In the wake of the terrible catastrophe that has hit Asia, many in the Mediterranean may have thought that the coasts of the Mediterranean are free from such catastrophies.

Not at all, says Professor Jochen Zschau, professor of geophysics and an expert at the Earth Research Centre of Potsdam, near Berlin.

On the contrary, a tsunami can happen even within the narrow confines of the Mediterranean Sea, Prof. Zschau says in an interview published in the weekly Italian magazine Focus.

The Mediterranean seabed is formed of two geological plates, the African one and the Euro-Asiatic one and they push against each other. Even here, therefore, there may be vertical movements of one or the other plate. Therefore, even here, as well as in the Sea of Marmora, a tsunami can happen.

The scientist is the head of the German task force on earthquakes. According to him, a catastrophe such as that which has devastated Southeast Asia can happen anywhere where the seabed is the scene of tensions between plates. But the most dangerous areas, Prof. Zschau says, are those near the Indonesian coast, where the tragedy has occurred, apart from the western Pacific.

Nor is it easy to put adequate warning systems in place the professor said. It is always difficult to foresee how high the waves will be. A warning system such as exists in Hawaii, could however have saved many lives.