Disaster Talks Agree Action Plan
Delegates from around the world agreed on the need to build early warning systems and make disaster preparation a priority at the end of the conference in the Japanese city of Kobe on Saturday, January 22, 2005. But the five-day forum failed to set specific targets or deadlines from implementing the plan. Last month's tsunami killed more than 160,000 people. The plan urges nations to share satellite-based weather forecasting data, draw up hazard maps and work out disaster-response strategies over the next 10 years.