Indonesia launches a tsunami early warning system created with Germany's
assistance across the archipelago of 17,000 islands that lies across a ring of
volcanoes and fault lines.

(ASIA) JAKARTA, INDONESIA (NOVEMBER 11, 2008) REUTERS -

Indonesia on Tuesday (November 11) launched a tsunami early
warning system across the archipelago of 17,000 islands that lies across a
ring of volcanoes and fault lines.
The new warning system made with German assistance, promises faster
alerts of earthquakes or tsunamis that ripple across the region.
The new system comes into operation just under four years after the
2004 Boxing Day tsunami in the Indian Ocean that left an estimated 175,000
Indonesians dead or missing mainly in Aceh which bore its full impact.
The system, built with assistance from international bodies
particularly the GFZ -- German Research Centre for Geosciences -- is different
from other systems due to unique geological features off Indonesia's coast and
waters.
"We are starting the world's most advanced tsunami early warning
system able to issue the quickest possible warnings with a high degree of
reliability," Germany's Parliamentary State Secretary Thomas Rachel said
at a ceremony to launch the system in capital Jakarta.
Among those attending the launch were Indonesian President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono and state officials.
According to scientists, earthquakes in the Indian Ocean off the coast
of Indonesia occur along a subduction zone called the Sunda Arc, causing
tsunamis that could reach the coast within 20 minutes, leaving little time for
warnings.
The system designers have used the latest technology for sensors that
are linked to 120 stations using a software named SeisComP3.
There are also nine measuring stations installed in the Indian Ocean.
Another four buoy systems will be installed soon to optimise the system, the
scientists said.
"Today we are starting the operating phase, a commitment that
Germany made to its Indonesian partners. Until 2010, the tsunami early warning
system will be optimised," Rachel added.
He added Indonesia will take over the operations and financing of the
system after 2010.

"This tsunami early warning system signifies our progress and
readiness in efforts to prevent or at least reduce the effects of earthquakes
and tsunamis which can happen anytime and anywhere," Yudhoyono said when
launching the system later.
Indonesia's Meteorological, Climate and Geophysics Authority will
maintain the system, Yudhoyono added.