Swedish newspaper: Tsunami warning was stopped

[cliss]

Source: Expressen (Swedish online newspaper)
Date: Dec. 28
Translated by: CLiss
http://www.expressen.se/expressen/jsp/polopoly.jsp?a=223277

"Tsunami warning was stopped"

Just minutes after the earthquake in the Indian Ocean on Sunday morning, Thailand's foremost meterological experts were sitting together in a crisis meeting. But they decided not to warn about the tsunami "out of courtesy to the tourist industry", write the Thailand daily newspaper The Nation.

The experts got the news around 8:00 am on Sunday morning local time. An hour later, the first massive wave struck. But the experts started to discuss the economic impacts when they were discussing if a tsunami warning should be made. The main argument against such a warning was that there have not been any floods in 300 years. Also, the experts believed the Indonesian island Sumatra would be a "cushion" for the southern coast of Thailand. The experts also had bad information; they thought the tremor was 8.1. A similar earthquake occurred in the same area in 2002 with no flooding at all.

<snip>
We finally decided not to do anything because the tourist season was in full swing. The hotels were 100% booked full. What if we issued a warning, which would have led to an evacuation, and nothing had happened. What would be the outcome? The tourist industry would be immediately hurt. Our department would not be able to endure a lawsuit...<snip>
**************************

My only comment here would be that if these experts believed they would hurt the tourist industry by calling out an alarm and it turned out to be false, what do they think will happen to the tourist industry now?

[RandomKoolzip]

1. Money trumps all concerns. n/t

[Ian David]

7. I say, no relief money for them

Then again...



Yeah, we should talk.

[Blue_Tires]

52. lol

we don't have much of a moral leg to stand on!

[Occulus]

24. Yup.

Appalling, isn't it?

[TahitiNut]

27. Truth is stranger than fiction. It's the "Jaws" scenario times 10,000.

Amity (great name!) didn't want to scare away the tourists.

[ET Awful]

29. I was about too say the same thing . . . . n/t

[WhereIsMyFreedom]

78. Give me a break!

The people in this thread sure are quick to blame people for the massive deaths. Yes it is a great tragedy and in hindsight perhaps some of the death could be avoided, but mourn the tragedy and lay off the hate!

According to the article in this thread, the meteorological experts in Thailand had incorrect information with which to base their decision. "The experts also had bad information; they thought the tremor was 8.1. A similar earthquake occurred in the same area in 2002 with no flooding at all." They expected nothing would happen. Their worst case scenario was probably moderate flooding.

Instead of blaming people for not performing miracles, how about calling for a system designed to prevent this in the future. Be constructive, not destructive.

[Just Me]

2. Unfreakinbelievable!!!

What the hell is wrong with people?

[Goathead]

3. Well they can kiss that tourist industry goodbye

somebody told me that the tourism industry in Phuket contributed about 10% to the Thailands GDP. That is going to hurt. And now westerners won't be going to Phuket any time soon.

[amazona]

48. westerners will continue to visit phuket

I think the tourist industry will take a hit for a while but they will come back strong from this disaster. There are many reasons for westerners, especially Europeans, to visit Thailand. They will rebuild just as other tourist destinations do after disaster.

[Goathead]

50. Not Bali

That place is virtual ghost town compared to what it used to be. My friend went there this year. After the bombing a lot of people stayed away.

[Florida_Geek]

54. Ayyy the "tourist industry in Phuket is mainly SEX trade

it will not be hurt.

[gorbal]

60. You know this?

:eyes:

[DemBones DemBones]

62. Just look at the name.

:evilgrin:

[Logansquare]

66. Yes, he's right. Just Google "Phuket" and "sex tourism"

although they have been making the resort more family-oriented in recent years. It's still the place where western men go for underage prostitutes and "lady men."

[Tight_rope]

71. This is so true...my husband was a seamen and he tells me all the stories

about the underage prostitution that takes place in East Asia.

[HeeBGBz]

74. With a name like Phuket what do you expect?

eom

[Shakespeare]

4. Well, the PNACers DID say we need a reduction in population there.

No, I don't believe they were behind it. Well, mostly. :tinfoilhat:

[ilovenicepeople]

13. This Earthquake happened exactly one year after the quake in Iran

Well not exactly it was off by 58 minutes.:tinfoilhat: Back at ya.Part way there to an 85% reduction of the population.:scared:

[Just Me]

57. Really? That IS kinda' weird.

:tinfoilhat:

However, it's the failure to warn when there was an identifiable window to do so that simply pisses me off. Whether it was intentional or negligent,...I don't care. They may not have been able to prevent "material" damage, but they sure as hell could have saved lives.

[MisterP]

18. why would they attack the ever-growing pool of cheap labor

and child sex in SE Asia? The PNACers' two favorite things, all in one convenient region--one-stop gift shopping for the multinational CEO who has (raped) everything!

[Shakespeare]

20. Eh, gotta balance that with demand for oil.

I didn't say it made sense, I'm just repeating one of their more bizarre recommendations.

The Asian nations are beginning to suck up crude with a vigor that would make any American H2 driver proud. That's not a good thing, because that increases competition for gas that the aforementioned American H2 driver "needs." Thus, PNAC has said that a "populatin reduction" is in order for that part of the world. Dangerous and delusional bunch of folks, they are.

[DoYouEverWonder]

49. Because we are all useless eaters

who are using up the earth's resources.

In most areas, they just needed to evacuate the first 200 feet of coastline. All people had to do was to go across the street for a few hours or to slightly higher ground. We are not talking a major evacuation.

This is total bullshit that these bastards knew and decided not to do anything. They let these people die because they could care less about letting people die. This is beyond criminal. People should hang for this.

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Shakespeare]

9. Uh, because of the culture? The beautiful surroundings? Etc., etc.

Don't get out much, do you? :eyes:

[Bridget Burke]

11. Beautiful scenery, rich culture.....

Friendly people. At least, that's the way it was.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

16. Thailand and Malaysia are beautiful

so are the Maldives. You don't get out of Mayberry much, do you?

:eyes:

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Occulus]

22. Doesn't one of the Hawaiian islands sport a great big crack? n/t

[amazona]

23. dude, not everybody can afford Hawaii

Hawaii is a very expensive destination, and Thailand a very reasonably priced one. Not everybody is made of money!

[Name removed]

26. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

What the intercourse is that supposed to mean?

Is vacationing in Thailand a sin or something?

[wicket]

30. you're still around

You've left your stench all over the place today :nopity:

[noshenanigans]

31. Thanks for that..

I have a friend in Thailand and right now I have no idea where he is or if he is even still alive, but I am so comforted to know that he got what was coming to him.

:grr:

[amazona]

43. noshenanigans, hoping for the best for your friend

Sending good vibes your way. I'm on some travel groups, and there are a lot of people who still don't have power, cell phone, or internet access. So your friend may be fine and just unable to communicate right now. I'm rooting for you and your friend.

[noshenanigans]

46. thanks..

I've emailed him but I imagine his internet access is shot. He has a house on the beach, I just wish I knew something. I appreciate the good thoughts though- we need to be sending as many as we can for all those poor people.

[amazona]

53. here is a missing persons thread set up by lonely planet

I'm going to try to post the link here for you and anyone seeking a person missing in the disaster:

http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/categories.cfm?catid=68

If the link doesn't work, go to the front page of lonelyplanet.com and click on the link they have there to "missing persons."

[ornotna]

35. What an evil hateful thing to say

You are seriously messed up in the head.

[amazona]

40. most folks who go to Thailand are not dead

This is really silly, one disaster, one time, and you're afraid to ever visit an entire country? I know tons of folks who have gone to Thailand who are not dead!

I guess you can't visit the U.S. either since we have folks blown away all the time in tornadoes and hurricanes and tropical storms -- and these are not one time events.

People need to manage their fear.

[Just Me]

58. There are many helpful medications which treat a variety of illnesses,...

,...unfortunately, you haven't found the right one for you, yet. On the other hand, I am uncertain that treatment for anti-social disease has been discovered.

[Tight_rope]

80. When people look up the word ignorant in the dictionary....

There is a picture of you next to the word. You are worse then any hillbilly, twine talking fool I know.

[shanti]

44. not necessarily

i looked up flights from sacramento to phuket - $1300 a ticket RT. RT to hawaii? how about $500, often less. depends upon where you are...

[amazona]

65. no thailand is definitely cheaper overall

It isn't just about the airfare. Accommodations, food, and outings/tours are skyhigh in Hawaii compared to Thailand.

Also, many of the tourists in Thailand are European families, so the airfare is considerably less for them.

[shanti]

41. well, la-dee-da

to each his own!

[amazona]

21. for the love of pete

These were families visiting for Christmas holidays not sex tourists looking for whores.

It is an inexpensive vacation spot that families from Europe can actually afford. Friendly people, wildlife, beautiful ancient culture, excellent medical care. One of my friends goes to Thailand for surgery that she could not afford to buy here.

Natural disasters can happen everywhere, and I've actually seen timid Europeans or Australians on travel groups post questions about "all these natural disasters that they have in the United States." It is easy to be afraid of what you don't know. Most people who visit these countries have a wonderful experience. Would you be afraid of visiting New Orleans or Florida because of our violent crime and our hurricanes? Every place has good or bad.

People die of falling in their own homes every day.

[Dr.Phool]

6. Amazing

Now, not only is the tourist industry destroyed, but so were the tourists.

Capitalism strikes again.

[Ian David]

17. Osama bin Laden determined to Attack Inside The United States

Osama bin Laden determined to Attack Inside The United States


Tsunami Determined to Impact Indonesia

[Tight_rope]

73. Seems that the security of the people is never important when money

is involved.

[aquart]

8. I expect they are going to be much, much sorrier

than they are even right now.

[genieroze]

10. Dumb F**ks! eom

[Corgigal]

12. 3rd world country

acting 1st world.

[amazona]

25. don't know if I would consider Thailand 3rd world NT

.

[UpInArms]

14. wasn't that Condi's line of reasoning regarding 9/11?

That to do anything would "destroy" the airline industry?

Yeah, and they are in such great shape today /sarcasm

Life is cheap and money is everything to these freaks of nature.

:argh:

[sandnsea]

15. Free Market Rules!!!

Where's that invisible hand when you need it?

[XemaSab]

75. Sometimes the invisible hand

Just flips you the bird...

[quiet.american]

28. Sigh -- so much for "experts"

How could they be so devastatingly wrong.

[soleft]

32. Larry Vaughn strikes again

[Im_Your_Huckleberry]

36. nobody would listen to chief brody.

[Wilber_Stool]

33. USGS guy on Ed Schultz

said it takes 30 to identify the quake. 15>30 minutes to determine the location, and another hour to determine its strength. Then they notify FEMA. Yada yada yada.
It's pretty clear to me that it takes longer than you would expect for the word to get out.
Now is no time to lay blame.

[XemaSab]

76. Time factor

They can determine the general location and general strength pretty quickly.

"Indian basin, hella big."

[koopie57]

83. actually the people who choose not to issue the warning

probably feel horrendous guilt. I read how they went about making the decision and it wasn't negligent in my opinion. They based it on the information they had available, past situations and probability. I worked for emergency services where we coordinated the fire department, police department, volunteers, etc. so each knew what the other was doing. I can't speak for all, but the people I worked with were awesome in their dedication. Issuing a warning has many consequences. Once issued all public facilities such as hospitals, old folks home, schools, have certain plans in place that need to be implemented. To disrupt a hospital or old folks homes is a big deal especially if it was done just for the emergency managers to make sure their rears are covered. It is easy to be angry with them, but I suspect their own feelings of guilt are much more severe than any name calling or criticizing others can do to them.

[shanti]

34. I AM STUNNED!!

this beats everything! the corporations truly have won! :grr:

[yorkiemommie1]

37. they have blood on their hands n/t

[Alyssa]

87. Tsunami warning

As I understand it, the Thais who made the decision not to "disrupt" tourism did not actually realize the true nature of the danger. A recent press story suggests they thought the size of the earthquake was no larger than one last year which had no serious effect.

Doubtless it will all come out in succeeding days.

[kostya]

38. Also, what do they think about being sued now?

[Pithy Cherub]

39. Absolutely horrified!

Those "experts" will also have this attched to their names forever. The world is crying this week, needlessly for so many and so many yet to come.

[HEyHEY]

42. I'm not pro- death penalty

But if there is any group of people that deserve it more, I don't know who it is.

[Sara Beverley]

45. They are just too, "capitalized" "westernized"

Now the "easternized" "communized" would not have told anyone either because it would have meant conceding that bad things could happen to them.

[NJGeek]

47. sarcasm: Oooooh how RACIST!

Oh yeah man how RACIST of a news story. I mean only because they are ASIANS would the RACIST MEDIA print a story like this.

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah racism, media, waaa waaa

sarcasm off.

FACE IT, these governments MAJORITY SCREWED UP and there are many people dead and homeless because of it

[Lisa]

51. my Malaysian landlady is furious ...

Her country got hit, but she's even more upset about Sri Lanka (which was affected 3 hours after the initial quake). She wants to know why nobody seems to have picked up the phone, to warn the countries on the other side of the basin.

[cyberpj]

55. Tsunami Warning Center in Los Angeles knew one hour before

Officials knew about Tsunami one hour before
Posted on : 2004-12-27| Author : Steve. W| News Category : World

Earthquakes cannot be stopped and so there was no way to stop the deadly tsunami either that killed more than 14000 people. But if only we had better communication systems maybe few lives would have had survived the disaster. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center at Los Angeles, had detected the undersea tremor at least an hour ago before its killer tidal waves reached to the west coast of Thailand and Malaysia. But officials at the center could not send a tsunami warning even with best of their efforts. “There was no official alert system in the region” said Charles McCreery, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's center in Honolulu. "We tried to do what we could. We don't have contacts in our address book for anybody in that part of the world," he said.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/987.html

[Just Me]

59. This is completely inconsistent with other accounts.

WTF?!?!

The US Geological Survey people knew hours in advance,...from what I've read.

And,...what's with the crap being pushed about some inability to contact the "right" people,...in this 21st Century of advance technology? That's bullshit. We have the capacity of instantaneous contact around the globe.

Bullshit.

[allemand]

63. Did you ever hear about a thing called bureaucracy?

Bureaucracy and "instantaneous contact" don't go together...

[Just Me]

79. Bullshit.

Bullshit!!!

Bureaucracy has NO ties on communication, whatsoever, in this technological age.

We have the CLEAR capacity to spread communication in spite of "bureaucracy". That's a red-herring bullshit excuse.

Certain "people" made a decision about whether or not to WARN. I want to know their freakin' names,...each and every one,...starting with our own POWERFUL US Geological Survey folks!!!!

[allemand]

92. Clearly you have no experience at all with bureaucracy in these countries

and how it works.

Yes, modern communication should make a difference, but in practice it doesn't, because local bureaucracies are notoriously slow to react.

Most of the blame lies with mid-level government bureaucrats in the region who simply failed to act:

"We knew something would be hitting us" (Dr R S Dattatrayam, director (seismology) at India Meteorological Department).

Tsunami caught the govt napping
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/971639.c...

Knowing the way burocracy works in these countries, this doesn't surprise me at all. My all-time favorite story is Indonesian police failing to defuse a live bomb in their own headquarters because the message got stuck in the chain of command.

On edit

Update on Mr Dattatrayam:

"There was a major earthquake on June 26, 1941, of a magnitude of 8.1 off the coast of the Andamans. But it did not result in any tsunamis, Dattatrayam says: ‘‘It is a question of science. We cannot issue a warning causing panic, unless we can establish it scientifically.’’"
http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=61674

Now, this is really complete bullshit.
What can you do if you have idiots like him in high government posts?

[Carni]

85. Have they ever heard of a fucking phone?

OK - fine they didn't have a roster for the proper government officials...they couldn't contact a blog?

They couldn't get the number for a few major beachside hotels in these areas?

We all know as users of the net how fast rumors spread...and this would have been a good time to err on the side of caution and sound some alarms.

The US claiming they couldn't contact anyone is about the lamest thing I have ever heard--maybe if they had it wouldn't have saved anyone but it wouldn't have hurt to do some three second net searches in order to call some hotels IMO

[allemand]

93. Good questions. It seems that there will be a congressional investigation

NOAA's role in warning nations is questioned

By Alan Wirzbicki, Globe Correspondent  |  December 29, 2004

Congress will investigate why the US government did not notify some nations lining the Indian Ocean of early indications that a deadly tsunami might be headed their way, a spokeswoman for Senator Olympia Snowe, Republican of Maine, said yesterday.

<...>

Yet the tsunami took as long as two hours to reach some countries, and NOAA's critics say timely-- even unofficial -- warnings might have allowed people in coastal areas to flee.

<...>

"Why didn't the people who monitor these things warn the Indian countries that a tsunami was about to hit them," said Nirj Deva, a member of the European Parliament said on the BBC. "Nobody was warned. All these people died unnecessarily."

<...>

"You can have big earthquakes and no measurable tsunamis," said Wunsch, who defended NOAA's reaction to the quake. "And you can have rather small earthquakes that produce large regional tsunamis." 

More:
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/12/29/noaas_role_in_warning_nations_is_questioned/

"Scientists at the center in Hawaii tried to alert officials in the region with what few contacts they had, said retired Canadian researcher Tad Murty, who is familiar with the scientists' efforts.

"They tried to raise the alarm every possible way," Murty said. "The problem was with the countries in the Indian Ocean: Nobody really responded, and nothing much was done about it." "

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-sci-warnings28dec28,1,3809480.story?coll=la-headlines-world

It will be interesting to learn what "every possible way" meant in practice.

[cyberpj]

56. NOAA e-mailed warnings to Asia

Scientists in USA saw tsunami coming
NOAA e-mailed warnings to Asia

By Dan Vergano
USA TODAY

Minutes after a massive earthquake rocked the Indian Ocean on Sunday, international ocean monitors knew that a tsunami would likely follow. But they didn't know whom to tell.

“We put out a bulletin within 20 minutes, technically as fast as we could do it,” says Jeff LaDouce of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. LaDouce says e-mails were dispatched to Indonesian officials, but he doesn't know what happened to the information.

http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20041228/a_warning28.art.htm

[progressivedancer]

64. PAY ATTENTION TO EVERYTHING ALL OF YOU ARE SAYING

Its okay to lay blame on this disaster because its very human, but then wondering from the path by claiming "3rd world people are dumb&^&*," or using the this-place-is-better-because phrase shows how much we haven't learned as inhabitants of this planet.

Has it occurred to any of you that ultimately, it is NATURE's profound apathy towards everthing except for the forces controlling it, is the cause of the calamities Asia has just experienced. This tsunami could have reached LA, S. Florida, or the Caribbean and cause the same grief to its inhabitants. Tsunamis have never happened to Thailand and all the generations living in South Asia has never experienced such a thing. Its hard to prepare for something people have never experienced before, especially if the money is not there.

[Just Me]

81. PAY ATTENTION TO THE FACT THAT OUR GOVERNMENT KNEW,...

,...AND DID NOTHING TO PREVENT THE LOSS OF LIFE!!!!

They freakin' KNEW,...and spent nothing to save people. :cry:

They KNEW it was coming!!!

Geez!!!

ASSHOLES!!!!:grr:

And,...now,...PNAC fuckers are sending in military forces and ships!!!! They always, consistently, benefit off humanity's suffering. I loathe them,...the sick demons.

[LisaL]

61. What did they think was going to happen to the tourist industry

if they were right and nobody was warned?
Didn't they think they would be sued then?
Some people truly are dumb.
:nuke:

[rooboy]

67. An Australian guy in Sri Lanka got a warning from a local...

about an hour before the wave hit and avoided it. He has no idea where his friend found out about the tsunami, but he suspects it was from reports of the wave hitting other parts of the country earlier.

Bear in mind that the Indian Ocean has NO tsunami sensors like the Pacific Ocean does. The detection of an earthquake doesn't confirm the existence, size or direction of a tsunami. And even if the tsunami was accurately predicted, it struck early in the morning on a public holiday. Many of the local officials couldn't be contacted.

[flordehinojos]

68. it will not surprise me if a sense of "guilt" for stopping any tsunami

warnings from going out, "out of courtesy to the tourist industry", drives any of the meteorological experts who did so to insanity or suicide. it must be horrible to know that you could have done something to prevent the deaths of thousands upon thousands of people, but chose instead the coins of tourists who were, in the end, horribly impacted by an awful catastrophe. I sincerely hope they can mange to find a way to live with their consciences.

70. USGS knew quake magnitude and

notified the White House, Department of State, and "leaders of governments in the region". So any or all of these parties had 1-3 hours to take action that would have trumped or overridden any special interests and nothing was done in time. This is in the manner of September 11th but obviously worse. You can expect these types to behave this way as dumb as it is, but that is why we have leaders--to take action when it is called for and is in the best interests of all, and it looks like they all failed

[cyberpj]

95. I have read all entries here and have tried to give allowances

for the holiday, the bureaucracy, the sheer surprise of it all and the area of the world but I still believe if I had lost my children or any loved one there I would be outraged and willing to file a lawsuit.

We're supposedly on high alert at all times now with all our feelers working, because this was an event of nature doesn't excuse our lack of immediate response and communication.

If I were a better person I might not suspect US let it happen because of this administrations connections to PNAC; 1 - they don't care about the world's poor and people of color and already think there are too many of them, and 2 - it's now another chance for the US forces and corporate military people to move in and gain even more ground and money.

Too bad I just can't bring myself to be a better person while Bush and company are still controlling everything. And how could we all help but notice that he stayed out of sight again, vacationing on the ranch, while all the worst happened -- making his appearance some days after this enourmous disaster.

Certainly I'm not supposing there was any prevention to be done, but I do believe that the telephones worked and that someone should have been manning something, somewhere in "the region" (as they said) at the other end.

What ever happened to "better safe than sorry"?

PJ

[arikara]

69. The world really is way out of balance

Money takes priority over everything. Along with the FDA, the meterological experts are now whoring for the economy. Their wages are probably being paid by a corporation on one of those P3(Private Public Partnership)deals.

This weather forecast is brought to you by Vacation World... where we insist that the sun is always shining! Even when its not!

[Megahurtz]

72. It makes no sense!

Dumbasses!

[Catchawave]

77. Keith Olbermann discussed this on his show tonight....

...he was pretty miffed.

[jmcgowanjm]

82. Thinking of Jeff Goldblum(Jurrasic), Quaid(Day after...

Imagining them trying to get the
bureaucracy to listen.

I could definitely imagine a retort
such as-experts believed the Indonesian island Sumatra
would be a "cushion" for the southern coast of
Thailand.

Who would've thought that the Entire island of
Sumatra would slide 100ft.

[InvisibleBallots]

84. They need to be arrested

and charged with crimes against humanity.

[AP]

86. Sounds like Thailand needs a sovereign immunity statute for situations...

...like this one.

They probably shouldn't have to worry about being sued in this situation.

[cliss]

88. Just a couple of thoughts -

Even if these "experts" couldn't decide what to do, couldn't they at least have contacted some kind of emergency warning system? Like the kind they had in WW2, those air raid sirens that started wailing.

That would most certainly have gotten peoples' attention. Or what about helicopters flying along the beach, with loudspeakers alerting people to get out of the water.

There are all kinds of things they could have done. They did nothing.

The lawsuit they were hoping to avoid is going to come after them, like the tsunami.

[NYC]

89. Always profits before people.

...We finally decided not to do anything because the tourist season was in full swing. The hotels were 100% booked full. What if we issued a warning, which would have led to an evacuation, and nothing had happened. What would be the outcome? The tourist industry would be immediately hurt. Our department would not be able to endure a lawsuit...

Who owns this planet? I suppose just the chosen few, the profit makers.

[ObamaFan2500]

90. What difference does it make if they stop the warming?

Does it decrease the strenghts of the waves ? Don't get it.

[sattahipdeep]

91. Vladimir Putin would be delighted

Russian seismologists said the Shiveluch volcano in the
eastern Kamchatka peninsula began erupting Tuesday,
sending hot ash up to 6,500 feet.

Tuesday, December 28, 2004 -- PETROPAVLOSK, Russia -- Seismic
stations near the volcano registered underground tremors from a depth
of up to 16,000 feet with spasmodic volcanic vibration, the Novosti
news agency reported.

The 10,700-foot mountain first became active last May 10, sending up
an ash plume more than 30,000 feet and triggering lava-ridden
fragmentation avalanches.

[Oversea Visitor]

94. Please the earthquake

occurred at 9 am local time 26th December on a Sunday morning.
Yes it caught everyone napping.
Its the day after christmas, there wont be any top officials around
:(
And yes this region has not been hit by tsunami before
I am not from Thailand, but I am from Malaysia and I understand the local environment.
So much bashing even about how the response was slow,
Yes it was quite a while before the authorities response
cause everyone was on holiday, they have to rush to their station organise and finally roll out.

Christmas here is an official holiday and its party time.
Shits happen

[lebkuchen]

96. CNNI has weather people who could have made the call

for tsunami warnings post earthquake, just as they do for driving conditions in rain or snowstorms. Did they, or do CNNI news people have no real knowledge except for what they are told to report by those on high?