BEIJING, Jan. 17 -- Tomorrow, the UN-sponsored World Conference on Disaster Reduction starts in Kobe, Japan. More than 4,000 people from from across the world will be attending, to discuss a global disaster warning system expected to be up and running this year.

    Exactly ten years after the last major earthquake here, experts are gathering in the Japanese city of Kobe for the World Conference on Disaster Reduction, to work out ways of reducing the impact of natural disasters, especially on the poor.

    Over 200 million people are affected by natural disasters every year, seven times higher than the number of people affected by war. Experts believe advance warnings can mean the difference between life and death.

    The Indian Ocean tsunami has served as a wake-up call for disaster prevention. But scientists warn governments and communities need to invest further.

    Director of International Strategy For Disaster Reduction Salvano Briceno said, "Many governments and many communities have become more aware. The problem is that at the same time there has been an increase in the vulnerabilities. We now have larger populations, many people still living in the wrong places, not paying attention to the risks they are involved and therefore the culture of prevention is very urgent."

    In Kobe, people are reviewing what to do in the aftermath of the next major disaster. When the city was hit by an earthquake ten years ago, the authorities were criticized for not being prepared.

    Today the people of Kobe know what to do in times of crisis. New anti-seismic building codes have been introduced and the next generation has special disaster management lessons in school.

    (Source: CCTV.com)