FYI the real title of the article is: Maldives flooded after tidal waves, reports of casualties but no figures
There ARE reports coming out, yes, with few specifics, but that's true of many of the impacted areas...it's been widely reported that communication in the region is severly impacted (as it has been even prior to the tsunamis...) which I can attest to after communication issues with family in the region a few hours ago.
I don't think it's quite the 'censoring' that someone wants it to appear...I think it's a logistic issue...cut off areas physically because of destruction, and communication shut down because of damage, I think those are the more accurate causes.
The initial reports of just a few people in nearly every country that had reported initially have already been drastically increased...so even if we had specifics from the Maldives they would likely be WAY off.
Just FYI...(at least so the article title is corrected...that was written by the OP of that thread it appears).
It is often a function of how the seafloor shallows in an area near the coastline.
Tsunamis are, in the open ocean very long wavelength waves, with a small amplitude. As they approach the coast, the wavelength shortens and the amplitude grows. But distance and seafloor topography can help dissipate the wave energy to some degree.