UN gives extreme weather warning

The world is better prepared to face past disasters such as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, but is not ready for the extreme weather of the future, the UN’s top natural disaster official has warned.

Margareta Wahlstrom, the special representative of the UN secretary general for disaster risk reduction, said early warning systems such as that now in place in the Indian Ocean are helping improve preparations for major disasters.

That warning system was established after a massive earthquake off the Indonesian coast on December 26, 2004, triggered a 30m tsunami that killed 230,000 people in 14 countries and caused €8bn in damage.