Conference agrees non-binding pledge on disasters

The world’s nations – united in shock over the Indian Ocean tsunami – agreed today to work together to better guard against natural disasters, with steps ranging from stronger building codes to expanded monitoring of nature’s upheavals.

In a first concrete step, four weeks after an earthquake and tsunami killed between 157,000-220,000 people in 11 nations, the World Conference on Disaster Reduction, meeting in Kobe, Japan, laid groundwork for the Indian Ocean’s first tsunami early warning system, expected to be in place next year.