Germany has completed the training of Indonesians to operate a tsunami early-warning system, dpa quoted officials as saying Tuesday. The German Research Centre for Geosciences GFZ built the system after the Great Indian Ocean Tsunami of December 2004 killed an estimated 230,000 Asians. The toll was partly blamed on the lack of monitoring gear to track undersea earthquakes. GFZ says computers connected to 300 sensors near tectonic faults off Indonesia's coast can now establish within 5 minutes of a tremor if a tsunami is imminent. Since March 2011 it has issued five alerts, prompting coastal residents to flee inland. From its office in Potsdam near Berlin, GFZ said it had conducted 169 training courses for officials along the coasts and for key staff at the warning centre in Jakarta since June 2011. The centre has a payroll of 170 and operates 24 hours a day. -- SPA 21:56 LOCAL TIME 18:56 GMT تغريد
