Sebastian Kirsch: Blog

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Just a thought: What if all the money spent on the so-called “war on terrorism” was spent on a tsunami early warning system? The current death count of the recent tsunami in the indian ocean is 24.000, with 35.000-45.000 expected; more if diseases break out. Compare this with a death toll of 3000 for 9/11.

There already is such a warning system for the pacific basin (the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center PTWC); it was founded in 1948 after a tsunami hit Hawaii and killed 159 people. The Alaskan tsunami warning center was established after a tsunami in 1964 killed 131 people.

Why do we allow a tsunami in the Indian Ocean to take 24.000 deaths, many of which could have been prevented with an early warning system?