Published on: Thursday, January 06, 2005 |
MIRI: Sarawak is seriously considering to set up a tsunami warning system in the South China Sea, Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan said Wednesday.
He said this would help the State and its people to be ready for any eventuality.
Dr Chan said although Sarawak was far from the danger zone, it was difficult to predict catastrophic events such as the recent tsunami which occurred in the Indian Ocean.
"Sarawak can take it as a warning to prepare for it before anything happens.... The state definitely wants to have such a system installed in the near future and we will install it on our own if it is not expensive," he said here.
He said it was better to spend for surveillance or prevention than to pay for the massive damage done, as what had happened in the countries hit by the tsunami on Dec 26.
He said with the early warning system in place, the public would learn more about tsunamis and would know what to do when faced with such a situation.
"The public would raise their awareness about tsunamis and on the importance of safety precautions in relation to underwater earthquakes," he said.
In another development, Dr Chan said that Sarawak was willing to support the adoption of Indonesian children following the tsunami disaster.
He was responding to the statement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Malaysia's offer to Indonesia in caring for 35,000 children whose parents were killed in the disaster.
"The State is ready to assist in the endeavour," he said. - Bernama
