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Nature 433, 3-5 (6 January 2005) | doi:10.1038/433003a; Published online 5 January 2005

Inadequate warning system left Asia at the mercy of tsunami

Emma Marris

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Scientists and governments were caught unprepared.

When two tectonic plates beneath the Indian Ocean cracked past each other at 0:59 GMT on 26 December 2004, the sea floor was forced upwards by some 10 metres. This displaced in the region of a trillion tonnes of water, driving it towards southeast Asia's coastline in a long, low-amplitude wave travelling at up to 900 kilometres per hour.

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