Gesture to Asia

An offer from the country of birth of one of the South Africans, who I know very well, missing in Thailand: Israeli company offers free tsunami alert system.

[Reuters News Service] - An Israeli company said on Monday it planned to distribute free to Asian countries hit by last week's tsunami a device it says could save lives by warning holiday-makers directly that a tidal wave is coming. The system developed by Israeli inventor Meir Gitelis uses land and water sensors, smaller than a shoe box and each costing $170, to measure seismic activity and wave motion. Like other systems already in operation, the sensors can send alerts in seconds by satellite to governments anywhere in the world. Unlike others, this system can also relay warnings directly to private subscribers over cellphones, pagers or dedicated receivers, spreading the message more widely. Seaside hotels could install a satellite receiver to pick up warnings broadcast over the system seconds after an earthquake that could cause giant waves. Local cellphone or pager networks could do the same and send SMS messages to their subscribers. "The sensors determine the tremor's intensity as well as the height and speed of the waves above it," said Gitelis, of Avtipus Patents and Inventions, which specialises in sensors and communications devices. "The system can then analyse all the data and predict if and when a tsunami will come, where it will hit and how big its impact will be," he told Reuters. "We are not doing this to make money," Gitelis said. "We want to help people. We plan to give our product to poor countries for free and we will not charge the countries that were affected by the disaster in Asia."