This post has been corrected. See note at the bottom for
details. NEW DELHI -- Warning and monitoring systems put in
place after the 2004 Asian tsunami appeared to work well
Wednesday after an 8.6-magnitude earthquake that struck roughly
the same area off Indonesia, said officials, civic groups and
citizens in affected areas. However, the real test will only
come with another major disaster. Fortunately, no more than
slightly higher than normal waves were seen in only a few
coastal towns along the southwestern coast of Sumatra island,
with no reports of deaths or major damage. The rapid
dissemination of warnings and relatively rapid evacuation of
coastal areas throughout the Indian Ocean, including fairly
isolated communities, were helped by fresh memories of the
tsunami that battered the region eight years ago, killing
230,000 people. Also helpful was the footage aired after Japan’s
massive March 2011 tsunami and nuclear disaster, motivating
people to take the risk seriously, even though ultimately the
wave