'India has ignored tsunami alert system'

An expert conceded that the Indian Ocean countries have seen tsunamis as a problem more specific to the Pacific Ocean.

India and other South Asian countries have tended to treat tsunamis as a problem of the Pacific Ocean and in the process not paid enough attention to warnings, say experts.

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"Early warnings have existed since 1948 for countries in the Pacific basin; however, there is no existing tsunami alert system for the Indian Ocean," John Harding, programme officer for the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR), said from Geneva.

"There is a culture of preparing for tsunamis in the Pacific region unlike in the Indian Ocean countries."

"Tsunami warnings are no rocket science. Countries in the Pacific region have been monitoring earthquakes and issuing early warnings for a long time," Harding said.

Over 23,000 people have been killed in South and Southeast Asian nations in tsunamis that struck on Sunday.

Harding conceded that the Indian Ocean countries have seen tsunamis as a problem more specific to the Pacific Ocean.

"Coastal villages in the Pacific are aware of what measures to take if the sea recedes shortly after an earthquake, and many beaches have signs alerting people to the tsunami risks. In contrast, countries lying along the Indian Ocean were caught unawares by the enormous sea surges and rapidly rising sea levels," the ISDR said.

Harding said once the immediate aftermath of the crisis was addressed, in the long-term it was important to put an early warning system in place for the Indian Ocean region as well.

Many experts who were interviewed on the American network television said warnings about tsunamis in the Indian Ocean had been issued as early as three years ago but not much attention was paid.