Warning could have saved lives, say officials

ASIAN officials conceded yesterday that they failed to issue broad public warnings immediately after the massive undersea earthquake in Indonesia, which could have saved countless lives from the subsequent giant waves that smashed into nine countries.

But governments insisted they did not know the true nature of the threat because there was no international system in place to track tidal waves in the Indian Ocean - an area where they are rare - and they can’t afford to buy sophisticated equipment to build one.

And what warnings there were came too little, too late. The magnitude 9.0 earthquake - the largest in 40 years - shifted huge geological plates beneath the sea north-west of Sumatra island, causing a massive and sudden displacement of millions on tons of water.