BEIJING, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- The South China Sea Tsunami Advisory Center (SCSTAC) started full operation on Tuesday, providing service for nine nations.
Hosted by the China National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center, the SCSTAC provides 24-hour tsunami monitoring and warning services to China, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
"This center is a new element that will strengthen the overall Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) Tsunami Programme," said Vladimir Ryabinin, executive secretary of the IOC of UNESCO, in a video message on Tuesday.
As a regional initiative, the SCSTAC will be the newest addition to the IOC Pacific Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System.
Over the past decade, China's capability of earthquake and tsunami monitoring has seen leapfrog development, with a new generation of monitoring and warning systems installed.
