Sir, As our numbed senses struggle to come to terms with the horrors of the Asian tsunami, attention is turning to strategies that might avert similar disasters in the future.

Whilst discussions of sophisticated tsunami-detection systems are under way, a much simpler “biodetector” cannot be ignored. Although tens of thousands of humans lost their lives in my native Sri Lanka, it is a remarkable fact that few if any dead animals were reported.

In the famous wildlife park of Yala in southeast Sri Lanka, hundreds of people perished, but there was not a single dead elephant, leopard or even a hare; some elephants that were tethered to tree trunks are reported to have wrenched their chains and fled to higher ground.

It has been known for a long time that farm animals can sense an impending earthquake and react strangely, perhaps by sniffing exudations from the ground. The possibility of animal farms dotted along vulnerable coasts of South-East Asia being used as low-cost biodetectors of tsunamis cannot be dismissed.

Yours faithfully,
CHANDRA WICKRAMASINGHE,
(Director),
Cardiff Centre for Astrobiology,
Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3DY.
January 5.

From Dr D. A. Rothery

Sir, The Indian Ocean tsunami has demonstrated that even a modest amount of hazard awareness can save lives. I think it shortsighted of the BBC to shelve plans to screen a docu- drama about a supervolcano eruption on the ground that it could “offend” viewers (report, January 6). The more people who are aware of the hazards associated with a really big volcanic eruption the better.

Since Boxing Day, the BBC has served up an unlimited diet of upsetting extra programmes and extended news bulletins about an event that has happened. It is nonsense not to draw attention to a different type of natural hazard for which the world needs to be prepared.

Yours faithfully,
DAVID A. ROTHERY,
Member, Volcano Dynamics Group,
Department of Earth Sciences,
Open University,
Milton Keynes MK 7 6AA.
January 7.

From Mr Paul Emsley

Sir, The essential thing is to help the survivors. This isn’t done by taking up valuable space on aircraft, boats and vehicles for politicians, reporters and their entourages.

Yours sincerely,
P. EMSLEY,
Homelea, 21 Newton Way,
Hellifield, nr Settle,
North Yorkshire BD23 4NY.
January 8.

From Mr H. W. Haslam

Sir, Now that the idea of debt relief for poorer countries has become widely accepted, how depressing it is to read (Patience Wheatcroft, Comment, January 7) that the World Bank is creating more than $20 billion of new indebtedness every year.

Yours sincerely,
HENRY HASLAM,
46b Belvedere Road,
Taunton TA1 1BS.
January 7.

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