Experts urge to build "culture of disaster reduction" in post- tsunami construction
28/1/2005 11:20
Experts attending an international seminar in Beijing Thursday urged
tsunami-ravaged countries to build a " culture of disaster reduction" while
going all out for reconstruction. Addressing the one-day seminar under the
theme of Post Tsunami: Rebuilding Confidence and Charting the Road in
Reconstruction, Long Yongtu, Secretary-general of the Boao Asian Forum which
sponsored the event with the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC), gave a
prominence to the building of the disaster reduction culture, noting that
governments should enhance their capacity of preventing and handling disasters
while getting people well prepared both mentally and physically by providing
people with knowledge and awareness about disasters and prevention. As part
of disaster-reducing culture, an early warning system can forecast the disasters
before getting the public timely informed and prepared, said Alistair Henley,
head of General Delegation of International Federation of Red
Cross. According to sources, representatives from 26 countries attending
China-ASEAN Workshop on Earthquake-Generated Tsunami Warning unanimously passed
a plan Wednesday to create a tsunami warning system around the Indian Ocean and
in Southeast Asia. There should be more inputs in helping people step up
their ability of disaster prevention and self salvation, said RCSC Vice
President Jiang Yiman.
Xinhua
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