Officials: Warnings could have saved lives

Asian officials conceded today that they failed to issue broad public warnings immediately after a 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.