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Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Tonga considers 24-hour radio for tsunami warning


The Tsunami Working Group of the Tonga National Emergency Management Office is calling on Radio Tonga to operate 24-hours a day, 7 days a week. The committee met yesterday in Nuku’alofa to discuss the draft of Tonga’s response procedures and it was pointed out that there are gaps in the warning system.
The committee agreed that the easiest gap to be filled is for the national broadcaster to be on the air 24-hours to give out the early warning. It was also understood that Radio Tonga One is the only radio that covers the whole of Tonga.
The installation of sirens as a warning system is very costly and the easiest and the most viable is to use Radio Tonga. The committee will be recommending the National Office to seek funds to cover these areas.
(Source: Tonga Broadcasting Commission/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)