Germany to Build Tsunami Warning System

German Education and Research Minister Edelgard Bulmahn signed a contract in Jakarta on Monday which will lead to a German-built tsunami early-warning system for Indonesia being built as part of Germany's aid for Southeast Asia. The agreement will lead to the installation of a warning system, which can be extended to other countries, along Indonesia's coasts, the German ministry said in a statement. Sri Lanka has also expressed interest in the system. "We must move away from simply reaction to natural disasters toward preventing them,'' Bulmahn said in the statement."Natural disasters are unavoidable, but we should try to make the consequences as predictable as possible in the future.'' The tsunami on Dec. 26, 2004, left more than 290,000 people dead or missing in 12 countries across Asia and Africa, making it the deadliest natural disaster in 30 years.