Tsunami warning system for Atlantic enhanced

The East Coast's tsunami warning system is getting an upgrade.

Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day made the announcement Tuesday in Halifax, saying the tsunami in Southeast Asia in 2004 heightened concerns about tsunami warnings in coastal areas around the world.

The tsunami warning system will use the same equipment and procedures already in place, said Day, butthe upgraded system will have a better capabilityto predict storm surges.

Updated sea-level gauges in the Atlantic Ocean will collect data, which the storm prediction centre will monitorto determine whether there's any danger. Once a warning is issued, the federal Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness will co-ordinate with provincial emergency organizations.

The system is set up this way because mosttsunamis are triggered by earthquakes, said David McCormack, with the Geological Survey of Canada.

After anearthquake occurs, scientistsdetermine whether a tsunami might result, he said, "then we look at the tide gauges for the confirmation that a tsunami has been generated, and the warnings are issued accordingly."

More than 70 per cent of tsunamis occur in the Pacific Ocean, and an internationally co-ordinated tsunami warning system is already in place there.

But a devastating tsunami in the Atlantic Ocean struck in 1929. It originated on the Grand Banks and left 29 people dead, mostly in Newfoundland,and many homeless.

The upgrade to the existing warning system will cost about $250,000, andcontinuing annual costs are expected to be about $125,000.