worth a look

REGIONAL EARTHQUAKE ALERT

nea.gov.sg

The cell phone SMS messages would be ok in the daytime and evening but almost totally useless should they be sent in the middle of the night.

Indonesian tsunami warning system worked

By MICHAEL CASEY

The Associated Press

BANGKOK, Thailand — Indonesia used mosque loudspeakers to warn residents within minutes of a powerful earthquake. Bangladeshi volunteers with bullhorns told tourists and fishermen to flee to higher ground ahead of a possible tsunami.

snip

nwsource.com

zip re local

Not to belabor the point, but I think it's a good idea to sound the siren's when there is an alert--because the Thai Tsunami center didn't issue doesn't mean there couldn't be one. There have been a lot of cock-ups with the warning system.

I am curious as to why the police evacuated people--who told them to do that? Why did a store evacuate, except for a lone foreigner who didn't seem to know what was going on?

Since we live in an age of information, it's far too easy for people to be watching CNN or BBC and hear about it and get into panic mode. A pre-warning, for lack of a better term, would allow for an orderly evacuation or non-evacuation, but for people to be ready to leave.

The big Tsunami is too close in time for people not involved not to need to be reassured that things are under control.

Hpoefully this answers your questions:

Tsunami alert wasn't needed, says Smith

NDWC decision based on thorough analysis

APINYA WIPATAYOTIN and THAI NEWS AGENCY

The National Disaster Warning Centre (NDWC) has defended its decision not to issue an early tsunami alert after the 8.4-magnitude earthquake off the west coast of Indonesia's Sumatra Island on Wednesday evening. Instead, the NDWC made a broadcast three hours later telling people there was no cause for alarm.

Centre chairman Smith Dharmasarojana said yesterday the delay was based on a thorough analysis of the situation.

The NDWC decided against a sudden TV broadcast to warn people about a possible tsunami because it predicted the quake, which struck about 6.10pm, would not cause giant waves in Thailand.

However, some foreign agencies announced that waves could reach Phuket after 10pm and Phangnga around 10.30pm.

After hearing of the foreign warnings, many people in the six Andmanan coastal provinces rushed to mountains for safety and spent the night there.

Many later questioned the NDWC's warning system, which they said seemed relatively slow.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/14Sep2007_news10.php

From my recollection, before the tsunami on Boxer day, there was barely a peep of mention, even among professionals, regarding serious fault lines or impending tremors in the Indian Ocean. So much for scientists.

As for non-scientists: There are thousands of soothsayers taking money to ply their trade - and a big part of their stock in trade is predictions. My ex-wife was a successful professional palm reader/numerologist/astrologer (you name it) and about 85% of her rap had to do with predictions.

Yet for most of the biggest world-events, the astrologers / metaphysicians / palm readers et. al. have missed the mark entirely. I didn't hear of any such professional (or anyone else, for that matter) predict the big Boxer Day earthquake/tsunami.

Neither did anyone predict Princess Diana's untimely death - even though she was arguably the biggest celebrity on the planet at that time.

Meanwhile, all manner of Thai power brokers keep checking in with fortune tellers - every chance they get. Go figure.

My ex-wife was a successful professional palm reader/numerologist/astrologer (you name it) and about 85% of her rap had to do with predictions.

Did she predict both your divorce?

Sorry, couldn't resist.

LaoPo