Corruption probe sidetracked Samoa sirens

PAGO PAGO, American Samoa, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- Money for a tsunami-warning system in American Samoa was frozen two years ago after U.S. inspectors uncovered evidence of corruption, CNN reported.

The network said the Department of Homeland Security funds had been earmarked for a network of warning sirens that could have alerted Samoans that an undersea earthquake last month had touched off a tsunami that killed 34 people.

Birdsall Alailima, the former head of American Samoa's homeland security office, said the 30 planned sirens would have gone off with the flip of a single switch and would likely have saved lives.

The project was shelved in 2007, however, after DHS inspectors determined the money for the projects was being skimmed off by local officials.

Territorial Gov. Togiola Tulafono told CNN he had been trying to work with the DHS before the tsunami to get the funds unfrozen. He contended the warning-siren network had been studied but had not advanced to the actual planning stages.