U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan urged the world on Tuesday to learn from the killer Asian tsunami, saying spending now could limit the loss of life and damage from inevitable natural disasters. More than 175,000 people were killed and millions left homeless by the Dec. 26 tsunami and pledges of emergency relief stand at more than $7 billion. Investing smaller sums before disasters could reduce the toll such catastrophes take in lives and in money, Annan said at the start of a 5-day conference in the Japanese city of Kobe, which is marking the 10th anniversary of a quake that killed 6,433 people. "It's not enough to pick up the pieces," Annan said in a video message following a moment of silence for tsunami victims. "We must draw on every lesson we can to avoid such catastrophes in the future." At the top of the agenda for the Kobe conference is persuading wealthy donor nations to provide funds for developing countries, which often have more pressing daily needs, and ensuring that these promises are kept. "I would propose that about 10 percent of all funds spent as emergency aid should be spent for disaster risk reduction," said Jan Egeland, U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator. "I am acutely aware of how much is being spent on being fire brigades, putting plaster on the wounds," he added. Later, he told a news conference that the pool of donor nations should broaden to reflect a growing number of more wealthy countries, including those in Asia and the Gulf.
