El Salvador sets up disaster early-warning alert

El Salvador's Ministry of the Environment has installed computers in government offices nationwide to monitor potential natural disasters to establish an “early warning” alert so officials can make sure residents are better prepared.

The computers will allow officials to keep an eye on projected rain levels to determine which areas will be subject to landslides and flooding as well as any seismic activity, the ministry said.

Eighty-seven percent of El Salvador’s 21,040 square kilometers and 6.1 million of its residents are vulnerable to landslides and floods, according to the United Nations.

Source: AFP