U.N. calls for global tsunami warning system

KOBE, Japan – With multiple nations putting forward projects for a tsunami warning system, the United Nations said Wednesday it should set up the system and extend it globally, but the United States voiced doubts about the United Nations’ ability to run such a program.

The Asian tsunami disaster demonstrated with terrifying power the need for an alert system in the Indian Ocean and other parts of the world, but the outpouring of support to build one has generated overlapping proposals.

U.N. officials at the World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe, Japan, Wednesday called for coordination of efforts. The conference has set its top priority as the construction of an early warning system for ravaged nations in the Indian Ocean.