UN urges better tsunami response
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6528295.stm



The UN says more work has to be done on emergency response after dozens died
in the Solomon Islands tsunami despite a state-of-the-art warning system.
The UN said Pacific Tsunami Warning System bulletins had been well received
but the quake was so close to some islands there was little time to act.
Residents had to be better prepared and recognise the danger signals, it
said.
Aid is now reaching the thousands of homeless, with enough tents for those
living outdoors in the worst-hit area.
At least 30 people are known to have died but the disaster's scale is not
yet clear as some areas have not been reached.
BOATS LOST
Patricio Bernal of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
(Unesco), said the Solomons tsunami was a reminder that "warning systems
must be fully integrated with an effective emergency response".


He said: "Vulnerable coastal communities close to an earthquake's epicentre
need to rely on their own preparedness."
The warning system, established in the 1960s and recently upgraded, issued
bulletins from its Hawaii and Tokyo centres within minutes of the 8.1
magnitude quake striking at 0740 local time on Monday (2040 GMT Sunday).
But for many areas there was just no time to react.
The worst-hit town of Gizo was only 45km (28 miles) from the epicentre of
the quake that caused the giant waves.
Mr Bernal said the memory of the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami meant
many people quickly headed to higher ground.
But he added: "Communities there could still be better prepared.
Everybody... needs to know how to recognise the danger signs and how to
react."
Aid is now reaching many of the affected areas.

A member of the provincial government in Gizo, Danny Kennedy, said the first
big shipment had arrived and that everybody on the island "should be under
some form of reasonable standard of tent tonight".
Up to 2,000 people had to spend a third night out of doors in Gizo.
Mr Kennedy said the biggest problem now was obtaining enough bottles of
clean water to ensure that disease did not spread any further.
Diarrhoea has already been reported among children in Gizo.
More remote islands may not be reached for two days, officials said.
On the island of Munda, survivor Esther Zekele said: "There's no water to
wash, no water to drink. We are just waiting, wondering why they haven't
come."
Fred Fakarii, chairman of the National Disaster Management Council, said
clean water and fresh food were urgently needed to prevent more diseases
breaking out.
He said the relief effort was slow because of the remoteness of many regions
and the loss of a number of boats in the tsunami.
Jonathan Taisia of the Red Cross said there was a lack of manpower. "We are
under-resourced, we need bigger vehicles," he said.