Two tsunamis in two years have left no choice for the Indonesian government but to improve the early warning system.

On July 17, an earthquake in the Indian Ocean triggered a tsunami that swept through the southern Java coasts, killing at least 550 people. The only early warning for the victims was the view of giant waves crashing onto the beach.

It is a major tragedy in view that only a month ago, the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System was activated to relay information to tsunami centers in countries bordering the Indian Ocean, including Indonesia.

The international warning effort in the Indian Ocean models the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center established many years before.

It was initiated by a U.N. conference in Japan in January 2005 following a devastating tsunami in the Indian Ocean that killed over 220,000 people across Asia and Africa in December 2004. Indonesia's Aceh and North Sumatra bore the brunt of the tsunami, with death toll estimated at 131,000.

Transportation Minister Hatta Radjasa said Thursday the government has targeted to complete the national early warning system in the mid of 2008, with estimated cost of 1.3 trillion rupiah (around 141.3 million U.S. dollars).

The fund is needed to procure 160 seismographs and 500 tide gauges.

Tasked with evaluating potentially tsunami genic earthquakes and disseminating early warnings, the tsunami centers will be stationed at 10 quake-prone zones in the country, he said.

By Xinhua