The sea gypsies, local governments, the UN...none of them cared enough to put up beach signs with a picture of receding water preceding a big wave.
...But at least the sea gypsies warned those around them when they saw it, unlike those local governments and the UN.
There was a report on NOAA that our location in Hawaii detected it and sent warnings out too.
I have no idea where the communication break down occurred.
Yes, found the warning. We sent out a bulletin to all of the affected area's governments.
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2004/s2357.htm
Dec. 26, 2004 — NOAA scientists acted quickly when a warning was issued about the powerful undersea earthquake in the Indian Ocean that triggered a devastating tsunami. Within minutes following an alarm signaling the strong earthquake, the NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii issued an information bulletin to nations in the Pacific at 8:14 p.m. EST Saturday, indicating that a magnitude 8.0 earthquake (later upgraded to magnitude 9.0) had occurred off the west coast of Northern Sumatra, Indonesia. Because the earthquake, reported to be one of the strongest in the world in the past 40 years, occurred in the Indian Ocean, not the Pacific, there was no threat of a tsunami to Hawaii, the West Coast of North America or to other coasts in the Pacific Basin—the U.S. area of responsibility. (Click NOAA image for larger view of Indonesia tsunami epicenter map. Click here for high resolution version, which is a large file. Please credit “NOAA.”)
What the scientists were saying is that the Pacific was where the tsunamis were and the Indian Ocean has not had any so they ignored the (potential) threat. I think they have changed their minds now...