Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said 308 geological survey projects will be implemented across the country at a cost of 140 million dollars in the first stage of the plan under a mammoth economic stimulus package launched by the Obama administration.

"Overall, the Department of the Interior will manage three billion dollars in investments as part of the recovery plan," Salazar said.

The department's "first projects" under the three billion dollar plan will be to beef up the US Geological Survey bureau, he said.

"As America's leading earth science agency, USGS is central to helping us meet the imperatives of the nation's energy and climate change challenges," Salazar told reporters.

He said the new funding would be aimed at modernizing the national volcano early warning system at all bureau volcano observatories and upgrading flood monitoring equipment.

It would also modernize equipment for earthquake monitoring.

"These improved networks will deliver faster, more reliable and more accurate information -- helping to save lives by providing better situational awareness in the wake of the damaging earthquakes that can strike this nation at any time," he said.

The plan was part of the administration's nearly 800 billion dollar package to jolt the world's largest economy from recession.

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L'Aquila, Italy (AFP) April 7, 2009
Strong aftershocks rocked the Italian city of L'Aquila on Tuesday, raining fresh lumps of debris as rescuers pulled out more earthquake survivors and the death toll reached 228.