Vienna - The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) is set to provide its seismic data to an increasing number of tsunami warning centres, the Vienna-based organization announced Wednesday.

The CTBTO currently operates 223 monitoring stations all over the world, built to detect nuclear tests. Some of the stations are able to pick up seismic signals and sound waves created by earthquakes that could cause floods.

In early June, an agreement was concluded with Indonesia to provide data, and the Philippines, Thailand and Alaska in the US are soon to follow, CTBTO spokesperson Annika Thunborg said.

Countries were keen to receive information from Vienna, as "the CTBTO is the fastest provider of seismic and hydroacoustic data," Thunborg said.

Tests have shown that the test-ban treaty organization's system is able to transmit data with a delay of 30 seconds, three to six times faster than other international networks.

So far, the CTBTO cooperated with tsunami warning centres in Australia, Japan, Malaysia, and Hawaii in the US.

After the 2004 tsunami in the Indian ocean that killed over 240,000 people, CTBTO member states decided to use the monitoring system also for disaster prevention.

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty was opened for signature in 1996, but it has not yet entered into force because countries such as the US and China have not yet ratified it. Meanwhile, the CTBT organization is operating on a provisional basis. (dpa)