24-hour period to return to their villages and begin rebuilding, U.N. officials said Friday. They said just over half the 800,000 Sri Lankans left homeless by the tsunami remained in camps on the island. U.S. helicopters flew some 30 tons of relief materials into eastern Sri Lanka.
ACEH: Australian troops ferried heavy earth-moving and electrical equipment, water-purification materials, and other supplies from a navy frigate. "It's a significant step," said Brig. David Chalmers, commander of the nearly 1,000-strong Australian contingent sent to Indonesia.
