Scientists are developing a tsunami warning system for the Mediterranean region which they said on Wednesday should be ready in 2011 and could save thousands of lives. The 40-50 million euro ($63.32 million) project started three years ago, shortly after the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed 230,000 people and which prompted Asian nations to develop warning systems. "It is true that in the Mediterranean tsunamis are rare," said project vice chairman Gerassimos Papadopoulos at a geoscience conference.

The US National Earthquake Conference will be held in Seattle from April 22 - 26. Earthquake experts from around the nation will convene to discuss the latest research on earthquakes and the generation of tsunamis. The conference will also focus on tsunami hazards, offering attendees and the media an opportunity to hear, via webcast, from experts from Sumatra, Sri Lanka and Phuket, Thailand, that were catastrophically impacted by the Indian Ocean tsunami of December, 2004.

Beneficiaries of the scheme to replace houses vulnerable to natural calamities along the coast with disaster-resistant dwelling units are entitled for one-time shifting charges and reimbursement of monthly rent for 12 months. Enquiries reveal that Collectors of coastal districts, other than Chennai and Tiruvarur, had identified a total of 52,569 houses located within 1,000 metres from high tide line (HTL) and 200 metres from backwaters, as vulnerable to natural calamities. They had suggested that the houses be replaced with disaster-resistant dwelling units under the World Bank-assisted Emergency Tsunami Reconstruction Project (ETRP) and financial assistance from the Centre. The government decided to take up construction of 22,000 houses (15,869 in rural areas and 6,131 in urban localities) out of 52,569 units in the first phase under the Union government-funded Tsunami Rehabilitation Programme (earlier known as Rajiv Gandhi Rehabilitation Programme). These houses would be built at the cost of Rs. 2.38 lakh per unit at the same site where the old and weak structures stood. Apart from funding the construction of new houses, one-time shifting charges of Rs.1,000 would be extended to the beneficiaries who were also entitled to a monthly rental reimbursement of Rs.500 for 12 months from the date on which they handed over possession of vacant land to the contractor. It was obligatory on the part of the beneficiaries to raze the old structure and level the site before handing it over, official sources said. Inspecting the Tsunami Rehabilitation Programme works being carried out in Tiruporur block on Saturday, Secretary, Rural Development, Ashok Vardhan Shetty, directed officials to immediately release one-time shifting charges to 39 families at Pattipulam, who had been identified as beneficiaries. He also inspected on-going cement concrete road laying works, with assistance from the Asian Development Bank, in tsunami affected hamlets in the block.

To be funded by Union government and World Bank INSPECTION: Collector Santosh K. Misra (right) inspecting the work of single-storeyed tenements construction at Karikattukuppam recently. A total of 426 dwelling units along the coast in Kancheepuram district have been identified as vulnerable to natural calamities and are to be replaced with disaster-resistant houses. Enquiries reveal that this programme, to be funded by the Union Government and the World Bank, will cover dwelling units located up to 1000 metres from the high-tide line (HTL) or 200 metres on either side of backwaters in order to protect the people from natural calamities. The 426 dwelling units, identified as vulnerable houses, are separate from the new houses being constructed under the Tsunami Rehabilitation Programme (earlier referred as Rajiv Gandhi Rehabilitation Package). Types of houses The following types of houses

A cow for Rs 89,000, a pig for Rs 12,000 and a goat, Rs 19,000. These are not fictional prices dreamt up by some livestock dealer. These are the prices businessmen have quoted for supplying