An early-warning system could have saved thousands of lives

The 26 December earthquake was the largest anywhere in the world in the last 40 years, with a magnitude of 9.0. It was caused by the sudden collision of two tectonic plates under the floor of the Indian Ocean.

A monitoring station that could have provided early warning of the devastating Indian Ocean tsunamis lacked the telephone connection needed to relay news of the impending disaster.

Countries such as Sri Lanka and India, which suffered thousands of casualties, could potentially have been warned some two hours before the waves completed the 1,500-kilometre journey from the earthquake's epicentre off Indonesia.

India and Sri Lanka, which were devastated by killer waves, are not even part of the The Pacific Tsunami Warning System.

Scientists at the PTWS centre in Hawaii desperately tried to warn Asian nations by calling the US embassies in their capitals.